Character Analysis Of Mrs. Turpin In Flannery O Connor's Revelation

The short story “Revelation” by Flannery O’Conner takes place in the Deep South, during the Civil Rights movement in the 1960’s. At the beginning of the story, Mrs. Turpin and her husband Claud are at the doctor’s office, in the waiting room. The central character, Mrs. Turpin, has a profound discrepancy between her self-image, and what she’s really like. Mrs. Turpin sees herself as a righteous church going Christian lady that is very charitable, and respectful. She also believes to have a good disposition. Mrs. Turpin’s self-imagine leads her to the idea that she is saved through her faith. However, the reality of Mrs. Turpin is far from her self-image. Mrs. Turpin is a judgmental and racist person. She is constantly making negative racial

Turpin also has a hierarchal ranking system. At the very top of her ranking system, are people who have a home, and a lot of property. Next come people who have a home, but not a lot of property. Then, in the very bottom of her hierarchy are black people and white trash. However, Mrs. Turpin’s ranking system becomes disarrayed by a black dentist who owns a couple of Cadillac’s, a house, and a farm. At night Mrs. Turpin dreams that all classes of people are being shipped off in freight trains to be put in gas ovens. This dream is an allusion to the holocaust, and reveals the underside of Mrs. Turpin. In reality she is a self-righteous woman, and feels morally superior. Also, she is very complacent and self – satisfied. In the end of the story, Mrs. Turpin’s ranking system is reversed, because Jesus reveals to her: “the first shall be last, and the last shall be

The first turning point occurs when Mrs. Turpin is in the doctor’s waiting room, and engages in a conversation with the pleasant well-dressed lady; in which she makes some racist remarks. As Mrs. Turpin continues her conversation with the well-dressed lady, her daughter Mary Grace, seems to get more and more agitated. Mrs. Turpin and the well-dress lady get into a conversation about Mary Grace. Both Mrs. Turpin and Mary Grace’s mother talk about an ungrateful girl. Mary grace knows they are talking about her, as if she wasn’t there. Mary grace becomes more upset, when Mrs. Turpin bursts out a remark about how she thanks Jesus for giving her everything. Mary grace then reaches a point of no return. She is very angry that Mrs. Turpin and her mother have been talking about her. Mary Grace is also disappointed about Mrs. Turpin’s racist remarks, because she is not racist since she was educated in the North. Finally, Mary grace is so annoyed at Mrs. Turpin that she throws a human development book at her. After Mary Grace throws the book at Mrs. Turpin, she looks at her and the narrator says: “There was no doubt in her mind that the girl did know her, know her in some intense and personal way, beyond time and place and condition” (pg.21). At this point, Mrs. Turpin thinks that Mary Grace is some kind of messenger from God; although she is really not. Mary Grace’s tells Mrs. Turpin “Go back to hell where you came from, you old wart hog” (pg.21),