ipl-logo

Flannery O Connor The River Analysis

730 Words3 Pages

Flannery O’Connor almost has a habit of making the endings to her stories tragic. However, those same tragic endings always seem to have a positive deeper meaning. The title, “The River”, could make one believe that the text could be about almost anything. When I saw the title of the story and realized it was written by Flannery O’Connor, I knew that there cannot be anything good about a river and so it must lead to something catastrophic. The most important characters in the story are Harry, the five-year-old boy whose parents pay him no attention, his baby sitter, Mrs. Connin, and Bevel Summers, the preacher. The story starts with Harry being prepared by his parents to go off with a sitter. The sitter complains that Harry “ain’t fixed right” (O’Connor 1) so his father replies, “Well then for Christ’s sake fix him.” Mrs. Connin, being a very religious woman, takes this request seriously as in to fix the child for the sake of Christ. The sitter takes Harry to her farm where he will learn about his Maker and get baptized. She will later return him to his house where his parents are getting ready to throw a party. His mother immediately puts him to bed and this adds to his feeling of alienation. When he notices that his tennis shoes are still wet from being baptized, he realized that he wants to …show more content…

Even though Harry was only five, one could tell that he already felt as if he served no purpose on this earth because of the lack of attention given to him. Mrs. Connin served the biggest role in giving him salvation because she told him that he “was made by a carpenter named Jesus Christ.” (O’Connor 4) This is what makes this text so significant. Harry was given so much purpose from faith that he felt as if he could do no more on this earth and he should just go ahead and join his

Show More
Related
1221 Words | 5 Pages

“Nothing is more wretched than the mind of a man conscious of guilt,” said the historical Roman playwright, Plautus. A motif is a recurring narrative element, such as a pattern or symbol. Authors often use motifs to reveal an underlying theme of the literature or symbolize a specific character or idea. Alice Hoffman utilizes the motif of minnows in her book “The River King” to reveal that Carlin had to let go of her guilt to overcome the grief of losing Gus. When Gus died, Carlin felt that she was at fault because they had been in a fight before his death, and this led to extreme feelings of guilt eating her alive every day.

Read More
1061 Words | 5 Pages

Everyone grows up eventually, and each person passes through childhood and into the adult world in their own way. By the River, by Steven Herrick is a novel which shows how Harry Hodby grows and matures into a young man. The story is a ‘coming of age’ novel, Harry’s growth creeping up on the reader. Harry experiences death at a young age, with his mother passing away. As a result, he gains extra responsibilities in his youth.

Read More
999 Words | 4 Pages

In Joyce Carol Oates’ novella Black Water, Kelly Kelleher finds herself hypnotized by the charming, suave Senator. Her fondness for the “man in the prime of his career” (26) causes her to choke on the black water and die. Even though Kelly chooses to run off with the Senator, she is not at fault for her decision to accompany him. The Senator abuses his powerful position to manipulate Kelly. His untouchable status as U.S. Senator allows him to act without consequence or regret.

Read More
1087 Words | 5 Pages

Flannery O’Connor’s stories always contain a flawed character that is usually crippled in a spiritual or a moral sense to embody an ongoing issue in her time through that flaw. In O’Connor’s story, “Good Country People,” the protagonist’s physical and spiritual flaws represent weaknesses in a certain movement that swept up the early-mid 20th Century: the movement of Nihilism. She invalidates Nihilism through Joy’s (who changed her name to Hulga) three physical imperfections and at her “moment of grace” in which she loses her artificial leg. Hulga has a weak heart, artificial leg, and slightly defective eyesight. While they are physical flaws, these symbolize “her emotional, intellectual, and spiritual impairments” (Oliver 234).

Read More
1075 Words | 5 Pages

Everyone grows up eventually, and each person passes through childhood and into the adult world in their own way. By the River, by Steven Herrick is a novel which shows how Harry Hodby grows and matures into a young man. The story is a ‘coming of age’ novel and Harry’s growth creeps up on the reader. Harry experiences death at a young age, with his mother passing away. As a result, he gains extra responsibilities in his youth.

