Mrs. Ryan and the Priest Influence Jackie's Attitude To Religion

457 Words1 Page

How do Mrs. Ryan and the priest influence Jackie's attitude to religion?

"First Confession" is the story of how Jackie, a seven year old boy, makes his first confession before his first communion. The story takes place in Ireland at the beginning of the 20th century and is based on O'Connor's own childhood. It is interesting to see how two opposite characters, Mrs. Ryan and the priest, can influence so much the kid's thoughts: Mrs. Ryan instills him fear while the priest helps him to overcome this fear.

Mrs. Ryan is the women encharged of preparing Jackie and his class-mates to take their first communion. She has to get them closer to God and turn them into good Catholics. Apart from what Jackie had learnt from his parents and other people, he knows not much about religion when he meets her, and, as a kid, he believes everything she tells him. Her educational methods are not really fair, as she uses fear and threatens Jackie with hell. Jackie says "hell had the first place in her heart", and that the few times she mentions heaven "must have been by accident." Just before making...

Show More
Related

  • Red Kayak Analysis

    293 Words  | 1 Pages

    In Red Kayak by Priscilla Cummings, guilt is shown in almost every character in the story, but it is through Brady that we see the most guilt.

    Read More

  • O On The Surface: The Farm By Joy Williams

    773 Words  | 2 Pages

    Williams also incorporates her religious theme in the form of the couple’s daughter Martha. Martha goes to Sunday school every week where she loves learning about god. Although Martha is only a child, her prayers are very mature for her age. Martha’s character is in direct contrast to her parents. The story begins with Sarah and Tommy driving home from the third party they had been to that evening.

    Read More

  • Religion in the Works of Flannery O'Connor

    1982 Words  | 4 Pages

    Religion is a pervasive theme in most of the literary works of the late Georgia writer Flannery O'Connor. Four of her short stories in particular deal with the relationship between Christianity and society in the Southern Bible Belt: "A Good Man Is Hard to Find," "The River," "Good Country People," and "Revelation." Louis D. Rubin, Jr. believes that the mixture of "the primitive fundamentalism of her region, [and] the Roman Catholicism of her faith . . ." makes her religious fiction both well-refined and entertaining (70-71). O'Connor's stories give a grotesque and often stark vision of the clash between traditional Southern Christian values and the ever-changing social scene of the twentieth century. Three of the main religious ingredients that lend to this effect are the presence of divine meanings, revelations of God, and the struggle between the powers of Satan and God.

    Read More

  • Reflections on Self-Battle: Flannery O'Connor's Lupus Journey

    1400 Words  | 3 Pages

    Flannery shows the readers this when she has Jillian and his mother argue about their own faith. The reason O’Connor incorporates religion into her short stories is because religion is “the ground note of her fiction” (Shinn, Thelma J. 375). Jillian gets fed up with his mother for going on and on about how others should “know themselves” and be gracious. Jillian exclaims, “They don’t give a damn for your graciousness...knowing who you are is good for one generation only...you have the foggiest idea where you stand now or who you are” (O’Connor 2).The mother has to take a second and process what Jillian had just said to her. Finally, she gets the words to flow out. His mom says, “I most certainly do know who I am...and if you don’t know who you are, I am ashamed of you” (O’Connor 2) The readers see here how strongly Jillian’s mother feels about her faith and how little Jillian does. This quote shows O’Connor’s incorporation with religious beliefs. Flannery was very religious, therefore the mother is a representation of her. Throughout O’Connor’s life, many people told her that she could not be an artist because she was Catholic. The reason she incorporates religious incidents throughout her short stories is to live on her Catholic beliefs and to prove to those that religion was such a huge part of her life. Flannery O’Connor stands behind her religion in such a way that the readers

    Read More

  • John Proctor's Motivation In The Crucible

    646 Words  | 2 Pages

    At great personal costs to himself, John reveals Abigail’s true motivation of jealousy and desire. When he confesses to committing adultery,John knows numerous people have died or confessed to having been visited by Satan. However, the confession does not help anyone as John is being accused of

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Killings By Andre Dubus

    621 Words  | 2 Pages

    The story begins in a small town in America. The Fowler family is faced with the burden, frustration and pain of having to bury their twenty-one year old son, Frank. The inward struggle faced by Matt Fowler, his wife, and family drives him to murder Richard Strout, Frank's killer, in order to avenge his son's murder and bring peace to himself and his family. Matt faced a life-time struggle to be a good father and protect his children from danger throughout their childhood. Dubus describes Matt's inner ...

    Read More

  • Social Realism In Maggie

    1376 Words  | 3 Pages

    At the beginning of the short story Maggie's family is introduced, from her scrappy little brother Jimmie, to her short lived brother Tommie, her alcoholic mentally-abusive mother Mary, and her brutish father. Jimmie's friend Pete is introduced and becomes a mirror image of Jimmie later on in the book. They both are portrayed as Don Juans, the seducers of young women who treat women as objects rather than people. Maggie's father is as short-lived as her brother Tommie. However, he becomes a negative social factor in Maggie's life. Maggie’s mother was an essential symbol of hypocrisy and pessimism throughout the book, from her drinking to her last comment in the book “I'll Forgive Her” (Crane).

