Flannery O Connor's Revelation And The Displaced Person

Flannery O’Connor wrote many short stories and was quite good at it. There have been many journals and essays written about her work. One interesting part of her work is the use of clichés. Carole K. Harris wrote a journal about the clichés O’Connor used in “Revelation” and “The Displaced Person.” The class is not reading “Revelation,” however, the last story of O’Connor’s that we are reading is “The Displaced Person.” Harris’ main goal is to look at O’Connor’s use of the cliché. She even says, “This essay examines how O’Connor draws attention to the peculiar collective power of the cliché” (111). Harris begins with an introduction of O’Connor’s childhood and mentions her mother’s dealings with the servants. The relationship between masters and hired help is expounded upon in her stories and gives room for more clichés. This leads to the phrase “good country people” which is used or referenced in several stories. According to Harris this phrase is “used by landowning whites for white “trash” workers whom they have hired and …show more content…
Guizac as “Gobblehook” (120). Mrs. McIntyre, the owner, refers to one of her workers, Mrs. Shortley, as “good country people.” This is could be considered a good thing for Mrs. Shortley because her master is referring to her as an insider, as an equal. However, this also persuades the Shortleys to continue working there because they are equals and close and therefore puts pressure on them (120). In addition to referring to people as certain names, O’Connor also uses clichés in speeches given by her characters. Mrs. McIntyre uses clichés such as “One fellow’s misery is the other fellow’s gain”; “The devil you know is better that the devil you don’t”; “You can’t have your pie and eat it too”; “Money is the root of all evil” (122). Mrs. McIntyre uses these clichés to further her cause, making herself look like a victim