Mary Flannery O’Connor’s short story “Revelation” is an outstanding piece of literature that stimulates reader’s emotions with religious virtues, disillusioned social structure, and of course, a book used as a weapon for physical violence. I thoroughly enjoyed the short story for its humor based nature. I also enjoyed the critical essay “The Prophet in O’Connor’s “Revelation”” by Kathleen Feeley. The essay produces the theory that Mary Grace, a young college student, is a prophet from God that sends a message through battery and book violence to a cynical older woman named Mrs. Turpin. Mrs. Turpin then recognizes Mary Grace as the prophet, and for the rest of the story analyzes the message, “Go back to hell where you came from, you old wart hog.” She then dwells on this message and Feeley says that “her reaction moves from denial to questioning to understanding.” Mrs. Turpin asks the question, “Who do you think you are?”, and God’s revelation answers her back with a vision of a procession towards heaven full of lunatics, freaks and white trash people. The inspiring moment happens when Mrs. Turpin realizes that “respectable” people like her are at the end of the procession. Feeley explains that even the virtues of the white trash people and the lunatics are being burned away as they marched towards heaven.
Kathleen Feeley’s critical essay explored O’Connor’s short story in a deeper spiritual meaning that enhanced my understanding of the great literary piece of work. She introduces the fact that Mary Grace is the prophet that God speaks through to reach out to Mrs. Turpin. This theory highlights the religious theme of the story that speaks volumes. I did not quite interpret the story in a religious nature until the end when Mrs. Turpin experiences the revelation. Feeley explains how Mary Grace is the prophet of revelation when she says, “The prophet is conceived as one through whom God speaks, as through a mouthpiece. Mary Grace, a fat Wellesley student with acne and obvious emotional problems, becomes a prophet of salvation for Ruby Turpin, a middle-aged, complacent matron.” As a reader I believed Mary Grace was just an intelligent young woman that was extremely irritated and frustrated with Mrs. Turpin’s haughty demeanor. Her foul language and ignorant biases would make anyone’s blood boil. Feeley opened my eyes to a different side of the story, one which Mary Grace was compelled to physically harm Mrs. Turpin and utter the revelation not by her own actions, but those that God intended for her to do. Mary Grace was merely a pawn in God’s game to knock Mrs. Turpin off her high horse. Feeley helped me realize that religion played a huge part in making this story mysterious and successful.
Feeley’s best insight in her critical essay explains that, “Natural virtue does as much for fallen men as parlor treatment does for pigs: it does not change their intrinsic nature. Only one thing can change man: his participation in the grace of Redemption.” Feeley’s critical view helped me as a reader understand the story better by incorporating the religious points into her essay. My favorite part of the story and Feeley’s critical essay was when the procession of the souls over the bridge. This holy walkway showed people like Mrs. Turpin at the end of the line behind the white trash people, the freaks, and the lunatics. The bridge procession illustrates a hard but important lesson to learn: You cannot judge a book by its cover.
Great job, Alison.
Comment by wednesdaycomposition — November 18, 2009 @ 9:21 pm