As we know about many Southerners, the social class segregation was intense and those who believed that they were in a more prominent social position in the society treated the minority groups with unhuman nor respect. Flannery O’Connor is one of the numerous writers who have influenced the treatment of the minority groups in her society. In addition, O’Connor brings to life the way people continue to abuse religion as a tool for show the negative treatment of “others” in the society. Mrs. Turpin like many other white privileged persons in the old South, reveal hasher contempt and disgust for those who were such a closet intellectual. These haughty Southerners would use Christianity to justify the limited nature of their kindness towards the negative treatment of “others” in the society, which is absolutely wrong. In “Revelation, Flannery O’Connor uses the character of Mrs. Turpin to show the elements of social criticism as a vicious cycle of the ways in people use religion to justify their arrogance, hypocrisy, prejudice, and insincerity towards the minority and less fortunate in the society.
“Revelation", as I found, is one of the final three stories that the Flannery O’Connor wrote before her death in 1964. We can see on most of her fans reviews that her earlier stories contained a strong presence of religion as the content of her stories gave a subtle hint to her Catholic beliefs and background. But, the last three pieces of O’Connor’s work reflected a strong religious context which dominates her works. The plot in "Revelation" gives me the feeling that the author had become fearful that her position in life was slowly coming to an end like she does not want to leave the readers with any doubts as to her Christian beliefs and concerns.
William Lisenbee suggests that the “social and cultural values in the South determine meaning in Flannery O’Connor’s fiction” (Lisenbee 1),which examines the hypocrisy and that exists under the Christian disguise as “Christianity is the predominant religion in the South” (Lisenbee 1) The plot of this short story, as I understand, shows the arrogance of people and the way that persons use religions to support their arrogance is clearly a representation of the Old South and the segregation that existed in the old society. The story revolves around two different groups of persons waiting to see the doctor. Mrs. Turpin, the main speaker in the group, is clearly religious, but her arrogance detracts from her ability to embody the true meaning of the ethics of high society. Her arrogance is clear as her self-importance overrides her true values and her belief in Christ.
O’Connor’s point is clear as she reveals that the self-righteous in the society are not always accurate in their judgment and neither are these persons morally just in their thoughts and actions as the final revelation in the story shows the reversal of the roles of the people in the society and their ascension into heaven. Mrs. Turpin reveals that those she classified as having a higher social standing came last in the line of people going to heaven. This clearly shows that moral values and Christian principles are not determined by social class. She also left us to draw conclusions as to whether Mrs. Turpin actions and thoughts maintain a Christian foundation or is she simply such a bad and manipulative old woman who is bound by the highest level of prejudice against the black and poor people in the society. O’Connor shows Mrs. Turpin’s major flaw throughout the story eves as she describes the young girl with the acne as ugly (O’Connor 4) and the “vacant and white-trashy” (O’Connor 4) old lady. Mrs. Turpin takes great pleasure in her personal sense of decency and respectability and cannot see that her actions are illusion and far away from what is truly religious. She places each member of the room into “proper categories” by using different categories from her shallow thinking that defines the way she sees the world. Her arrogance that makes her based on the fact that the different classes of persons in the room are from different classes in the society.
On the other hand, Mr. Turpin does not see behind the outward appearances of the people who are waiting to see the doctor. In fact, she does not believe that doctor who has no understanding of how a rich doctor who charged as much as five dollars a day for a limited amount of work “couldn't afford a decent-sized waiting room” (O’Connor 3). Arguably, Mrs. Turpin believes that she is above everyone else and bristles at the fact that the waiting room isfilled with person who she sees as inferior. These thoughts stem from her belief in social class segregation as she is a land owner who owns her home and that anyone who did not fit this mold was beneath her social standing. The story continues to show the insincerity and hypocrisy of the “protagonist”, but the haughty tone of Mrs. Turpin shift significantly as Mary Grace reads her expressions and strikes out against Mrs. Turpin’s and asks: "What have you got to say to me” (O’Connor 21). She continues with her tirade and tells Mrs. Turpin to: "Go back to hell where you came from, you old wart hog" (O’Connor 21). The response takes Mrs. Turpin by surprise and she is shaken by the force of the words and the implications of what the child means. But, one cannot truly identify with Mrs. Turpin as she constantly mocking the “niggers” and gives almost everyone in the room condescending stares.
Interestingly, all of those remarks only add to the high level of hypocrisy and insincerity that shows that Mrs. Turpin truly believes that she is God's greatest treasure in creation. Most of her hypocritical thoughts are unsupported as she has no real facts or convictions to support her thoughts. As such, she maintains a false appearance of goodness and virtue as she boasts of her goodness in giving back to the society. Conversely, Mary Grace’s words strike a deep effect for Mrs. Turpin and she goes home thinking about these words. She attempts to gain the sympathy of the black workers who she had belittled while waiting at the doctor’s office when she pointed out: "I sure am tired of buttering up niggers” (O’Connor 18) but she must be kind to them is they are to be loyal to her. But the blacks also reveal that they can be hypocrites when they flatter Mrs. Turpin and threaten to kill Mary Grace.
The story is an excellent example of the insincerity and the hypocrisy that exists in the society and the way in which people hide behind Christianity when they are prejudiced towards others in the society. Mrs. Turpin, who I really I hate, thinks that she is good and represents a good Christian minded person, but in fact her inner thoughts are a reminder of the cruelty that humans are capable of possessing. She is swift to judge others based on their outwards appearances but cannot the thought that a child has seen through her facade and tells her that she must go back to hell. Clearly, O’Connor attempts to show the readers that persons who possess such thoughts are ungodly and should not have a place in the society. In the end, Mrs. Turpin faces the revelation that despite the color and class of the person, there is a place for these people in heaven. She sees the flash of light revealing the stairway to heaven and recognizes that God does no divide his people because of the color of their skin or the fact that they are poor and Mrs. Turpin then understands that despite her social class, in the end she will be stripped of her earthly possessions because people are equal in God’s sight.
Works Cited
Lisenbee, William J., "The Crossroads of Eternality and Southern Distortion: An Analysis of Flannery O'Connor's Fiction" (2010). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 320. Web 29 Mar 2016 < http://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/320/>
O’Connor, Flannery. "Revelation." Everything That Rises Must Converge. May 2004. Web. <http://producer.csi.edu/cdraney/archive-courses/summer06/engl278/e-texts/oconner_revelation.pdf>.
