Revelation

1. Revelation By: Flannery O’Connor

2. About the author… Born in Savannah, Georgia in the year 1964, Flannery O’Connor was an only child to her Catholic parents. At the age of 13, her father became sick from lupus (an incurable blood disease) and the O’Connor family moved to Milledgeville, Georgia. However, in 1941, Flannery’s father died from his disease and this devastated Flannery. Little was it known that lupus was a hereditary disease that Flannery would soon be diagnosed with. One year from the death of her father, Flannery graduated from high school and transitioned into Georgia State College for Women; here she wrote many stories for the literary magazine until she graduated. O’Connor was soon granted a fellowship to the Writer’s Workshop at the University of Iowa where she worked diligently to produce her first story, Accent, as well as earn a master of fine arts degree. Her stories dovetailed life in the rural South with her Catholic beliefs. She later moved to New York at the age of 22 but in 1950, O’Connor was diagnosed with lupus, the same disease that killed her father. She soon moved back to Georgia where she could be treated and permanently lived on her mother’s residence located on a farm in Milledgeville. From then on, O’Connor was successful with writing short stories and even raising peacocks. Fighting lupus for fourteen years, Flannery O’Connor died in 1964 at the age of 39. Throughout her short life, O’Connor wrote a total of 32 short stories and two novels, Wise Blood and The Violent Bear it Away.

3. "Whenever I’m asked why Southern writers particularly have a penchant for writing about freaks, I say it is because we are still able to recognize one." –Flannery O’Connor

4. Literary Terms: • allegory -- the literal content or story of a work that stands for abstract ideas, suggesting a parallel, deeper, symbolic sense; an extended metaphor; story which represents an idea or belief; can be religious or political. • point of view -- perspective in which something is observed or related: first person, second person, third person • dialogue -- verbal exchange between two or more characters • setting -- time, location, and otherwise atmosphere in which a story takes place; initiates the main backdrop and mood for a story • characterization --development of characters in a narrative • climax -- the decisive moment; turning point; point of highest tension or drama

5. Selected Quotes: If Jesus had said to her before he made her, “There’s only two places available for you. You can either be a nigger or white-trash...” (378). “...you had to have certain things before you could know certain things” (380). “He had made her herself and given her a little of everything. Jesus, thank you!” (382).   “Go back to hell where you came from, you old wart hog” (385). “...but what she heard were the voices of the souls climbing upward into the starry field and shouting hallelujah” (390).

6. Pick 3 of the 7 questions to answer. 1. Is the title, Revelation, appropriate for this story? In what way? 2. Do you think that Mrs. Turpin’s actions and behavior towards her husband define her own character? Explain. 3. Why does Mary Grace attack Mrs. Turpin in the doctor’s office? 4. How does the background gospel music on the radio contribute to this story? Explain your reasoning. 5. What points of view are utilized? Why does this add to the context of the story? How could the story be different if other points of view were used? 6.Where does the climax in this story occur? Why do you think so? 7. What importance do Claud and the other patients in the office have, excluding Mary Grace, her mother, and Mrs. Turpin?