Research paper on Revelation by Flannery O’Connor

In the short story Revelation written by Flannery O’Connor, the main character Mrs. Turpin is given an opportunity for grace by means of Mary Grace’s message which Mrs. Turpin considers as the message of God. Mrs. Turpin who has always had a good disposition about herself, finds out that she is “old wart hog” (O’ Connor 485).  The teenage girl who disliked Mrs. Turpin gives her a chance to think over her behavior. The main character is depicted as a hypocritical person who espouses her goodness and faith and yet in reality she is filled with prejudice and hate towards other people. However, in the story Revelation, she is given a chance to find redemption and see herself for what she truly is.

In addition, the story Revelation by Flannery O’Connor’s has many Sothern elements which can be explained by the author’s background.  One of the most important influences is Flannery’s Southern upbringing. It is known that during that period, Southerners were extremely prejudiced towards the people of other lifestyles, ethnicities and races. They placed people into different social groups. Many of O’Connor’s characters are based on the Sothern images. In her story Revelation, all the characters are evaluated by their physical characteristics in terms of racial relations. The main character in the story Mrs. Turpin is a prejudiced and hypocritical woman who uses racial jargon in her statements. For example, she refers to the upper class woman as “well-dressed and pleasant”, while she called the poor woman “white-trashy”, the teenage girl “ugly” and her black workers “niggers”. The above mentioned characteristics, which Mrs. Turpin gives to other people, reveal the Southern lifestyle of the author.



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