Flannery O' Connor's "Greenleaf" Essay

This novel takes place in the South in the 1930s, a time and place where racial prejudice is very strong. Mayella is a poor white woman, but her race gives her power to manipulate Tom Robinson, since he is a negro. Her word is given precedence over Tom Robinson’s in court simply because of her skin color. In this time period, women,

Mrs. May views Mrs. Greenleaf, the wife of her hand around the farm, as one of the lowest members of society. Mrs. May not only sees her as less of a woman than she is, but is resentful of the manner in which she lives her life. From Mrs. May’s first introduction to the woman of the Greenleaf family, when Mrs. Greenleaf and her five daughters pulled up to her farm in a “pieced-together truck” (26), she has resented the mangy manner in that the Greenleaf woman, lead by Mrs. Greenleaf, live their life. Because they do not necessarily care about being the stately woman Mrs. May thinks they should be, Mrs. May views them as less than her and not as true woman. Further, Mrs. May has an incident when she runs into Mrs. Greenleaf observing her religious practices in the woods. This involved Mrs. Greenleaf, after she cut out horrible stories from newspapers digging a hole in the woods, burying them and falling to the group and moaning for an hour or so. Mrs. May describes the experience as Mrs. Greenleaf, “moving her huge arms back and

Fitzgerald, Sally. “On Faith.” Letters of Flannery O’ Connor, The Habit of Being, edited by Sally Fitzgerald, Macmillan, 1988, page 90.

Flannery O’Connor was an American author who often wrote about characters who face violent situations. These situations force the characters into a moment of crisis that awakens or alters their fate. Her short stories reflect her Roman Catholic faith and frequently discuss questions of morality and ethics. O’Connor’s Catholic upbringing influenced most of her short stories, often accumulating criticism because of her harsh portrayal of religion. O’Connor incorporates the experience of a moment of grace in her short stories to contribute to the meaning of her works and to represent her faith.

Newland fears that May wont be able to see any of the world even if she opens her eyes. Just like the cavefish isn’t able to see after living in darkness for years, May might not be able to see after living in the shadow of society. Newland is attempting to draw May away from her innocent personality and open her eyes to the world. He fears that May will end up like a copy of her mother, who perfectly portrays the role of a wife in society. Newland wants more out of May, not just the perfect housewife.

Religion is a big influence in Flannery O 'Connor 's writing. “The Life You Save May Be Your Own” stresses the idea of good and evil. This can also be viewed at the evil in Christ. The story is set in the early 1900s. “The Life You Save May Be Your Own” begins with a woman and her disabled daughter sitting on their porch and she notices a man walking towards their home. The man, Mr. Shiftlet, sees an old car that he wants. The old woman, Lucynell, is also craving something and takes the opportunity to achieve it. By her use of symbols, imagery, and irony, she reveals that there is corruption within Christ.

Flannery O’Connor believed in the power of religion to give new purpose to life. She saw the fall of the old world, felt the force and presence of God, and her allegorical fictions often portray characters who discover themselves transforming to the Catholic mind. Though her literature does not preach, she uses subtle, thematic undertones and it is apparent that as her characters struggle through violence and pain, divine grace is thrown at them. In her story “Revelation,” the protagonist, Mrs. Turpin, acts sanctimoniously, but ironically the virtue that gives her eminence is what brings about her downfall. Mrs. Turpin’s veneer of so called good behavior fails to fill the void that would bring her to heaven. Grace hits her with force and

This perfection is what leads Newland to want to marry her as she represents everything the society imagines as a wife. However, like a goddess, this type of perfection is idealistic and Newland is left in a situation where he will never compare to May. May is portrayed as the symbol of perfection in the society because Wharton wants to demonstrate that even when she pushes her plans to fruition at the end of the novel, she is still seen as an upstanding member of society with her image completely untarnished. Society looks at May like an object that they admire from afar, their perception of her unchanging as they do not look close enough at her as a person.

Mayella Ewell was a 19 year old girl who carried the weight of her own family. With a father who drinks up the money received from the government and a mother who died when Mayella was just a young girl; life was not easy for her. The Ewell family was known for farming and living right by the towns dump. Everything Mayella knew was taught by self experience. Mayella was a victim of abuse from both her family and society, however that still does cover that she was a true villain in the end.

O’Connor borrowed these characteristics from her life and used them in the complex characters she would later create. Her Catholic faith is another point that drove O’Connor’s writing, especially given that she grew up in a Protestant-majority region. “Flannery O'Connor put much conscious thought into her dual role of Catholic and fiction writer” (Galloway). Her devout faith plays a huge role in her writing, as most of her characters grapple with salvation and grace. O’Connor’s influences in life were so powerful, they became the same topics that impacted her philosophy in writing.

The writing of Flannery O'Connor includes clever story lines, plot twists, and dark humor to convey her ideas on religion. O'Connor was a devout Catholic who loved her faith although she occasionally had disagreements with the church. The archbishop of San Fransisco once said in his essays, "She valued the church highly and observed it acutely, warts and

O'Connor's typical use of violence and humor in her literary work broadens the characterization of the grandmother and the misfit throughout her story. She uses these elements in an effort to establish the characterization of her two main characters through the many

O'Connor, Flannery (2008) [Originally published 1983]. Zuber, Leo; Martin, Carter W., eds. The Presence of Grace, and Other Book Reviews. University of Georgia

Mrs. May is continually comparing herself and her family to her work hand Mr. Greenleaf, and his family. At first reading the story, one could believe that Mrs. May is a widow trying to manage a rundown farm so she can provide for her family. She is in her eyes plagued by lazy, low class help and two boys that do not care about her or the farm. The reader might feel the slightest of sympathy for Mrs. May because, from her view point she is carrying the entire workload and worries alone.

They partake in a war revolving around the ideals of Christianity and the existence of God and morality, however it is entirely filled with hypocrisy. O’Conner’s belief of a single gesture is proven to be true when Rufus tears a page of the Bible and eats it, and act that would typically to be considered sacrilegious, in order to show his faith in God and/or Jesus. O'Connor believes that people that are liberal and atheistic are wrong and egotistical. O’Connor also shows that conservatives and people that are religious can be hypocritical and egotistical. I believe that she thinks that naturally people are inclined towards religion and that people by nature are hypocrites even if they do not try to