Temptation By Flannery O Connor

As individuals live life, there are certain aspects that justify or are the reason for each of our steps. While most of us can’t remember our childhood in totally, it still holds a signification for our overall life. Our first steps, first words, first mistakes, and first lessons are lived in our first moments. For Jackie, he lived through his first change, his first sins and first realization at the age of seven. With the use of characterization and figurative language, O’Connor imputed a humorous tone into giving meaning to life, not only with life in general, but also in terms of religion. Jackie is a young boy living in Cork, Ireland. As seen in the story, he is very his own person and adamant about change, which can be seen with the arrival …show more content…
Accordingly, one of the devices utilized was symbolism, which demonstrated the significance of temptation in the text. As stated by Jackie in the text, a nun provokes the students to place their finger in a candle for the trade of a coin. Money was a temptation for Jackie, as it is for most people. Temptation is a great part in most of the downfalls of individuals’ lives. It is also a great part in religion, which can be seen in the Adam and Eve story. The preceding characters were tempted, then sinned, and finally lived with the consequence. This connected with Jackie’s temptation of not only gaining the coin but also of planning his grandmother’s murder. In terms of religion, these temptations are bad and relate to the devil, as the fire. Jackie was tempted and because of his temptation would feel the burn of the fire, as we are meant to feel the burn in hell when we sin. While this is temptation in terms of religion, when it comes to life, temptation will sometimes cause downfalls that overall are a great aspect to our lives. As humans we must be tempted, we must make mistakes, and we must learn to live with …show more content…
Nora, Jackie’s sister, was a girl who, while in her terms was “angelic” and was not sinner, in the point of view of Jackie she was the antipode. As shown in the text, Nora was not polite to Jackie, and this was understood when Nora called Jackie a “dirty calfer”. Nora’s final statement in “First Confession”, which states “I might just as well be a sinner like you," displays the irony in Nora’s actions. While the irony utilized in terms of Nora is also a connection to the formality of a confession, it is mainly connected to the veracity of a confession. Nora felt that in the eyes of God she was an amicable person because of her belief in confessions, but the reality or “real reason” behind the confessions are their second chance. Overall, figurative language was utilized to show not only the religious ties in “First Confession”, but also the meaning it has behind our values and