In Flannery O’Connor’s story “A Temple of the Holy Ghost,” O’Connor presents an unnamed twelve-year-old girl who challenges the understandings of heteronormativity in her community through her views on her cousins, the “freak” at the fair, the way in which she lives her life, and through her religion.
Susan and Joanne, the child’s second cousins, are basically polar opposites from her. Susan and Joanne are fourteen and most importantly, they do a great job at being everything a woman in a heterocentric society should be. The girls attend a convent school or else they “wouldn’t have done anything but think about boys” (O’Connor 236). The girls constantly talk about boys, makeup, and take time whenever they pass a mirror to look at themselves,
…show more content…
and all other things which are considered extremely feminine. Joanne and Susan fall into the stereotypical gender role for a woman in a heterocentric society that is ruled by the patriarchy. They are worried about their looks and making themselves more pleasing to males, so that they too can someday have the perfect heterosexual relationship. The child witnesses all of these traits from her cousins when they stay at her house for a weekend, and she challenges almost everything they do. It is clear that the child does not subscribe to the society’s heteronormative views as when she sees what her cousins are doing she decided “they were practically morons and she was glad to think that they were only second cousins and she couldn’t inherit any of their stupidity” (O’Connor 236). The child decides that she thinks what the girls do is too simple and that she is much smarter than they are. Here, she challenges the heteronormative view because she relates being feminine, the way her cousins portray femininity at least, as being equal to a lack of intelligence. The child’s beliefs on her cousins are further affirmed and explained through her home life. The child’s mother was apprehensive about having the cousins stay with them and after she saw how they acted she seemingly agrees with her daughter’s beliefs and tells them “I think you two girls are pretty silly” (O’Conner 238). The child’s mother seems to be surrounding her with a lifestyle that does not conform to the heterocentric views of females or the way of living, expressing this by not agreeing with Joanne and Susan’s beliefs. There is also no mention of the father of the child, meaning it is safe to assume that her mother is a single mother. This is another aspect of the child’s life that does not follow the heterocentric way, and allows the child to take this and then further challenge the norm. The child is brought up in a house with her mother, a cook, and visits from Miss Kirby. She does not have a male care taker, and is in a female centered home where females must take on all the roles in the house; therefore, is not in a household that would promote the heteronormative view. Along with being in an all-female household, the girl’s imagination and religion show that she does not partake in the traditional heterocentric society.
When Joanne and Susan ask how she knows Wendell and Cory, she responds that she has “seen them around” (O’Connor 240). In her imagination however she pretends that they all fought in war together and that she saved them many different times. She then imagines that the two boys fought over who would get to marry her, and that she turns them both down. Even in her imagination, she creates stories that are not necessarily feminine and instead of being excited about the idea of marriage, she turns each of the men down for power. This shows that the child, unlike her cousins and how the societal norm presents life for a woman, is satisfied with her life without a man, or even without desiring a man in the long …show more content…
term. The child also uses her religious beliefs to become more independent as well.
She uses God to avoid and challenge heteronormativity. In almost all aspects of her life she engages in her religion. While her cousins think it is silly to deny a boy and tell them “I am a temple of the Holy Ghost” (O’Connor 238) the child is proud to be able to make this claim. The presence of Christ is a positive influence in the child’s life that fuels her movement away from heteronormative society. Catholicism leads the child to be able to find meaning in herself instead of assigning her worth to how other people, especially men view her. The child is full of faith that she decides rather than being a doctor or engineer, her goal is to be a saint. However, because of her current life situation she decides the only way she can accomplish this is being a
martyr. The presence of religion is continued through Susan and Joanne telling the child about the hermaphrodite at the fair. After her cousins tell her that they saw a “man and a woman both” (O’Connor 245) the girl tries to imagine how the person would look and how the country people would react. She imagines the “freak saying, ‘God made me thisaway and I don’t dispute hit… God done this to me and I praise Him’” (O’Connor 246). The child imagines that this person is accepting of the situation and does not even question God. Even further with this image, O’Connor is presenting someone that does not fit into the heteronormative view. The child acknowledges that God is still accepting of this person so others should not be condemning either. The girl affirms this by stating that even this hermaphrodite is a temple of the Holy Ghost, and if the spirit of God can be held within this person, all others can too hold God’s spirit, which to the child is more important than fitting into a specific gender, gender role, or the views of society.
