A major theme in “A Good Man is Hard to Find” is religion and how religion relates to moral obligation. This theme is woven throughout the short story “The Displaced Person” in terms of the priest. The priest is a symbol for Christianity. He is first introduced as a “long-legged black-suited old man with a white hat on and a collar that he wore backwards” (208). He was the one who arranged for the “Displaced people” to come work for Mrs. McIntyre. At first, a good light is shed on him because Mrs. McIntyre is so thankful for the displaced person and all the work he does. Later, when Mrs. McIntyre realizes that the displaced people are “lie rats with typhoid fleas” (210), a poor light is shed on the priest who brought them there. At first, when the displaced people are good, religion is good. But when the displaced people become bad, religion is bad. It is clear from the title that O'Connor thinks there are very few good people in the world but what is not as clear is what she defines as a good person. Do you think that religion is directly connected to being “good” and “moral”? Why do you think the portrayal of the Priest changed throughout the story? Do you think that Flannery O’Connor wants the reader to see Christianity as a good or bad thing?
I agree, religion seems to be a focus in the Displaced Person. But I think the change in how religion is viewed as the story progresses is related to how the characters' view it. Like Sadie said, the priest and his preachings don't seem to bad before the D.P. arrives, when Mrs. Shortley is pals with Mrs. McIntyre, and when the "balance" of the place is normal in everyone's eyes. When this balance is upset, the priest seems to be pushing religion upon Mrs. McIntyre, and Mrs. Shortley has her "Prophecies" or strokes and begins reading the bible more. I think Flannery O'Connor is trying to show that the characters turn to religion when they notice that something is not right. I also think that the relationship between what is good/moral and religion is connected to the priest and his teachings. If our views of religion throughout the book change with the D.P., and the D.P. becomes less good in Mrs. McIntyre's eyes, then it seems that Religion becomes less moral to the characters as time goes on.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite things about the priest is how, at the end, he is seen as a punishment (or at least that was my interpretation). As Mrs. McIntyre's health is trudging its way through the end of her life, the priest is the only one who comes to visit her, but only second to the peacock. Mrs. McIntyre even gets agitated with the priest when the displaced person is still at her farm. Mrs. McIntyre, as well as many other people on the farm, believe that he is going to try and get her to join his congregation and get her to contribute money because his intentions could never be pure. However, as Jo said, this is contrary to the way religion is seen throughout the rest of the story. When the displaced people come, the characters begin to look to religion as a way to make themselves seem like a better, Christian person than these people who come from a bad country, probably bringing their bad ways with them. They believe that since they are Christian and have put their faith in God, then they are superior to the displaced people whose religion hasn't advanced in hundreds of years.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that Flannery O'Connor is intending to portray religion as either a good or evil thing but instead is suggesting that people's practice of religion or use of religion as a scapegoat for their problems is a bad thing and reflects a lack of morality in the South. Mrs. Shortley's misguided view of Europe as "mysterious and evil, the devil's experiment station" (222) shows that she sees the devil in everything bad even though she does not see the grace of God in everything good because she is only faithful when it is convenient for her or serves her needs. Mrs. Shortley "had never felt that religion was essentially for those people who didn't have the brains to avoid evil without it" (220), which shows that she truly only uses religion for selfish reasons. I agree with Anna's comment about the preist being Mrs. McIntyre's punishment of sorts but in some ways I disagree with Sadie about him being a symbol of Christianity. I rather think the priest represents the imperfect practice of Christianity in the South and the perversion of its tenants of compassion and forgiveness. The priest is in reality focused on his salvation and Mrs. McIntyre's and not the fates of the displaced people who merely are treated with pity and used to absolve any of the priest's guilt.
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