Violence Leading to Redemption in Flannery O'Connor's Literature

Violence Leading to Redemption in Flannery O'Connor's Literature

Flannery O'Connor uses many of the same elements in almost all of her short stories. I will analyze her use of violence leading to the main character experiencing moral redemption. The use of redemption comes from the religious background of Flannery O'Connor. Violence in her stories is used as a means of revelation to the main character's inner self. The literature of Flannery O'Connor appears to be unbelievably harsh and violent. Her short stories characteristically conclude with horrific fatalities or an individual's emotional ruin. In all three of the stories, "Good Country People", "A Good Man Is Hard to Find", and "Revelation" the main characters experience some form of violence that leads to a learned emotional lesson.

The final scene of "A Good Man is Hard to Find", between the grandmother and the Misfit, is one of O'Connor's literal wicked truths. The grandmother is completely wrapped up in a hypocritical, condescending, selfish world, where she feels safe. That world instantly shatters at the moment just before she is shot, "His voice seemed about to crack and the grandmother's head cleared for an instant. She saw the man's face twisted close to her own as if he were going to cry and she murmured, 'Why you're one of my babies. You're one of my own children!'" (O'Connor 442). This is the grandmother's moment of redemption. Her head literally clears, although she appears disillusioned, and more than ever she becomes aware of the situation. All her shallow thoughts seem to disappear, and she sees the Misfit for who he really is. At that moment, at her point of redemption, this is when she reaches death, "She reached out and touched him on the shoulder. The Misfit sprang back as if a snake had bitten him and shot her three times through the chest. Then he put his gun down on the ground and took off his glasses and began to clean them." (O'Connor 442). I honestly didn't expect for the grandmother to be shot when I was reading it for the first time. After thinking about what kind of writer Flannery O'Connor is, it made sense that that was the way story would end. Though in "A Good Man is Hard To Find", the grandmother experiences her epiphany before the act of violence occurs. This is unlike the other stories where the lesson learned comes from the act of violence that the main character experiences first.

O'Connor's use of violence holds a similar yet restrained quality in "Good Country People", although there is a shift in its use and context. Hulga, like the grandmother, has her anti-social qualities, which, in Hulga's case, protect her from the world in which she feels vulnerable. The conflict/resolution to "Good Country People" comes at the end, when Hulga leads the Bible salesman to an abandoned barn with the hopes of seducing him. Little to her knowledge, the salesman is not a "good country" guy as she would like to believe. Hulga receives the salesman's kisses with no real passion, but as kind of a bitter curiosity. As the old saying goes though, 'curiosity killed the cat.' Hulga indulges in Manley Pointer's apparent ease by responding to his requests of her to say "I love you." This allows the Bible salesman to confirm Hulga's overconfidence and take advantage of the weakest point in her life, her leg. The entire violence in "Good Country People" evolves around the removal of Hulga's prosthetic leg. "Without the leg she felt entirely dependent on him" (O'Connor 429). The leg is Hulga's one unprotected point, emotionally and physically, and by removing it, the salesman is violating Hulga world of seclusion. "'Give me my leg!' She screamed and tried to lunge for it but he pushed her down easily." (O'Connor 429). At this point we realize just how important the prosthetic leg is to Hulga. She is frantic and confused, because she thought she could trust this "good country" Bible salesman. "Her face was almost purple. 'You're a Christian!' she hissed. 'You're a fine Christian! You're just like them all--say one thing and do another. You're a perfect Christian, you're...'" (O'Connor 429). In this scene Hulga is pleading for her humanity, relying too heavily on a faith she never really believed in. Just like the grandmother in "A Good Man is Hard to Find," there really is no redemption in Hulga's begging. Inside the violence of her violation her eyes are truly opened and, in the aftermath, she is saved. Could we argue who had the better outcome of the two? At the end, the grandmother "...half sat and half lay in a puddle of blood with her legs crossed under her like a child's and her face smiling up at the cloudless sky." (O'Connor 442). Hulga, on the other hand, is left with the loss of her artificial leg, which she used not only as a physical way to walk but also as an emotional crutch. She must deal with public humiliation, and trying to cope with this enormous violation. Even though the grandmother is dead and Hulga is left with only one leg, I think they both wound up with the short end of the stick.

"Revelation" is the third and final short story I will analyze that portrays violence and redemption in Flannery O'Connor's literature. Once again, the main character is a Southern woman. Mrs. Turpin is portrayed for what she really is, a self-righteous and shallow person. The entire waiting room conversation