Flannery OConnor and William Faulkners Characters and Morality Essay

Flannery OConnor and William Faulkners Characters and MoralityFlannery OConnor and William Faulkner refuse to surrender to the temptation of constitution 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, OConnor and Faulkners most emotionally riotous characters fail to opine that an omnipotent deity controls their fate. This belief directly correlates to the characters inability to describe a strict set of morals or value homo life. On the other hand, one might expect Faulkner and OConnors 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 endues much value on community, courtesy, and the standard of morality the Bible. But under this facade of civility lie slanderous gossip, adulterate m otives, and hidden iniquity. Faulkners 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, It is the Lords place to judge, Cora Tull later hypocritically states, I realized out of the vanity of her heart she (Addie) had spoken sacrilege. Coras desire for Addies repentance blinds her from seeing her own sin. On the other hand, Mrs. Turpin, a character in OConnors Revelation, struggles with this same sin but in a different manner. Mrs. Turpin appears to politely encounter strangers with generosity but, alas, her kindness is corrupted. Though Mrs. Turpins sincere smiles and courteous small talk make her appear to truly care about others around h... ... refuse to believe in God. In fact, the 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 Misfit kills people and thinks nothing of it because he merely lives for the moment without thinking through his iniquity. Conversely, Whitfield recognizes his damage doing but simply lowers his standards of morality thereby causing only more grief.Works CitedFaulkner, William. As I Lay Dying. New York Vintage Books, 1990.OConnor, Flannery. equanimous Works Stories and Occasional Prose Revelation. New York Penguin, 1988. 285-327.---. Collected Works Stories and Occasional Prose A Good Man is Hard to Find. New York Penguin, 1988. 328-340.