ENG 113
Instructor Risch
Donna Stevens
January 24, 2011
“Revelation” by Flannery O’Connor
My initial response to the reading was that I really enjoyed the fact that Mrs. Turpin was clocked in the head with the book. She reminded me of a neighbor I had once that talked incessantly and had pet names for everyone. Mrs. Turpin much like my neighbor was raised in a time when it was socially expected to keep up an appearance of being superior to most of mankind. However, not everyone bought into this idea, so one cannot blame the time in which she lived. Mrs. Turpin is fully accountable for her actions whatever the time period in which she lived. My grandfather grew up in this time period and he stood up against the superior notions of people like Mrs. Turpin. I think that he would have enjoyed this story.
The theme of this story is that God’s grace has appeared to all men and no man is higher up on the ladder than another. No matter how hard Mrs. Turpin tried to organize her imaginary social ladder, she at the time of her revelation was certainly not at the top of the tribes of man. The conflict within this story was Mrs. Turpin’s battle to be certain that she and Claude, her husband were in fact better than anyone else she knew. Her problem was that she could never prove this notion. On the day of her revelation, she saw tribes of man ascending into Heaven and she and Claude were bringing up the rear. She probably found it confusing that even black people and white trash made it into Heaven. Not to mention the fact that she came in behind them.
My attitude toward Mrs. Turpin did not change throughout the story because I once knew someone just like her and they did not change, so I did not expect Mrs. Turpin would. Even after her revelation, Mrs. Turpin will probably go back to her old ways and blame the silly vision on the white trash person who hit her with the book.
It is appropriate that the two major settings for action in this story are a doctor’s waiting room and a pig parlor because Mrs. Turpin’s soul is filthy and sick. She has the appearance of a clean white person, yet her soul is as dirty as a pig pen which she refers to as a “pig parlor” (477).
Mrs. Turpin’s treatment of her husband helps to characterize her as a mouthy, bossy keeping up appearances southern hypocrite. She does all the talking and Claude does all the moaning. She makes sure Claude does not speak much so that every word that comes from their household is just right. A few sentences from Claude and the town may realize the Turpin’s aren’t as perfect as they were lead to believe.
Mrs. Turpin uses the appearance of people’s shoes to classify them. She believes that if a person’s shoes are clean then they are leading a clean life. Cleanliness in her opinion is next to Godliness. This is why she goes to great lengths on p. 477 to explain that her hogs are on concrete. This way, her entire household can have clean shoes, even the ones who work with the hogs. If her shoes can remain clean as she works with hogs, then in her mind she is superior to everyone else who just steps in the mud and lives like hogs.
Mary Grace attacks Mrs. Turpin because she cannot take Mrs. Turpin’s mouth anymore. Mary Grace had been trying to read in the book Human Development but continued to be interrupted by Mrs. Turpin’s sharp tongue. Mary Grace was reading about how we as humans develop. This was probably a generalized book about how we all share basic similarities and if we work together we can achieve common goals. Mrs. Turpin continued to add contrast to Mary Grace’s ideals as well as interruption to her every thought while reading. The significance of Mary Grace’s name is Mary is Jesus’ mother’s name and Grace is what God brings to us through salvation. These facts are a contrast to Mrs. Turpin’s ideals.
The background music played in the doctor’s office contributes more contrast to Mrs. Turpin’s ideals. Also, it helps to continue the theme that God’s grace has appeared to all men. Everyone in that waiting room heard the music, yet Mrs. Turpin continued in her rant. Until, Mary Grace snapped.
Mary Grace told Mrs. Turpin to “Go back to hell where you came from, you old wart hog” because Mary Grace was sure that is where Mrs. Turpin came from (488). Mrs. Turpin’s words were words that certainly did not come from the Father above and Mary Grace was pointing that out. Mrs. Turpin was confused because she was sure she had never done anything above reproach. She did not want to face the fact that her soul was as ugly and nasty as a wart hog and her words came from hell and not Heaven.
The word abysmal is similar to the word abyss which means very deep. The word also means horrible. The abysmal life giving knowledge that Mrs. Turpin gained was the fact that her soul was headed for hell. She was headed into the abyss. She needed to change her view of the world before she is cast into hell. All other classes of people were ahead of her in the great ascension. Her revelation was that if she does not change her way, she may be cast into the abyss because she was among the last into Heaven. She barely got into Heaven or will she even make it like all the others before her? Did she deserve Heaven because she was so nasty to those who had gone before her? She will probably believe that she will get in but it will bother her that she did not go first. Therefore, whether her revelation actually leads to salvation is a slim to none chance.
I feel that the story’s humor is appropriate given the serious theme. God’s grace appears to all men whether they see the comedy in life or not. Mrs. Turpin’s head-on collision with the book was probably the best thing that will ever happen to her.
Mrs. Turpin’s employee who told her “You just had you a little fall” actually means that Mrs. Turpin’s fall was a fall from grace (488). Her flesh was embarrassed in the waiting room. She had fallen from her high and mighty perch to being belittled by white trash. Her soul was exposed for the filthy state it was in while feeding the hogs later that day. She realized during her vision that God’s grace which brings salvation appears to all men not just clean white people. Had her high and mighty attitude all those years cost her eternal life with Christ? Did she ever really possess eternal salvation or did she just believe that because she was cleaner on the outside than others and she would automatically get in? She was left with more questions during her revelation than answers. Her “little fall” may lead to conviction of her past sins and salvation, but I would imagine her flesh is really going to give her soul a run for it’s money (488).
Works Cited
O'Connor, Flannery. "Revelation." The Bedford Introduction to Literature. Michael Meyer. Massachuttes: Bedford, 2011. Print.
