Young Tar Water In The Violent Bear It Away

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In Flannery O’Connor’s novel, The Violent Bear It Away, Francis Marion Tarwater, also referred to as Young Tarwater, is faced with accepting his preordained calling of becoming a prophet or living as an ordinary individual. Young Tarwater’s great-uncle, Mason Tarwater, raised him from infancy to accept his role as prophet after he died. However, once Mason Tarwater dies, Young Tarwater struggles both internally and externally with accepting his fate and using his free will to choose his own path in life. O’Connor uses the introduction of Young Tarwater’s own personal demon, his subconscious urge to baptize bishop, his drowning of bishop, and his rape to illustrate that humans have no control over their personal destinies because God already …show more content…

However, the teachings of Old Tarwater continues to haunt the young boy as he ventures into the city to explore what the world has the offer outside of the safe haven his great-uncle created for him. In the city, he is reunited with his uncle, Rayber, the schoolteacher, and his son Bishop. From his arrival, Tarwater is haunted with Old Tarwater’s command to baptize Bishop. Tarwater’s relationship with Bishop is filled with much tension as “Tarwater scorns the boy as a menace to [his] freedom. Simply for being himself, Bishop becomes the declared enemy in Tarwater’s battle to defeat Mason and reject his prophetic vocation” (Giannone). Tarwater comes to the realization that when Bishop is in his presence, he cannot rid himself of the sudden urge to baptize him. For example, during a trip to the park, Tarwater “seemed to be drawn toward the child in the water but to be pulling back, exerting an almost equal pressure away from what attracted him” (O’Connor 145) because “Tarwater was moving toward Bishop to baptize him” (O’Connor 146). His uncle Rayber believes Tarwater’s actions are a result of “the old man [having] transferred his fixation to the boy, [having] left with the notion that he must baptize Bishop or suffer some terrible consequence” (O’Connor 146). If Tarwater’s urge to baptize Bishop came strictly from the …show more content…

It is through a series of unfortunate events that, Young Tarwater realizes that he cannot truly be spiritually and mentally freed until he fulfills God’s intended plan for his life. The Bible says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take” (Bible). This specific scripture explains why Tarwater’s life was in chaos after his great-uncle’s death, Tarwater began running in the opposite direction of God’s will for him because he was unable to comprehend the significance of the role of prophecy. While living with his uncle, Rayber, Young Tarwater realizes that his urge to baptize Bishop grows stronger moment he is around him. This leads him to believe if he drowns the boy, he will no longer struggle internally with the problem; however, he without any hesitation says baptismal words while drowning the young boy. At the point, Tarwater is highly distressed and realizes he must escape back to the country and attempt a fresh start in life. Unfortunately, Tarwater is lured into the car of a stranger and sodomized in the woods. This unfortunate and injustice act ultimately results in Tarwater accepting God as having sovereignty over his life. In the bible, the following is made known of God: “You

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