In many of Flannery O’Connor’s stories, she often gives the reader a wake-up call through a violent action. This wake-up call to the reader is comparable to Mrs. Turpin in “Revelation.” In Flannery O’Connor’s “Revelation” one can notice that the protagonist is a very self-centered, judgmental person. Mrs. Turpin judges people for their clothing and treats them how she thinks they should be treated. She is finally attacked and insulted for her actions and this causes her to have an epiphany. In the next to last paragraph, Mrs. Turpin is questioning God and finally answers her own question for God’s reasoning. The answer to her question is the “abysmal life-giving knowledge” (O’Connor 398). This information allows Mrs. Turpin to accept her mistakes.
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Turpin raises her head at the sky, she sees “a purple streak” (O’Connor 398). The way that she perceived this streak was a bridge from the earth to the sky. On this bridge she witnessed numerous souls climbing into heaven. The information that Mrs. Turpin finds as abysmal is the order of the souls by their social classes. Leading the way “were whole companies of white-trash, clean for the first time in their lives, and bands of black niggers in white robes…” (O’Connor 398). Mrs. Turpin finds this disgusting and unfair to her, as she is above them in class. O’Connor writes, “…bringing us the end of the procession was a tribe of people whom she recognized at once as those who, like herself and Claud, had always had a little of everything and the God-given wit to use it right” (398). The revelation that Mrs. Turpin experienced was a lesson from God that she needed according to him. God was getting his point across of how "… the last will be first, and the first will be last" (New International Version, Matt. 20. 16.). The lesson that Mrs. Turpin received was difficult to comprehend. She lived her life believing that she was a good lady who should go to heaven because she sinned less than another person.
The fact that the information was soul-changing for Mrs. Turpin makes it abysmal. It was something that left her immobile and paralyzed with shock. This information is also life-giving because it gives hope to people of lower classes. According to O’Connor’s lesson in “Revelation,” all men are created equal. Mrs. Turpin had an epiphany over this and will most likely live her life differently from this day forward.
In conclusion, O’Connor informed the readers of how all men are equal. This ties with the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence, and is a statement that is still relevant
Turpin raises her head at the sky, she sees “a purple streak” (O’Connor 398). The way that she perceived this streak was a bridge from the earth to the sky. On this bridge she witnessed numerous souls climbing into heaven. The information that Mrs. Turpin finds as abysmal is the order of the souls by their social classes. Leading the way “were whole companies of white-trash, clean for the first time in their lives, and bands of black niggers in white robes…” (O’Connor 398). Mrs. Turpin finds this disgusting and unfair to her, as she is above them in class. O’Connor writes, “…bringing us the end of the procession was a tribe of people whom she recognized at once as those who, like herself and Claud, had always had a little of everything and the God-given wit to use it right” (398). The revelation that Mrs. Turpin experienced was a lesson from God that she needed according to him. God was getting his point across of how "… the last will be first, and the first will be last" (New International Version, Matt. 20. 16.). The lesson that Mrs. Turpin received was difficult to comprehend. She lived her life believing that she was a good lady who should go to heaven because she sinned less than another person.
The fact that the information was soul-changing for Mrs. Turpin makes it abysmal. It was something that left her immobile and paralyzed with shock. This information is also life-giving because it gives hope to people of lower classes. According to O’Connor’s lesson in “Revelation,” all men are created equal. Mrs. Turpin had an epiphany over this and will most likely live her life differently from this day forward.
In conclusion, O’Connor informed the readers of how all men are equal. This ties with the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence, and is a statement that is still relevant