O’Connor, Flannery´s The River: Child Abuse Theme

686 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: critical analysis of flannery o'connors work

Child abuse is something that is very apparant in the world but ids something that people find awkward to talk about. Flannery O’connors short story “The river” talks about a young boy Harry who isnt taken care of very well and has a hard life. Harry is taken out of his familiar city life, to an unfamiliar country life and quickly learns that what he knows isnt how the real world is. Harry notices little things in the world around him. Harry notcices the beauty of the sky, the sun and the birds flying all around in the sky.

Harry’s parents don’t really know how to raise a child. The spend thier days partying and drinking. Harry is mentally abused and pohysically abused. He has no real diet and the food that he eats he just has find it and whatever looks good he eats. He doesnt take life seriously because his parenst don’t take life seriously. Because of this Harry really doesnt know how to be a real child and how to act. He takes life as a joke and doesnt think that anything actually serious, and orginially he told everyone that his name was Bevel. When Harry arives at the river for his bapatism he meets a very strict preacer and Harry doesnt know how to talk to him, harry says,
The preacher didn’t smile. His bony face was rigid and his narrow gray eyes reflected the almost colorless sky. There was a loud laugh from the old man sitting on the car bumper and Bevel grasped the back of the preacher’s collar and held it tightly. The grin had already disappeared from his face. He had the sudden feeling that this was not a joke. Where he lived everything was a joke. From the preacher’s face, he knew immediately that nothing the preacher said or did was a joke.(O’Connor167)
At that point Harry relized that what he was doing an...

... middle of paper ...

...s, and everyone around him. He norices the little things around him and all the changes in the preacers eyes that lets Harry know what to expect and how to react, althogh he doesnt actually understand what is going on. The preacher wasnt very cler with Harry so Harry died, but by Harry dieing is it actaully better for him to be leaving that lifestyle of child abuse, and neglagt from the people who shpiuld be loving and caring for him. Was he better off dieing than returning to that home? Are children who live in similair homes now a days and runaway from it better off? That is a question that many people ask each other everyday.

Works cited
O’Connor, Flannery.”The River.”
The Complete Stories. New York:Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1977.
157-174. Print.

"A Reaction to Flannery O'Connor's Short Story, "The River" Yahoo Contributor Network. Web. 15 Feb. 2014

Show More
Related

  • Child Abuse: Frank and Ileana Fuster

    1996 Words  | 4 Pages

    The term child abuse was once as rarely heard as that of pink elephants. However rare the term has once been, it is now a term used consistently throughout the news and various other publications today. Along with the progressing decline in society's morals, has come the rapid increase of crime. One such crime is child abuse. Although child abuse is common, the act is defiling. As a result of the abuse, children who fall victim to this often need psychological treatment and counseling. Often, the child is never the same as he or she once was before. The dictionary defines child abuse as: "the physical, or emotional, or sexual mistreatment of children" (Dictionary.com). Everyday thousands of children are the victims of this abuse. The abusers range from parents, friends, total strangers, to even day-care workers.

    Read More

  • Snows Of Klimanjaro And The Love Song Of J Alfred Prufrock Analysis

    1404 Words  | 3 Pages

    He discusses demise in the primary sentence, saying, “The marvelous thing is that it’s painless” (Hemingway 826). As the story creates, Harry as often as possible specifies his desire to pass on or the way he feels that passing is close now. “You can shoot me.” (Hemingway 826) and “I don’t want to move” (Hemingway 827), and “There is no sense in moving now except to make it easier for you” (Hemingway 827) and “Can’t you let a man die as comfortably as he can without calling him names? “ (Hemingway 827). It sounds as though Harry is surrendering, not so much, since he is a weakling, despite the fact that his wife calls him that, yet more since he feels that, it is more agreeable for him right now to set down and pass on as opposed to sitting tight for a truck or plane that will most likely never arrive. During the rest of the story, Harry has several moments when he feels the proximity of

    Read More

  • Isolation and Victimization in Henry1V

    2590 Words  | 6 Pages

    The most prominent feature of Prince Harry in the two Henry1V plays is his absolute isolation. When we first see Harry, he is a pariah and outlaw among his own people, the nobility, and a source of fear and misery for his family. He has no friends in any real sense, just pawns; unlike Hotspur, Mortimer, and even Falstaff, he has no lovers and shows no interest in sexual love. He stands alone in the world, and he stands against all the world. He is motivated only by suspicion, cruelty, pride, and greed for power. People are real to Harry only in so far as he can use them; and, ultimately, the future King can use people only when they are destroyed. His every step is toward death and destruction: the two plays begin with Harry's plot against his tavern friends, which culminates in the sacrificial expulsion of Falstaff, and end with rumours of war, the campaign against France, carried out for reasons of internal political advantage. Harry is what today is commonly described as a psychopath, and the plays demonstrate how such a man can become a successful king and defeat the world, a perfect blend of Machiavel (the immoral villain) and Machiavellian (the amoral strategist).

