Revelation, by Flannery O'Connor

In Flannery O’Connor’s “Revelation” a woman, as the title implies, who experiences a revelation. Pigs are an important symbol in the protagonist’s, Ruby Turpin’s, revelation. Throughout Ruby’s journey to her revelation, pigs appear frequently in “Revelation” and are important to Ruby’s revelation at the end of the story. Pigs reflect several aspects of Ruby’s life, primarily her perceptions. Ultimately, pigs reflect Ruby’s true character throughout the entire story.

Early in the story, when Ruby is talking to the people in the waiting room, Ruby describes that she has “a little bit of everything” (O’Connor 475). Ruby mentions she has hogs and the “white-trash” woman remarks that pigs are “nasty stinking things” always “a-gruntin and a-rootin all over the place” (476). Ruby replies, “Our hogs are not dirty and they don’t stink” (476). Ruby’s comment has inherent emphasis on “our” and “not” (476). Ruby emphasizes that her hogs are not dirty. She implies that she does not have dirty hogs. Hogs, by nature, are dirty animals. Ruby denies the true nature of hogs, which implies a lot about her character. Ruby establishes a connection between herself and not dirty through her emphasis on “our” and “not.” The emphasis on these two words has two implications. Either, Ruby implies that since the hogs belong to here they are therefore clean. Or, Ruby herself is a clean person, not a hygienic clean, but a spiritual clean. Through this statement, Ruby negates the association between herself and unclean by overemphasizing the cleanliness of her hogs. Ruby negates that she is an unclean person by emphasizing that her hogs are not dirty.

After Ruby defends the cleanliness of her hogs, she continues her assertion: “We have a pig parlor—that’s wh...

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...). Ruby suffered a direct blow to the head from a book titled Human Development. The book’s forceful contact with her head creates an immediate change in Ruby’s perception.

Pigs are an important element in Flanner O’Connor’s “Revelation.” Pigs reflect the progression of Ruby’s character throughout the entire story. At the end of the story, Ruby “scoots” down the pigs herself. This action is symbolic of Ruby becoming separate from the pig and signifies the impact of the revelation.

Works Cited

Dumas, Jacky, and Jessica Hooten Wilson. "The Unrevealed In Flannery O'connor's 'Revelation'.(Critical Essay)." The Southern Literary Journal 2 (2013): 72. Academic OneFile. Web. 26 Nov. 2013.

O'Connor, Flannery. "Revelation." American Short Stories. By Bert Hitchcock, Virginia M. Kouidis, and Eugene Current-García. 8th ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2008. 472-87. Print.