Read More
759 Words | 4 Pages

Even though the river symbolizes a safe haven, George finds Lennie hiding at the river and knows he will be locked up for murder or brutally killed. George does the only thing he can for his friend, Lennie, with no judgement or anger.  George kills Lennie, so he can finally live the dream of tending to rabbits. Foster draws on the idea that in Huckleberry Finn, written by Mark Twain that an escaped slave Jim uses the river to escape to freedom; however, it carries him deeper into slave territory. Compared to Lenny in Of Mice and Men , Jim believed  the river would be his escape; however, it ultimately plunged him deeper into his downfall.

Read More
989 Words | 4 Pages

Initially the setting is a waiting room. The room itself is a perfect setting for God to work through Mrs. Turpin’s demeanor, as each person in the room is from one of the classes that she lists. The gospel hymn playing in the waiting room, “When I looked up and He looked down” represents what is to come at the end of this story. Mrs. Turpin experiences her revelation, and she looks up and cries out to the Lord in anger. The reader does not learn Mary Grace’s name until halfway through the story.

Read More
2427 Words | 10 Pages

Flannery O’Connor’s Effect in Her Writing Flannery O’Connor is a well-known southern writer in American literature who died at the age of 39 from lupus, an illness she long fought for. Her style of writing is very unique as it focuses on the South. She is popular for writing stories concerning religion. She, being a Catholic, believes there is good and evil in this world and that faith is something everybody believes in, views that most of her characters do not share. When discussing her stories, O’Connor claims, “All my stories are about the action of grace on a character who is not very willing to support it, but most people think of these stories as hard, hopeless and brutal.”

Read More
1491 Words | 6 Pages

“A garbled echo returned to her. A final surge of fury shook her and she roared, ‘Who do you think you are?’” (O’Connor 33) This line is from Revelation when Mrs. Turpin was talking to a person that judged her, little did she know this person was jesus. Flannery O’Connor is trying to show that people often put themselves before others without ever wanting or letting themselves and others judge them.

Read More
202 Words | 1 Pages

In ‘By the River’ by Steven Herrick the novel focuses on Harry’s coming of age and furthermore the events that progress him from childhood into adulthood. This coming of age novel portrays the circumstances that impact Harry, and serve as stepping stones on his journey to adulthood and maturity. The most significant milestones that advanced him from youth to adulthood are the multiple losses that have had a severe impact, the many responsibilities that have been inflicted upon him and the flourishing friendships that helped Harry experience life’s greatest lessons. Subsequently this novel also displays that responsibility has also been a stepping stone for Harry, he has to step up to many strenuous tasks and positions throughout the novel.

Read More
610 Words | 3 Pages

Response Essay-Revelation by Flannery O’Connor “Revelation” is a short story written by Flannery O’Connor, which was published in her short story collection named “Everything That Rises Must Converge”. First of all, the title itself tells plenty about what the short story is about. It is about a woman realizing everybody is equal to God. It was written in first point of view, which means that the protagonist (Mrs. Ruby Turpin) is narrating the story herself.

Read More
262 Words | 2 Pages

I know a lot of people didn't like that Desmond seemingly picked the Templar approach for the fate of humanity at the end of the game, ignoring all of Connor's warnings about freedom being more important than order. But I realized something after replaying the game. I feel like he was learning from Connor. Connor's initial decision was to fight for his people, and he chose those who embodied his ideals in order to keep his people safe. Connor sided with the wrong side, because the patriots didn't keep their promises, and he lost his people.

Read More
611 Words | 3 Pages

Every character in "Unwind' grows from the beginning of the story to the end. There are many characters that change and out of all of them Connor has grown up from the start of the novel to the end. Connor's individual experiences, and different relationships, changes him for better. In the beginning of the book Connor was very hot headed and getting into fights school.

Read More
979 Words | 4 Pages

In the first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Harry first lives his life as a muggle not knowing anything about

Read More
891 Words | 4 Pages

Harry always puts his friends first, and in this book one of the people who are put in danger is his close friend Hermione, and in the end his best friend’s sister is abducted. The book’s theme can be compared to many other books, for example The Hunger Games. Katniss, the main character in that book, volunteers to be a part of a dangerous game so that she can protect her little sister. But the book is also about character development and being a good person.

Read More

More about Flannery O Connor The River Analysis

Related Topics

Open Document