Flannery O’Connor writes with an infusion of Christian beliefs mixed with a horrific humor in order to show the reader, through literary example, why one should examine him/herself more acutely. In general, John R. May summarized O’Connor’s goal in his piece “The Parable of Flannery O’Connor” as her “power of language to interpret its listener rather than through its need to be interpreted by him”(28). Among her numerous works, one highly emotional story uses a jarringly violent episode in the life of a self-acclaimed “respectable, hard-working, church-going woman”(O’Connor 19) as such an example. O’Connor also wishes to acknowledge the human’s unconscious ability to rank others in a social ladder. Titled “Revelation,” this tale attempts to increase the awareness of a tendency to judge others by physical appearance, material possessions, and societal beliefs.
While Mrs. Turpin in conversing with a young woman’s mother in the doctor’s waiting room, Mary Grace (the daughter) abruptly hurls a book titled Human Development at Mrs. Turpin then proceeds to attempt to choke her. Surprisingly, what upsets Mrs. Turpin most and forces her to examine herself is not the slightly comical violence, but the statement Mary Grace viciously hisses at her:”Go back to hell where you came from, you old wart hog”(O’Connor 18). This statement flung at Mrs. Turpin causes her to question God and herself “through the tortures of a self-righteous Job”(May 29). Then, with an almost spiritual vision, Mrs. Turpin realizes that no matter their virtues, everyone is saved by the grace of God and not their earthly deeds.
First of all, O’Connor emphasizes the appearance of a copious amount of judging and ranking in her story “Revelation” through the main character Mrs. Turpin. As Mrs. Turpin enters the small waiting room with her husband Claud, she immediately notices and labels everyone in the room. In order she categorizes an “idle”young boy of 5 or 6, a man pretending to be asleep, a “well-dressed grey-haired lady” whom she “agreeably” gazes at, a “fat…ugly” girl of 18 or 19, a “thin-leathery woman” in a dress the same print of a sack of chicken feed Mrs. Turpin owned, and a “vacant and white-trashy” lank-faced woman(O’Connor 14-15). The only one Mrs. Turpin feels is worthy enough to start a conversation with is a stylish lady. This example of immediately judging others and deeming which ones are acceptable to talk to, is O’Connor’s way of showing a day-to-day situation a person can relate to and reflect upon. It seems as if she is asking the reader if he/she coldly determines a person’s worth by how they appear.
Next, O’Connor relays some of the ways Mrs. Turpin entertains herself to show how judging others can be an innate characteristic. Shockingly, in each instance Mrs. Turpin is in essence ranking the other members of society in a hierarchy of material possessions. For example, in order to occupy herself Mrs. Turpin would name the classes of people. For her the bottom consisted of “most colored people, not the kind she would have been if she had been one;” close above them came the “white-trash;” then there were the home-owners; then the “home-and-land owners,” to which she belonged; and all above her own caste became difficult to distinguish. This shows Mrs. Turpin’s lack of desire to admit to others being better than herself. Here, O’Connor uses this evidence of judging/ranking to question whether or not a person likes to admit that there are others better than himself/herself.
Another enlightening moment is when Mrs. Turpin further discloses her strong materialistic theology. In her personal rankings, Mrs. Turpin has placed her husband and herself teetering near the top. In agreement with May, Mrs. Turpin also shows her sense of dependence by thinking “that you had to have certain things before you could know certain things.”(O’Connor 16). This was in response to the “white-trash woman” and her opinion on hogs and blacks. Again O’Connor challenges the reader. This time she causes him/her to consider whether or not they personally equate material possessions with intellect.
Moreover, O’Connor also reveals an internal dialogue between Mrs. Turpin and her own religious ideal. While gossiping with the stylish lady, Mrs. Turpin exclaims how she is so grateful for being who she is. She is especially grateful when she considers all of the other alternatives such as “a nigger or white-trash or ugly”(O’Connor 17) and how God did not make her one of those. Should a person not be grateful to be who they are regardless? O’Connor is telling the reader of her story that Mrs. Turpin is wrong. The discordance of being grateful to not be someone else one considers to be lower than themself does not coincide with giving thanks to the Lord for what that individual has. Being thankful for what a person has is one matter, yet when they are appreciative for being placed in a higher social class than someone else is when they begin to lose all sense of genuine humility. This moment also gives the reader an opportunity to recognize such a shortcoming in themselves.
All through out the story there is an underlying sense of racism. By using a term that is highly controversial in many areas of the United States, O’Connor is pulling a honest response from the reader. Usually people react differently when confronted with such a term as “nigger”(O’Connor 17). In turn, their reaction can reflect upon the way that individual was raised and/or their opinions on such subjects. Another example is the absence of any conversation in the waiting room when a “tall, very black boy”(O’Connor 16) enters the room. It is slightly odd that all speech ceases with his entrance. The atmosphere contained within the office area is tense and a physical metaphor of how the intrusion of color can increase emotions and an ability to ignore such a subject. Although it is not the main issue, O’Connor’s introduction of racism heightens the emotions of the story in order to make the reader more aware of the social classifications and the rankings made by Mrs. Turpin.
In the end, the “revelation” achieved by Mrs. Turpin comes in the form of a visionary message. While going through her self-pitying stage in an attempt to make sense of the young Mary Grace’s muttering, Mrs. Turpin views a “vast horde of souls…rumbling toward heaven”(O’Connor 21). Eventhough there is still a hierarchy to the arrangement of souls in her vision, with the “white-trash” then the “niggers” and lastly a “tribe of people whom she recognized at once as those” who were like her forming the ladder, she saw that “even their virtues were being burned away”(O’Connor 21). This moment is when Mrs. Turpin realizes that she will not be saved by virtues, but by the grace of God. According to May, Mrs. Turpin “truly believes now that the first will be last and the last first”(May 30). The conclusion of O’Connor’s story attempts to remind the reader of how the end will be. There is almost a cautionary tone from O’Connor as a warning that those who judge now will be judged by God, the ultimate judge.
The point of “Revelation” is not to show Mrs. Ruby Turpin’s personal revelation, but to show others by example the need to examine themselves more accurately. By adding such a tentative issue as race, O’Connor sets up an emotionally charged story in order to show a human tendency to compare others with themselves. Also, O’Connor utilizes numerous opportunities to recognize such instinctual habits, whether for good or bad, in all human’s. However, the story “Revelation” can not be analyzed and categorized into specific themes and meanings. O’Connor’s tale should be taken as a whole and seen as an attempt to force the readers into identifying such characteristics in their own lives.
