Analysis of "First Confession" By Frank O'Connor
             In the story of "First Confession" Frank O'Connor uses his home land of Ireland as the setting for this story. O'Connor has us look at the story from the boy, Jackie's, point of view. Jackie is a seven year-old boy who must go to make his first confession before he can take his first communion. He is terrified because Mrs. Ryan, who has taught the school kids about confession, has made Jackie believe he has broken all of the Ten Commandments. Worst of all, he must confess to the priest that he has made plans to kill his paternal grandmother because she favors his sister, Nora, and her lack of city manors is driving him nuts. O'Connor's success of "First Confession" relies on his characterization, the point if view, and how the story relates to us today.
             The character of Jackie helps the reader be reminded of himself or herself, and the realization that the world changes. O'Connor uses the character of Gran to show this to us and Jackie. Jackie is the protagonist of the story. He is a dramatic character because he learns in the end that even though he has had morbid thoughts of killing his grandmother and sister, it is not necessary to dwell on those thoughts or actual bring them to life. Jackie is in need of the confession itself because given the crudeness with which he specifies his own moral nature, expressed in his response to Gran and Nora. Nora is the main antagonist; she is the one that sets Jackie off, he goes after her with a butter knife when she tries to make him go to dinner that his grandmother has made. She is a flat character. Throughout the entire story, she is constantly mean to Jackie like telling on him to his father about going after her with the knife. This caused Jackie to receive a "flaking" or a spanking. Even in the end she is mad at him because the priest took pity on him and ...