Wednesday, December 3, 2008

The life you save

The idea of grace is a theme we see often in O'Connor's works, and yet in this peace it is more subtle in that our character is rejecting grace, and yet we also empathize with his decisions. Like many of her protagonists Mr. Shiftlet is confronted with his sin, and this moment provides out climax. In the case of "The Lame Shall Enter First" we have our climax about a page from the end, as to provide a proper resolution, same with "The River" But here in "T.L.Y.S.M.B.Y.O." the climax is at the very end, much like "The Artificial Nigger" and leaves the main character with a choice to change and accept grace or to choose their life of pride.

I have noticed that although each of O'Connor's pieces are very different and her characters are diverse, that her themes seem to almost run together, and are very Catholic-centric. Especially because her setting is extremely protestant in culture, I wonder if she is trying to convey that her "truth" prevails, and that God will speak to anyone in any situation?

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