As the common saying goes, pride comes before the fall. Pride in one’s self can lead to very sinful patterns, and this can cause a shrinking of faith. Living as a Christian, one wants to lead a God-pleasing, humble life in thanks to the Lord for all he has done. In “Revelation” by Flannery O’Connor, due to the pride she has in herself, Mrs. Turpin shows readers how having a worldly mindset rather than focusing on God can hurt one’s perception of others.
To begin, Mrs. Turpin held pride in her ethnicity and used it as a tool to place herself above those of other races. At the same level as white trash, colored people were at the bottom of the heap in which Mrs. Turpin placed people. The time period in which this story is placed is during an era of African American slavery. Therefore, racism was high and rights for all were not equal. When talking with the other high-society woman, Mrs. Turpin said that the colored people do not want to even pick the cotton anymore “because they got to be right up there with the white folks.” It was also decided through similar conversation that even when given the chance, these slaves would not go back to Africa because, …show more content…
Turpin’s value of her appearance and self-proclaimed kindness leads to the incorrect conclusion that she knows everything about others with a glance. When listening to the lower class patients in the waiting room, Mrs. Turpin thought, “There was nothing you could tell her about people like them that she didn’t know already… Help them you must, but help them you couldn’t.” On the contrary, however, she was also adamant that her main goal in life was to help others, no matter who they were. She claims, “It was one thing to be ugly and another to act ugly.” While saying that she cares about all people, she also places herself above them constantly. Overall, Mrs. Turpin claimed that her intents were always to help and shower kindness on others, but all she ever did was cast snap judgements upon
To begin, Mrs. Turpin held pride in her ethnicity and used it as a tool to place herself above those of other races. At the same level as white trash, colored people were at the bottom of the heap in which Mrs. Turpin placed people. The time period in which this story is placed is during an era of African American slavery. Therefore, racism was high and rights for all were not equal. When talking with the other high-society woman, Mrs. Turpin said that the colored people do not want to even pick the cotton anymore “because they got to be right up there with the white folks.” It was also decided through similar conversation that even when given the chance, these slaves would not go back to Africa because, …show more content…
Turpin’s value of her appearance and self-proclaimed kindness leads to the incorrect conclusion that she knows everything about others with a glance. When listening to the lower class patients in the waiting room, Mrs. Turpin thought, “There was nothing you could tell her about people like them that she didn’t know already… Help them you must, but help them you couldn’t.” On the contrary, however, she was also adamant that her main goal in life was to help others, no matter who they were. She claims, “It was one thing to be ugly and another to act ugly.” While saying that she cares about all people, she also places herself above them constantly. Overall, Mrs. Turpin claimed that her intents were always to help and shower kindness on others, but all she ever did was cast snap judgements upon