Throughout Catalina’s memoir, she builds up her masculine façade. She hides the characteristics of femininity and highlights the key concepts of being a man. As a young fifteen year old girl about to take her final vows of becoming a nun she, “got
His church stopped being my church. And yet, today, because Iʼm a coward, I let myself be initiated into that church. I let my father baptize me in all three names of that God who isnʼt mine any more. My God has another name” (p.5). When she is baptized on her fifteenth birthday, the ceremony has meat nothing to her. She doesn’t believe the Christian thought about sin and salvation. For Lauren, the book of Job is the best description of her father’s God. “God says he made everything and he knows everything so no one has any right to question what he does with any of it” (p.8) Laruen thinks Christian God just like a super-powerful man, who is playing them like playing with his toys. “If he is, what difference does it make if 700 people get killed in a hurricane—or if seven kids go to church and get dipped in a big tank of expensive water” (p.8) For Lauren, the God of Christian is lack of ability to change the world or unable to make the action to help human. And they never ask people to actively recognize that they can control their own destiny, which makes them passive and only wait for the others to save them from their miserable
Celianne, a fifteen-year-old pregnant girl, was raped when a dozen men raided her home and forced her brother and mother to sleep together. She found out she was pregnant and boarded the boat as soon as she’d heard about it. The child represents the hope of a new life, away from the persecution awaiting back in Haiti. Celianne finally gives birth to a baby girl and the acting midwife prays for the baby to be guided by God, “Celianne had a girl baby. The woman acting as a midwife is holding the baby to the moon and whispering prayers . . .
Mixing religion and identity will take truth away from one’s religion, therefore, leading them to beg for salvation. For example, the grandmother manipulates everyone, compares the past to the present, and believes so hard in her lady hood that it becomes her religion. Flannery O’Connor used gothic horror and Catholicism to make the readers question themselves, Are they living a false life based on personal “quota” or by God’s teachings? After the grandmother realizes her faults she allows the hat to fall to the ground, symbolizing her final truth of her identity. It is now up to her to beg for salvation. Only by the grace of God does someone receive salvation and enter the holy gaits above. The decision is based on their life’s journey. Do you deserve salvation and everlasting life?
The book Under the Feet of Jesus by Helena Maria Viramontes shows you the story of Estrella and her family and the struggles they face as migrant workers. Among all the symbolism in the book the one that stand out the most is Petra’s statue of Christ, which symbolizes the failure of religion and the oppressive nature of the Christian religion especially in minorities. Throughout the book, Estrella’s mother, Petra relies on superstitions and religion to get her through the hardships in life. In tough times, she turns to the statue and prays for guidance. Her thirteen-year-old daughter Estrella is the first of her family to realize that she needs to stop relying on religion and take control of her life. This brings in a wave of self-empowerment, not only for Estrella but eventually for all the characters as well. In the book, you’re able to see how religion exemplifies the failures of religion in minorities and how it hinders the growth of the characters while helping some of them.
Even though Mrs. Turpin is already “saved” because of her Christian faith, she needs a revelation from Mary grace to realize that her world view i...
In “High Holy Days” by Jane Shore the idea of innocent youth awakening from a slumber for the first time is conveyed at a rate of infinite constancy from beginning to end. At the poem opens the tone of the speaker is childish and picayune. Throughout the eloquent stanzas filled with reminisces of the speaker, the tone becomes passionate and valiant. The writer, Jane Shore, awakens the speaker to her reality as a Jewish woman living in a world that does not condone her religion.
The story begins with the protagonist, Tia, and her best friend, Marcelle, hanging out after Sunday School as usual, watching and gossiping about the other girls. However, this Sunday was different as Tia is struggling with the message from her class. The readings from that morning showed how conservative Tia’s life was at this point. In addition to these traditional readings, many of the girls in Tia’s class were beginning to speak in tongues; however, Tia is unable to master this skill. “You could only truly speak in tongues when all the worldly matters were emptied from your mind, or else there was no room for God.” Tia is constantly trying to achieve this connection, but is
Minot describes the girls sex acts with each individual boy in a short detail way. “You’d go on walks to get off campus. It was raining like hell, my sweater as sopped as a wet sheep. Tim pinned me to a tree, the woods light brown and dark brown, a white house half hidden with lights already on. The water was as loud as a crowd hissing. He made certain comments about my forehead, about my cheeks.” (Minot 333). Minot continues to describe the teenage girl lust for multiple boys through out the story. It was normal to have sex after you did it for the first time. Her parents didn’t even seem to care or notice what their daughter was doing. “My parents had no idea. Parents never really know what’s going on, especially when you’re away at school most of the time. If she met them, my mother might say, “Oliver seems nice” or “I like that one” without much of an opinion. If she didn’t like them, “He’s a funny fellow, isn’t he?” or “Johnny’s perfectly nice but a drink of water.” My father was too shy to talk to them at all unless they played sports and he’d ask them about that.” (Minot 334). Her mother couldn’t even recognize the change through her daughter’s eyes as sex began to her effect her. She was blind to see that her daughter was slowly fading away. Her father was too timid to put the fear in those boys minds so they won’t put a hand on his daughter, but respect her because he knows the mind set of a teenage boy. During the young girl sex escapades, she begins to loose herself as she realizes that she no longer existed to the boys after she opened her legs and gave them everything they wanted. “After sex, you curl up like a shrimp, something deep inside you ruined, slammed in a place that sickens at slamming, and slowly you fill up with an overwhelming sadness, and elusive gaping worry. You don’t try to explain it, filled with the knowledge that it’s nothing after all, everything
In this essay I want to analyze the main character " Joss" from the novel Trumpet, written by Jackie Kay. Joss, actually born female, decides to live his life as a man, marries a woman and adopts a son. For the reader it is still and unanswered question whether Joss is to be considered a man or a woman. For this reason I want to have a closer look on Joss's actions and statements in the novel and sum up hints for being " typcally feminine" or " typically masculine". In this process I would also like to dedicate myself to the question, why Kay has chosen to put Joss and Millie into a hetero normative discourse, even though their love and lifestyle is everything else but ordinary and the norm. A particularly important contributory factor here is how people recognize others and most importantly themselves.
