Analysis Of The Displaced Person By Flannery O Connor

Austin is a large, yet still expanding metropolis from the great state of Texas; as many statistics show, with big cities come a considerable following of the homeless population. One of the first things that many people from tourists to new residents notice when entering Austin from I-35 is the homeless camp under the bridge. It’s certainly an eye catching scene, yet almost everyone forgets about it once it’s out of their peripheral vision. I, for one, felt dejected seeing such a somber scenery, yet when upon driving to a new vicinity, I’d forgotten all about it. Maybe it was my own way of coping with the fact that there were people who were and still are in need of help and I couldn’t offer anything substantial to them. Either way, as I’ve learned we can’t help those who doesn’t want to be helped. In this research I’m delving into the causes of homelessness, the reason why it’s so pervasive in large cities such as Austin, and how the gentrification happening in the city isn’t helping.

In “Salvaging the Self from Homelessness”, David Snow and Leon Anderson argue that while people living on the streets have an obvious social or role identity, they sometimes struggle to find their personal identities. A social identity is an identity given to someone by society. If a person sees someone else living on the street, they will most likely be identified as homeless. A personal identity is an identity people assign to themselves to give meaning to who they are. Snow and Anderson continue by studying how homeless people attempt to create a personal identity. They come up with three general ways, distancing, embracement, and fictive storytelling. Distancing simply means trying to avoid actions, places, and people who relate

The poverty-stricken neighborhood sits amid smog, old sky liner buildings, cracked infrastructure, and demoralizing rodent infestations. The region is located where scorching temperatures heat up the ground during the summer, and frigid winters cripple the whole territory. Sleeping under bridges or living in an alley vicinity is horrendous. Every 20 minutes, a homeless veteran is transported to a nearby medical facility, or to the morgue. During 2016, three veterans expired (due to starvation) as they sat slumped over in their wheelchairs.

After calling the police to her rented home ten times within five months, Lakisha Briggs received a letter from the police warning her that if she continued to call, she would have the chronic nuisance ordinance enforced against her and would be evicted from her home. In order to avoid homelessness, she cut ties with her abusive boyfriend Wilbert; however, he continued to go into her home and abuse her. One day Wilbert hit Lakisha in the head with an ashtray and stabbed her in the throat with one of the broken pieces. Lakisha 's neighbor called the police for medical help despite her pleas for the neighbor not to make the call. Although Lakisha’s life had been saved, she was still evicted from her home due to her neighbor’s call. Stories like Lakisha’s have become very common in America, which has led to domestic violence being one of the leading causes of homelessness (Gavin 258-60). Many people in Lakisha’s situation are trapped and find it hard to choose between facing abuse and keeping their homes, or calling the police and being evicted. In most cases people choose the first option, which enables domestic violence to continue. Policies such as chronic nuisance ordinances influence landlords to unjustly evict victims of domestic violence.

The American writer Flannery O’connor is known as a master of the short story for her ability to convey a striking central theme in a short work. Her theme of pride and vanity remains consistent throughout all her works as she reflects on the broken nature of humanity. The quote, “The dragon is by the side of the road, watching those who pass. Beware lest he devour you. We go to the father of souls, but it is necessary to pass by the dragon,” by St. Cyril of Jerusalem also conveys this same message. In order to get to the Lord, an individual must first pass the dragon which represents the temptation of the sins of pride and vanity. In all three of the short stories, “The Displaced Person,” “Good Country People,” and “A Late Encounter with the Enemy,” O’Connor employs a specific character to fight this dragon of pride and vanity in order to warn the reader to beware the temptation.

