Flannery OConnor and William Faulkners Characters and Morality Essay

Flannery O'Connor and William Faulkner's Characters and Morality Flannery O’Connor and William Faulkner refuse to surrender to the temptation of writing fanciful stories where the hero defeats the villain and everyone lives happily ever after. Instead, these two writers reveal realistic portrayals of death and the downfall of man. Remarkably, O’Connor and Faulkner’s most emotionally degraded characters fail to believe that an omnipotent deity controls their fate. This belief directly correlates to the characters’ inability to follow a strict set of morals or value human life. On the other hand, one might expect Faulkner and O’Connor’s â€Å"Christian† characters to starkly contrast the vile heathens who deny the existence of God. However, these characters struggle to follow their own standards of morality. The southern culture places much value on community, courtesy, and the standard of morality: the Bible. But under this facade of civility lie slanderous gossip, impure motives, and hidden iniquity. Faulkner’s character, Cora Tull, is a prime example of this. Though she openly admits that she has no right to pass judgment on Addie Bundren because, â€Å"It is the Lord’s place to judge,† Cora Tull later hypocritically states, â€Å"I realized out of the vanity of her heart she (Addie) had spoken sacrilege.† Cora’s desire for Addie’s repentance blinds her from seeing her own sin. On the other hand, Mrs. Turpin, a character in O’Connor’s â€Å"Revelation,† struggles with this same sin but in a different manner. Mrs. Turpin appears to politely encounter strangers with kindness but, alas, her kindness is corrupted. Though Mrs. Turpin’s sincere smiles and courteous small talk make her appear to truly care ab out others around h... ... refuse to believe in God. In fact, the â€Å"Christians† could probably be condemned more readily because they have a standard of morality and choose not to abide by it. On the other hand, when a person knows that there are no consequences he acts accordingly. For instance, the â€Å"Misfit† kills people and thinks nothing of it because he merely lives for the moment without thinking through his iniquity. Conversely, Whitfield recognizes his wrong doing but simply lowers his standards of morality thereby causing only more grief. Works Cited Faulkner, William. As I Lay Dying. New York: Vintage Books, 1990. O’Connor, Flannery. Collected Works: Stories and Occasional Prose: â€Å"Revelation.† New York: Penguin, 1988. 285-327. ---. Collected Works: Stories and Occasional Prose: â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find.† New York: Penguin, 1988. 328-340.