Revelation by Flannery O'Connor
Ruby Turpin measures all things and sees all people by assuming the role of God and placing people into her own caste system. Before going to bed at night, instead of saying her prayers she, she assumes this role. On page 491, we see Mrs. Turpin admitting that "sometimes [she] occupied herself at night naming the classes of people." She goes on to identify the classes as she sees them. After she neatly places everyone in their caste, her mind then begins to think on the true complexity of the situation, i.e., colored dentists, common folk with more money and land than she, "decent" people who had lost their money, etc, and her mind sort of jumbles and forgets about all that unpleasantness. Mrs. Turpin also views herself as a devout Christian, as is evidenced by several passages throughout the text. And in one mental conversation with herself, on page 491, she reflects on what status she would have chosen to be if she had had a choice. By the word choice that she has Jesus use in this mental dialogue, "You can either be a nigger or white trash", I understand that Mrs. Turpin feels as though her classifications are OK with God. The doctor's office, in which a majority of the story takes place
in, is a mirror of the society that Mrs. Turpin lives in. In it we see all walks of life. There is the other "lady" and her ugly daughter, common folk, poor white trash, and the black folk, and it is here that Mrs. Turpin's world is wrecked. We see the interactions between all of these people take place. Mrs. Turpin and the other lady make small talk and often find themselves in unspoken agreement, which cab be seen on page 494. The two "ladies" are discussing the "nigger's work habits" and day to day life, when the white trash woman offers her view, "the look that Mrs. Turpin and the pleasant lady exchange indicated they both understood that you have to have certain things before you could know certain things." They were sisters of the same philosophy so to speak. Mrs. Turpin has noticed that the 'ugly' girl has been particularly hostile to her during the wait in the office. In fact, almost every time Mrs. Turpin speaks the looks from the girl become more and more menacing. The exchanges between the members of the group are filled with racial slurs, and Mrs. Turpin announces her gratitude towards Jesus for making her the way she is. With every word and every menacing glare from the 'ugly daughter' it is almost predictable that she will soon be toppling from her righteous perch. She is
Some common words found in the essay are:
OK God, Ruby Turpin, God O'Connor, white trash, poor white trash, ruby turpin, righteous perch, page 491, 'ugly' girl, common folk, nature human, wart hog, poor white,
Approximate Word count = 879
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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