In O’Connor’s, Good Country People, the quote from St. Cyril of Jerusalem almost fits perfectly. At first, O’Connor leads us to believe that Hulga, the miserable, life-hating daughter is the dragon. She watches life pass by and makes those around her miserable with her pessimistic attitude. But nonetheless, Hulga opens up to the actual dragon: the bible salesman, Manly Pointer. Manly Pointer is a dragon is disguise, as he lures his victims in with his “innocence” and sweet words, just as temptation seems to do. Just as

Many historians argue the injustice and the reason behind it, Robert Shaffer in 1999 made a significant statement in his work of writing that the true reason behind the so called “relocation centers” is indeed “anti-Japanese racism” and not a national security preservation act. The Executive Order did not specify a race nor a gender therefor the Secretary of War was given the freedom to “evacuate” anyone that was considered a security threat or just as noted by Robert Shaffer; anyone of Japanese American ancestry. Many Americans protested the internment and the violation of civil rights; activists such as Rev. Andrews further explained the “robbery” of the Japanese Americans by their own country. Their home betrayed them and stripped away their pride and all they had and all they were (Shaffer, 1988). They faced neither court disposition nor a conviction but rather watched their

Have you ever been to an immense city comparable to Chicago or New York City and seen people sitting on the sidewalk, laying in the park, or even walking down the road with all of their assets in a rusty shopping cart wearing nothing but unwashed grimy scrubs? Some people would think they should just go get a job, others feel compassion for them and desire to help. Most do not know how to so they never get the chance to. Furthermore there is a considerable amount of ways to lend a hand to these dispossessed people in their time of need. More people just need to be aware them.

I recall the first story, to my recollection, I was told as a young boy about my parents coming to America. My mother, Mary O'Connor, described a story about how she had always dreamed of seeing America because she wanted to escape the poverty she faced in her hometown along beside my father, John. Fueled by aspirations, in 1880, they boarded a ship with little to nothing and sailed to this so called promise land that was America. Soon after, they arrived in Boston to which they were immediately met by a swarm of people claiming to have the most pristine property any immigrant could dream to live in. They didn't, but my parents didn't know that. So they bought into the words of the scammers and slowly realized soon after, America wasn't what

No girl would ever imagine being homeless at seventeen years old. Well, Jane Coleman couldn’t wait to get out of her explosive home because being homeless would be much better than having to live with her mother and her boyfriend. Jane’s mother met Mike at a bar down the street in Jersey City, New Jersey. Mike lived with the Coleman family after two months of them dating. After a week, Jane learned Mike was an awful drunk. He got violent, and his eyes seemed as if there were no life in them. Mike started abusing Jane’s mother. Jane tried to tell her mother to leave him, but she couldn’t because they needed his income.

First, the chronically homeless are a very costly population to serve. A large number of

I woke up before the sun did. Sitting up in my bed, I sat motionless for a moment as the dim light of early dawn began to illuminate my room. Finally, I got up, heading over to the sink to get myself a glass of water. After extinguishing my thirst, I took a quick glance out my window, seeing the sun barely showing itself just beyond. It was about time to get ready for work. I grabbed my toolbox and loaded it with a small granola bar and a bottle with a bit of whiskey still left inside. I grabbed my light-gray collared shirt, my overalls, and a pair of ruffled pants. I picked up my black shoes and grabbed my hat off the coat hanger at the door. I turned the doorknob of my room and stepped into the hallway, locking the door behind me. As I headed

Many women become homeless either by choice or fate. Majority being irresponsible and concieve a baby that they can't afford to raise or provide essentials a baby needs. Being homeless is not a suitable environment for a developing child, who needs a lot of room to grow, learn, and play. For example, if there are in a bad neighborhood, that is not safe for a kid to be raised in, especially with gangs in them. Women in poverty should be allowed to get an abortion if in the wrong place in life. Sometimes even pregnancies become complicated and harmful to

Andrew Smith said, “People fear what they don’t understand and hate what they can’t conquer.” This quote is the topic of The Displaced Person by Flannery O’Connor. The story is about a Pole who moves to America and works on Mrs. McIntyre’s land, but people hate him because he doesn’t fit in. At the end, he is killed by Mr. Shortley. I believe that Mr. Guizac is a mockingbird because he has lived a hard life in Poland, he is misunderstood and killed, and he works hard through all of these struggles.

We, as a country, have apologized, however a statement of regret can't fix the wrong that was finished. Or maybe, a statement of regret is an assertion of sense of duty regarding guarantee that the errors of the past never reemerge. Unfortunately, these are unfilled words if there are no activities to back them up; more terrible yet, in the event that our activities as a country repudiate what we say.