    Read More

  • The Four Major Points of Socialization in Harry Potter

    1200 Words  | 3 Pages

    Harry Potter is a very good story within the media that portrays all four major agents of socialization pretty well. The influence of family in Harry's life was changed because of how Voldemort had heard the prophecy of a child who will be a threat to him. This is a great example of a self-fulfilling prophecy since Voldemort reacts to this by trying to kill Harry. The result of this, of course, only sets-up his own destruction.

    Read More

  • Outgrowing the Pain: A Book For and About Adults Abused as Children

    1851 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...g and filled with detailed solutions for each act of child abuse. The book allows the reader to visual themselves in each situation and knows how to react towards such each incident. It helped me understand why adults abused as children act the way they do when it comes to social interaction. Personally, I have attained new information that I was unaware of. In the beginning, I have always believed that child abuse only involved physical or sexual abuse. I did not know that emotional abuse actually existed. I was unaware of the fact that emotional abuse gravely affects children as they grow up. This book may open up the minds of people who are unaware of or refuse to believe that child abuse is occurring daily in our society because it is so informative and persuasive at the same time. If one needs to educate themselves concerning child abuse, consider this book.

    Read More

  • Child Abuse in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

    1603 Words  | 4 Pages

    Child Abuse is something that children all around the world have to deal with every day. Child abuse can cause physical and mental affects on a child. It occurs very frequently and can happen for many different reasons. There is a law now stating that reporting child abuse is mandatory and you should report it immediately. There are thousands of child abuse victims every year. The abuse usually can leave permanent damage on the rest of the child's life. Child abuse is a very serious crime, and affects children everyday with positive and negative affects.

    Read More

  • Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

    1978 Words  | 4 Pages

    Just to quickly run through the two previous books; Harry Potter is a wizard, who’s parents were killed by the worst dark wizard ever known. The reason why Harry Potter is still around, is because Lord Voldemort failed to kill Harry. His spell hit Harry, but then backfired on Voldemort taking all of his powers with him. Harry is so famous for two things. Withstanding the powers of Lord Voldemort, and, taking him back in to the underworld in hiding. In the first book, Harry receives a letter from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He’s eventually allowed to go, and spends the next six months there learning magic, getting into trouble, and trying to solve mysteries of his past, and the school. In the second book, Harry goes back to his second year at Hogwarts, and gets into more trouble, figures out many astonishing mysteries and learns loads more magic. His best friends in the two books consist of Ron and Hermione (two of his fellow wizard students) and Hagrid the gamekeeper who was expelled from Hogwarts but allowed a job as the gamekeeper.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Imprisonment In Ragtime

    1928 Words  | 4 Pages

    Throughout the story, Harry constantly amazes crowds with his ability to escape from enclosed areas. In this case, Harry demonstrates two kinds of imprisonment: physical imprisonment and emotional imprisonment. He demonstrates physical imprisonment as he attempts to set himself free from the enclosed areas. However, his emotional imprisonment occurs when Harry is alone and pondering his unique career, which gives him much stress, as we often get in-depth looks into Harry’s thoughts from the narrator. For example, after one of Harry’s infamous stunts, he reads the newspaper. As we go inside the mind of Harry, “He had never known such feelings of dissatisfaction. He wondered why he had devoted his life to mindless entertainment” (Doctorow 101). This interpersonal thought shows that Harry has at least a fragment of doubt in regards to the life he’s living, as it seems as if he’s not satisfied with the lifestyle he chose. This time, along with many others, he more or less questions his purpose in life. On top of that, Harry is going through a tough time with his mother recently passing away. Ultimately, these reasons make it hard for Harry to will himself to do these amazing escapes, making Harry emotionally imprisoned, as often times he does not develop a sense of gratification from his achievements. As explained in this book, this is mainly due to the depression he experiences after his mother’s death. In specific, near the middle of the story, Harry is in the middle of performing a crazy stunt - one in which he had to break free from a locked, steel box filled with water. In context, this describes the atmosphere of his crowds and describes how his escapes affected him emotionally after his mother’s death. “People shouted from the audience. Women closed their eyes and put their hands over their ears. They begged his assistants to stop him. He was helped

    Read More

  • The Severity of Child Sexual Abuse

    1021 Words  | 3 Pages

    Child abuse, while having many different forms and levels of severity, can be basically defined as the maltreatment of a child by a parent or other adult. When one thinks of child abuse, usually the first thing that comes to mind is physical harm, but the issue is actually much more complex. The abuse of a child can also be manifested in verbal and emotional forms, as well as in sexual molestation. All forms of child abuse generally result in similar emotional disorders and behavioral issues, but the major consequences of sexual abuse, such as mental or emotional scarring, promiscuity, and the tendency of former victims to become sexual abusers, cause it to be the most severely damaging form of child abuse.

