Proximity

As evidenced by the many insightful posts that have appeared so far, "The Violent Bear it Away" is loaded with color and character and subtext. One of the elements of this story that stands out for me is proximity.

In the O'Connor stories we've read before, there is the distinction between city and country, and it is very clear, and the divide is wide. In "The Violent Bear it Away," that divide becomes a lot narrower. I don't know if this is due to the proliferation of suburbs or urban sprawl, or if this is even intended to be an issue, but it seems to me that this is the first time we've encountered the city and country in such close proximity.

That said, though the geographical gap is closing, the cultural one is not. When the schoolteacher goes out to the country to reclaim his nephew, he is shot twice. One wonders why he doesn't return with the police. I think this is O'Connor's way of getting the point across that the country is still clinging to its mores, and the schoolteacher understands that--their turf, their rules. (Not to mention the kidnapping that went unacknowledged and the burning down of a farm house that seems as though it happened on another planet for how much attention it drew.)

It does, however, seem that the country is losing its grasp of this autonomy.

Viewed in this context, old Tarwater's repeated attempts to baptize the schoolteacher's son takes on a less literal purpose. Sure, due to Tarwater's beliefs, there is a religious connotation to this infatuation with baptizing the child, but for me it is the perpetuation of the country vs. the city struggle. Tarwater tried to pass on his traditions to the schoolteacher's generation, but he now considers this a lost cause. His goal then becomes to instill these traditions in the next generation.

We see Tarwater becoming more desperate as the story progresses. He knows his time is short, and the only person left to whom he can pass on his values is the younger Tarwater. This gives enormous significance to the legacy he passes on when he dies. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.