    Read More

  • Tone And Temptation In Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown

    1175 Words  | 3 Pages

    O’Connor sets a malicious tone for the first half of the story, and later brings a more optimistic manner into play. As Mrs. Turpin continued to rant about white trash, blacks, and ugly people taking up space in the world, she continues to notices an individual in the waiting room, as well as a particular glare that seemed to inhabit the atmosphere of the room. In tremor, Mary Grace springs towards attacking Mrs. Turpin screaming, “Go back to hell where you came from, you old wart hog” (O’Connor 272). She began to question, why her? Was she really a wart hog from hell? Slowly but surely the gears began to turn as she began to realize what the reasoning behind the day’s events were all about. The waiting room symbolized purgatory, a place where souls go to be purified previous to entering into heaven. Mary Grace, playing a key role in purgatory, symbolized the saving grace, opening Mrs. Turpin’s eyes to the way she had been living her entire life. She goes on to recollect a vision she had seen after the attack, claiming, “They were marching behind the others with great dignity, accountable as they had been for good order and common sense and respectable behavior. They alone were the key” (O’Connor 278). She envisions blacks, white, rich, and

    Read More

  • The Theme of Religion in Angela’s Ashes

    2384 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Theme of Religion in Angela’s Ashes Throughout the novel, religion is presented as being of extreme importance in Irish society, influencing the beliefs and actions of the characters. I will attempt to highlight the several factors which I believe make up the presentation of religion in “Angela’s Ashes”. From the beginning of the book, religion is said to make up a large part of the unhappy childhood Frank suffered. The following quote shows the extent of Frank’s sentiments: “Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood, is the miserable Irish childhood, and worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood” The quote above portrays the crescendo of negative emotion, describing the worse possible scenario of a childhood, adding finally “Catholic” to signify the most terrible part of the childhood Frank suffered.

    Read More

  • Mary Rowlandson’s Journey in Her Memoir "The Sovereignty and Goodness of God"

    1252 Words  | 3 Pages

    Mary Rowlandson was a Puritan. Puritans are very strict and believe in almost the same values that major monotheistic religions believe in; such as, the devil, they give God credit for everything, and look to God for answers and help. This pretty much speaks for every single voice Rowlandson brings forward in her memoir. Constantly and with much admiration she quotes the Bible and this shows the intensity of the situation she was dealing with and her steady trust in God. “The next day was the Sabbath, I then….His presence forever” (remove #2), as one might assume, Rowlandson very faithfully makes herself the culprit despite losing most of her family. The innocence and the thoughtfulness that comes out of this particular statement says every single thing about her, the fact that she is serious about her being, and the depth of her religious self. Religion immensely affected the experience she and her family had because as she continuously justifies the situation she is in, the Bible shapes her story. “I know O Lord that….hast afflicted me” (remove #11) and “Shall there be evil in a City and the Lord hath not done it?” (Remove #15). From what I understand Rowlandson is sure that she is where s...

    Read More

  • Good Country People

    1274 Words  | 3 Pages

    There are many themes within Flannery O’Connor’s short story “Good Country People”. Religion is definitely one of the more prominent themes that the story holds. Like most of O’Connor’s works, it plays a big part in the actions or characteristics of the main characters. This is all on the surface however. The more important and less accentuated theme is the various facades the characters create for themselves. These facades prevent them from facing their true “grotesque” selves. These facades also hide their weaknesses that they have no wish to face ort just can’t understand. People must be comfortable with every aspect of themselves, because certain people, who in this story are represented by Manley Pointer’s character, can easily exploit their weaknesses. He’s “good country people” and “the salt of the earth” as Mrs. Hopewell refers to Manley Pointer who really is a demon that they must face. A demon to remind them of their weaknesses.

    Read More

  • The Role Of Christianity In Uncle Tom's Cabin

    844 Words  | 2 Pages

    Eliza is a slave on a plantation that raises her to be a “good” Christian. To Eliza, her masters

    Read More

  • A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O’Connor

    1018 Words  | 3 Pages

    According to Frederick Asals, the first half of the story serves a significant purpose as it informs the audience that the family’s journey to Florida is only a “mere empty movement through space” (42). Prior to the car accident, the family acts out of vanity and disobedience despite believing they are devote Christians. Through their actions and behaviors, O’Connor reveals that they are heading down a path of destruction. T.W. Hendricks examines the structure of the family and their relationships with each other, he comments that “the structure of the family is in disarray” (203). The patriarch of the family, Bailey, despises his mother and prefers to overlook her presence by participating in self-absorption. In comparison, his wife does not pay attention to her external surroundings, but simply puts sole focus on her infant child. Furthermore, she and her husbands are parents t...

    Read More

  • Values and Morality in The Crucible by Arthur Miller

    775 Words  | 2 Pages

    The first, the importance of personal integrity, is brought to light through John Proctor, who finds himself facing personal conflict when making the decision of whether to lie and 'confess' to the court, saving his own life, or to tell the truth and be condemned by it. Upon first deciding to confess and live, Proctor acknowledges he has given his soul to the devil, but refuses to also tarnish his name by allowing his confession to be stuck to the door of the church.

    Read More

  • Frank O Connor An Only Child

    1355 Words  | 3 Pages

    Despite the misfortune Frank O’Connor faces in An Only Child, he has two particularly strong role models to keep him focused on his future. His mother and his teacher Daniel Corkery are the most influential people in his life and he describes both of them with extreme respect and admiration. His mother, his main parental figure because of his father’s unpredictability, is his role model at home and in life. Her ability to overcome her difficult childhood growing up as an orphan as well as how she continues to overcome the struggles they face as a family inspires the author in his own struggles. Daniel Corkery, one of O’Connor’s instructors at his school, acts as a guiding, supportive father figure in his life. As the author’s teacher, he inspires

    Read More

More about Mrs. Ryan and the Priest Influence Jackie's Attitude To Religion

Open Document