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What Does Norton Symbolize In The Lame Shall Enter First

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Flannery O’Connor’s The Lame Shall Enter First at first seems to be about a neglectful father to a child who is grieving the loss his mother. Digging farther in, the story line is so much more complicated and complex. Norton, the ten-year-old son, commits suicide in hopes of being with his mother. With Norton’s father Sheppard being an atheist, Norton was never given the advantage of learning that there could be a different fate for his mother than the one that’s perceived by his father. Therefore, Norton was not able to understand or gain peace of mind of the situation. Sheppard allows doing good and helping other to take presents over the well being of his son. The story serves as a reminder that absence of compassion and the attainment …show more content…

Sheppard is used to represent the misconception of good works alone being sufficient, and Rufus is used to symbolize the evil in the world. The way Rufus carries himself and acts, brings Sheppard to his senses and makes him realize that he has to have compassion for his son. Sheppard then begins loving Norton and giving him the affection and attention that he needs. Sheppard always saw his son Norton as “lame” because he felt that he was incapable of understanding anything to the ability that Sheppard felt necessary. O’Connor is always portraying Sheppard as being lame as well because he is so self-righteous that it gets in the way of his understanding that Norton needs him. When in fact it was Rufus who was actually lame because he had a clubfoot. O’Connor is thus using symbolism and irony together. Something else O’Connor symbolizes in the story is the use of eyes and specific looks. She is suggesting that by looking into someone’s eyes the message of good works or faith can be found. She says in several instances when Sheppard is talking to Norton and when Rufus is talking to Norton about Heaven the dramatic “stares, gazes, and looks” that Norton is getting. Norton tells Rufus that he wants to be a space man when he grows up, that is symbolizing that he feel his mother is somewhere up in space and he wants to find

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