Social Concerns / Themes / Characters
In O'Connor's short stories, the typical plot involves an un-Christian character who endures a devastating and life-altering experience, which might even result in death. At the same moment, this character gains an insight into their own selfishness, vanity, delusion, or greed that has corrupted their soul, yet has never been acknowledged. As the Misfit remarks about the Grandmother in one of O'Connor's most famous stories, "A Good Man Is Hard to Find," "She would of been a good woman if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life."
It is usually evident to the reader what the character's flaw is, and it is often uncomfortably so. These characters are not truly evil; most of the individuals she portrays are, like the grandmother, more blind and self-centered than malevolent, more unconsciously racist than consumed with a Hitlerian desire for genocide, more smug than malicious. Some even consider themselves atheistic humanists, which to O'Connor is the ultimate irony, as no humanist could truly lead someone to the loss of their immortal soul.
O'Connor stands apart because of what she referred to as her unique "vision," which consistently prioritized certain values. She believed that those who did not share these priorities, those who centered their lives around anything other than Christ, were "grotesque." As a Catholic writer, her challenge was to convey this vision to an audience that perceived such individuals as perfectly normal. To achieve this, she often resorted to extreme situations or characters, leading to shattering and violent climaxes that would impact a person as profoundly as Saul was struck on the road to Damascus. In an essay, she explained, "... you have to make your vision apparent by shock — to the hard of hearing you shout, and for the almost blind you draw large and startling figures." This perspective helps explain why Alice Walker noted, "Not one of her stories... could have been written by anyone else."
O'Connor's social concerns are deeply intertwined with her themes and characters. Her goal was to hold a mirror to society, particularly white Southern society, and expose its grotesque nature in all the ways she perceived it. In the short term, her intent could be described as a pursuit of social justice, but she believed that even more significant issues were at stake in the long run.
In 1960, after reading Teilhard de Chardin's book The Phenomenon of Man, she became increasingly engaged with the social implications of one's beliefs rather than just their personal impact. Chardin, a Jesuit priest and paleontologist, merged his religious and scientific knowledge to propose a theory about God's plan for the universe. He posited that at the end of time, all of creation would return to its creator through Christ, the Omega point. This return would not only involve the spirits of humans merging with God's essence, but the entire created world would somehow ascend and revert back to God, uniting humanity in the process.
Consequently, for this divine plan to succeed, humanity must first achieve unity, and anything that causes division among people is inherently wrong. Additionally, any misconceptions that prevent large groups from understanding and cooperating in God's plan are detrimental. Without a shared understanding and acceptance of both the ultimate goal and the means to achieve it, progress is unattainable. Leadership in this effort must come from the most educated members of society.
O'Connor perceives a world filled with grotesquely misaligned individuals who, as "intellectuals," are secular and adhere to the relativistic values of social science. Ordinary people, on the other hand, are materialistic, arrogant, smug, self-satisfied, condescending...
(This entire section contains 1062 words.)
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to the poor, and racist. These attitudes only hinder God's purpose. O'Connor believes that all such individuals need to be shocked into self-awareness. For those who read, her stories serve as a form of therapy. This is why many critics argue that her stories are not "religious" and fail to depict Christianity in people's lives. What struck O'Connor was precisely the absence of such depictions.
"The Displaced Person" is a significant story about a Polish man and his family who arrive at a dairy farm in Georgia as displaced persons after World War II. The farm is owned by Mrs. Mclntyre, one of the many widows in O'Connor's fiction who manage dairy farms and are constantly complaining. Mrs. Mclntyre is one of the most well-drawn characters. Her assistant and employee, Mrs. Shortley, is a false prophet representing extreme warped fundamentalism. She believes the Pole, who is clearly associated with Christ, has "come to destroy," which in a way, he has, though unintentionally.
Unaware of Southern racism, the Pole arranges for the only young single black man on the farm to marry his cousin from a concentration camp in Poland, so she can come to the United States ("She no care black. She in camp three year."). This act transforms him from Mrs. Mclntyre's "salvation" (as he saves her a lot of money) to a burden; he disrupts the farm's balance, disturbs the status quo, and must leave. Consequently, Mrs. Mclntyre rejects her salvation because it demands she abandon her racism and see the black worker as just another person.
In the post-World War II South, such a change would have been revolutionary, and neither Mrs. Mclntyre nor the black worker is ready for it. However, she is hesitant to outright reject her salvation, feeling an obligation to the priest who brought the family. When the chance to get rid of Mr. Guizac arises, she, the worker, and Mr. Shortley conspire to let him die through their inaction. Thus, he perishes for the sins of others. Mr. Guizac is not exactly a Christ-figure—a term often misused—but more of a Christ analogue. He is a good man who does not voluntarily sacrifice himself for others and is unaware of his impending death. His death is not necessarily redemptive, as it results in Mrs. Mclntyre having a stroke and all the help finding other jobs, which does not imply they reject the farm's society completely but that they have collectively ruined themselves.
The farm serves as a microcosm of America, characterized by racism, greed, false religion, and xenophobia, which prevent the people from achieving true Christianity. When justice prevails, everything will rise and converge upon the Omega point. Indeed, everything that rises must converge, as Julian and his conservative mother learn in the story by that name.