    Read More

  • Bldungsroman Motif In Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone

    1070 Words  | 3 Pages

    In his own eyes, Harry is a poor nobody. He is young, modest, and innocent, living a sheltered life and naïve to the immensity of the world. The truth is that Harry is a victim to elements of another world. For instance, the dark Lord Voldemort, an evil wizard, attempts to kill Harry and ends up destroying his family, leaving him with his cruel relatives. Otherwise unharmed, Harry is left with his lightening bolt scar on his forehead representing his terrible past, marking his fame, and symbolizing his destiny. Even though Harry leads a boring, ordinary life on Privet Drive with “the last people you’d expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious” (1), Harry’s scar hints at something more than ordinary,

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay: The Sorcerer's Stone

    1518 Words  | 4 Pages

    Harry’s parents were murdered by the infamous Lord Voldemort, who also gave Harry a lightning-shaped scar using a curse that was supposed to kill Harry. As a result, Harry was left on the doorstep of his only remaining family, Vernon and Petunia Dursley.  After 11 miserable years of being harassed and bullied by his unsympathetic, magic-hating aunt, uncle, and cousin, Harry receives a letter stating that he must go to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to learn magic. After being sorted into the House of Gryffindor, Harry makes both friends and enemies at Hogwarts and unveils the secret of the Sorcerer’s Stone with his closest friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.  He confronts Professor Quirrell in pursuit of the Sorcerer’s Stone, which he (Harry) knew was going to be stolen, and found out that he

    Read More

  • Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone Quote

    2275 Words  | 5 Pages

    The book is about a young boy named Harry Potter who lives with his non-magic-related relatives as a powerful, evil wizard named Lord Voldemort killed his parents, James and Lily. Lily, Harry’s mother sacrificed her life to protect her child from Voldemort. Voldemort had no motivation to kill Lily and was even willing to spare her life. This selfless act of love created a protective charm around Harry. After murdering James and Lily, Voldemort was already in a weakened state and when his killing curse backfired due to the protective charm, a part of his soul detached itself from Voldemort and got latched onto Harry. Voldemort lost his powers and became a spirit until he found his body back. The soul that got latched onto Harry left a scar on Harry’s forehead, and since he didn’t die, he was known as the boy who lived. As he grows up, he does not know about his magical heritage and on his 11th birthday, he finds out about his magical heritage as he starts developing magical abilities. Then, he gets accepted to a wizarding school named, Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft And Wizardry. He quickly becomes friends with Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley and they soon come face to face with Lord Voldemort. Lord Voldemort tries to steal the sorcerer's stone and return to power but in the end, Harry and his friends manage to defeat Lord Voldemort. So at the moment, Harry and his friends are

    Read More

  • The Use of Violence in Flannery O'Connor's Stories

    1198 Words  | 3 Pages

    The main recurring theme in Flannery O’Connor’s stories is the use of violence towards characters in order to give them an eye-opening moment in which they finally realize their true self in relation to the rest of society and openly accept insight into how they should act or think. This theme of violence can clearly be seen in three works by Flannery O’Connor: A Good Man is Hard to Find, Good Country People, and Everything That Rises Must Converge.

    Read More

  • Identity And Self-Realization In The Fantasy World Of Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone

    1157 Words  | 3 Pages

    This aspect of Harry’s low esteem and lack of identity makes him doubtful and confused. Unfortunately, Harry’s father and mother had been murdered by the evil Wizard, Lord Voldemort. In this family life, Harry is future victimized by the selfishness of Uncle Vernon and his wife. These domestic experiences in the “real world” are grim, as they often involve Harry’s struggle with Uncle Vernon. In this way, Uncle Vernon prevents him realizing his true identity as the son of a famous “pure-blood” wizard. For example, Uncle Vernon prevents Harry from seeing letters from a mysterious writer that seeks to know his

    Read More

  • Child Abuse Essay

    725 Words  | 2 Pages

    Child abuse is a very serious problem that continues to happen all over the world. The Federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, defines child abuse as a failure to act as a parent or caregiver which results in physical/emotional harm, sexual abuse, and in some cases death. There are many different types of child abuse such as emotional, physical, neglect, and sexual. With each type of abuse there are warning signs you can spot before it is too late. When a child is abused there is a huge possibility that it can cause them to have many long term effects.

    Read More

More about O’Connor, Flannery´s The River: Child Abuse Theme

Open Document