Analysis of the Use Of The Eyes in Revelation Essay

Eng 1123 8B

15 September 2011

Essay # 1

Analysis of OConnors Use of the Eyes as Symbolism in Revelation.

The short story, Revelation by Flannery OConnor, describes the revealing of a persons true character. Mrs. Turpin, the main character, believes she is a good and Godly woman. She has determined the characteristic necessary to enter into heaven, and the type of people with those characteristics. Mrs. Turpin is taken on a journey through self-discovery, beginning in the waiting room of a doctors office. It is said that the eyes are the window to the soul, and in the Revelation, the eyes of the young girl convey judgment on the life of a woman who thinks she does not deserve to be judged.

The reader is immediately introduced to the character of Mary Grace, a young girl in the doctors waiting room. Mary Graces eyes act as a window into Mrs. Turpins soul. OConnor compares the girls eyes to road signs, saying that Mary Graces eyes seemed lit all of a sudden with a peculiar light, an unnatural light like night road signs give (239)." This comparison symbolizes being directed or guided, as Mrs. Turpin is being guided to determine the true state of her soul. This is illustrated by Mrs. Turpin looking in the direction of the girls gaze, as if directed to do so.

Mrs. Turpin is adamant that she is a good person. She states multiple times throughout the story that she is not white trash and is not a Negro (239). Mrs. Turpin describes what she thinks about herself on page 244, saying that she is, grateful. She claims to have a good disposition and to be grateful for Jesus placing her in the class she deems worthy, and not as white trash or a Negro. Mary Grace becomes angry listening to Mrs. Turpin, and this anger is displayed in her eyes. This anger is not truly from the girl, but is representative of the way God feels when we are proud and boastful.

Mrs. Turpins true character is revealed to her when Mary Grace attacks her in the waiting room. While Mary Grace is being subdued, Mrs. Turpin asks if she has anything to say. Mary Grace looks at her and whispers, "Go back to hell where you came from, you old wart hog (244)." The girls eyes burned for a moment as if she saw with pleasure that her message had struck its target (245). OConnor then describes the girls eyes as a lighter shade of blue as if light had been allowed in (244). The reference to light being allowed in represents light being shed on a situation to bring truth to the darkness. When the light is turned on, Mrs. Turpin is convicted with questioning of her true character.

As Mrs. Turpin and Claud, her husband, return to their property, she eyes the land suspiciously (245). She would not have been surprised to find their house burned to the ground. Her entire world had been shaken, and she did not know if anything would survive it. The eyes of the girl in the waiting room had revealed the burnt contents of her soul. Mrs. Turpin continues to return to when Mary Grace called her a wart hog from hell. She feels unjustly accused, as she was not the worst person in that waiting room. She is still not sure why she was singled out, and her eyes burn with tears and wrath (249). While her shortcomings were being brought to her attention through the girls eyes, Mrs. Turpin was not yet sold on the truth of the revelation. It is not until she spends time with the hogs on her farm that she realizes what Mary Graces eyes were trying to reveal. As Mrs. Turpin is standing in the pig parlor, a visionary light [settles] in her eyes (249). She sees that all of the people she judges, including white trash and Negros, are on their way to heaven. They are clean and dressed in white (249). Mrs. Turpin finally accepts what the girls eyes were attempting to communicate. She feels convicted of being judgmental and presumptuous on who deserves to have a good life on earth, and who deserves to go to heaven. After the revelation, her eyes become small but fixed unblinkingly on what lay ahead (250). She does not know how to proceed without her previous way of thinking. She is unsure of what lies ahead with this new found conviction.

Mrs. Turpin is guided through a path of revelation, symbolized by the eyes, or windows to the soul. Since her soul is being convicted, the eyes are the perfect channel to reach it. Mary Graces eyes symbolize dislike, judgment, and hate, which mirror Mrs. Turpins character and soul prior to the revelation. Post revelation, the woman understands that all people are seen equally in Gods eyes. The revelation brought on by Mary Graces eyes changed Mrs. Turpins view of herself. The eyes in Revelation symbolize the conviction and condemnation of all things seen as unholy by God.

Works Cited

OConnor, Flannery. Revelation. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Ed. X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 4th Compact ed. New York: Longman, 2005. 237-250.