The River | The River

At a glance:

Author: Flannery O’Connor
First Published: 1953
Type of Plot: Domestic realism
Time of Work: The mid-twentieth century
Setting: Southern United States
Principal Characters: Harry Ashfield, Mrs. Connin, Mr. Ashfield, The Reverend Bevel Summers, Mr. Paradise, J. C., Spivey, Sinclair
Genres: Short fiction, Domestic realism
Subjects: Children, United States or Americans, South or Southerners, Twentieth century, Child abuse, Cancer, Death or dying, Jesus Christ, Babysitting or babysitters
Locales: South (U.S.)

Early one morning, the tired Mr. Ashfield hands over his son, Harry, to a baby-sitter, Mrs. Connin. Although she has been at work all night, she will keep Harry with her until late that evening. Before leaving the Ashfields’ apartment, Mrs. Connin criticizes the cigarette butts that she smells and the modern art that she sees on the wall, and she hears that Mrs. Ashfield, Harry's mother, is ill. As she and Harry leave, she tells the boy that she will take him today to see the Reverend Bevel Summers, who will be conducting a healing service by a local river. When she...

The River | The River

At a glance:

The Story

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