Flannery O'Connor is a Southerner and a Catholic...so am I. The combination is an interesting one because not many people down south think very highly of catholics for all kinds reasons that I don't plan on getting into on this blog. I really believe that the best people to make fun of a group of people is somebody from that same group. I think throughout all of her stories she really captures the essence of what some people on the outside of the group do not get to see. Throughout all of her stories O'Connor finds all kinds of ways to poke fun at both traditions.
In "A Good Man is Hard to Find" O'Conner uses the grandmother to show her "southernness." The grandmother starts out really wanting to go to East Tennessee which, even though not many of them are rich, relies on someones class. She shows the grandmother as a former upper class southern belle who demands respect from younger generations and she talks about the plantation. She captures the hidden Catholic attitude as well in her stories. Even though both my grandmothers would kill me for talking about this, but a majority of Catholics, especially older generations, are very judgmental, and look for some way to make themselves feel better by trying to make up for what they have done wrong. Being Catholic I understand that the biggest sinners at my church sit in the front pew. I also know that they are the first one to pass judgment on other people and the grandmother in "A Good Man Is Hard To Find" is obviously judgmental person, and when she is faced with the prospect of death she looks for some way to make up for her wrong doings toward the misfit and the family. "Revelation" in its title conveys that something is going to happen where somebody realizes they did something wrong. Mrs. Turpin finally realizes that being judgmental is wrong and that in heaven everyone is equal. This is a very common thing within alot of religions and definitely within the Catholic faith.