This excerpt from Louise Erdrich’s The Beet Queen follows two children-older brother Karl and younger sister Mary- as they meander through an unsettling city. The awkward suburbia the kids find themselves in enthralls one of the siblings, whereas the other maintains focus and continues. The conflicting natures of practicality and immersion between Karl and Mary, alongside the uncertainty that surrounds the town, demonstrate how the simplest of phenomena can tear the strongest of bonds.
When were little we start follow the idea of extraordinary stories. This could range from believing in a higher power, to the tooth fairy leaving a quarter under your pillow after you’ve lost a tooth. Once we grow up we need reasons for why certain things happen. These explanations help relief us and gives a sense of purpose to figure out how to live. Ana Castillo does an excellent job of incorporating ways to cope and perceive all of these “extraordinary” events in her book So Far From God. Castillo harped on the importance of women and using them to depict special events. The amount of fiction and reality that occurred when telling the different stories of saints, mystics, pilgrims, healers, mothers and activists allows us as the reader to
Nick Enright’s, A Property of the Clan, effectively positions the audience to respond to ideas and perspectives of the rape and murder of 14-year-old Tracy. Ideas and perspectives such as the concept of powerlessness, the marginalisation of gender expectations and the strength of mateship are all explored throughout Enright’s play and gives a glimpse inside the schoolies culture.
The Prioress' Tale is overtly a religious tale centered around Christian principles and a devotion to the Virgin Mary, but within the warm affection that the Prioress shows for her Christian faith is a disquieting anti-Semitism that will be immediately obvious to the modern reader. The tale is an overwrought melodrama, replete with scenes of such banal sentimentalism and simplistic moral instruction. The tale is an unabashed celebration of motherhood. The guiding figure of the tale is the Virgin Mary, who serves as the exemplar for Christian values and the intervening spirit who sustains the murdered child before he passes on to heaven. Her mortal parallel is the mother of the murdered boy, who dearly loves her son and struggles to find the boy when he is lost.
Pilar was raised to be a cautious Catholic, taught that she should not question authority, and needs to grow up to fit the perfect Spanish Catholic mold. She has many struggles throughout her life and has been hurt by people in the past. She has failed the societal rules and struggles to suppress her happiness to cut here and there in order to fit into the societal mold. Throughout the book, she eases up, then turns back in fear of the unknown and the uncomfortable, even though it is more uncomfortable to live in her current skin, than take a chance to find true happiness. When she finally eases up and opens her mind and her heart to God and the Virgin, or the feminine side of God, she is a transformed woman and is finally able to love and live the way she hopes to. The only problem is that her old friend, who has professed his love to her, and that she also loves, is still in seminary, and is a direct disciple of the Virgin. He must give up his direct communication with the Virgin, a virtuous gift that many people wished they had, in order to get another chance at being with Pilar. Pilar does not want him to give up this gift, but she wants to be with him. They find a way to be together, the best way they can figure out and the rest of the book explains just how important it is to believe in love and the virtue of the masculine and feminine side of God. Belief in the Immaculate Conception is the cornerstone to happiness. It is not enough to simply follow societal and religious rules, a person has to believe in them and want to be those things, or else they will never know spiritual happiness. Pilar's friend and a priest that has counseled her friend, help her discover who she is, and accept what she wants and how to get