Review Of O Conner - 1350 Words

Although we read multiple stories by Flannery O’Conner, there are many similar qualities in the works. O’Conner pays special attention to the realistic detail and finds the truth that lies beneath the surface of language and self image. She often uses violence that shocks the reader to uncover this truth. Although different in each work, she is able to incorporate a moment of grace in A Good Man is Hard to Find, Good Country People, and Everything That Rises Must Converge. O Connor consistently produced fiction having an implicit, if not a totally explicit, religious world view as an integral element of each work. Even though O Connor was, according to all available evidence, a devout Catholic, she did not let her religious conservatism†¦show more content†¦At one point during the drive, the grandmother accidentally kicked her feet, which startled the cat and caused Bailey – the driver – to lose control of the car and they end up in a ditch. The c ar that stopped to help the family ended up being The Misfit and two other men. These two men take John Wesley and Bailey into the forest where they end up shooting them. When they come back to the car they take June Star, the children’s mother, and the baby and kill all of them as well. The grandmother pleads for her life – although she never once asked for her family to be saved. After The Misfit and the grandmother talk about Jesus and religion, the grandmother claims that he is â€Å"one of her own children† (433) and then he shoots her in the chest three times. At the end, The Misfit says the grandmother could have been a good woman if there was always someone there to shoot her and then claims that life has no true pleasure. Throughout this story, there is a theme of the unlikely recipients of grace. Despite their sins and flaws, both the grandmother and The Misfit receive grace in the end. The grandmother believes she is morally superior and that she ca n judge other people. She lies, she manipulates, and she does not have any self-awareness. She tells The Misfit to pray yet she herself cannot formulate her own prayer. The Misfit does not seem like he deserves grace, as he is an unrepentant murderer. However, as unlikely as it is,