Author Flannery O¹Connor was born in Savannah, Georgia, on March 25, 1925. She was born and raised Catholic, facts that defined her personal faith and helped shape her independent and ironic take on life. According to our textbook, "O¹Connor¹s fiction grapples with living a spiritual life in a secular world"(318). Her novels and stories all involve the theme of religion and questions about spirituality. In fact, in many of her stories, the main character questions his or her own faith or undergoes a major revelatory change. This essay starts of asking the question: does the main character in O¹Connor¹s short story "Revelation" undergo an actual revelation? And answers that question with a resounding "no."
             At the beginning of the story, we are introduced to Mrs. Turpin, a loud, racist southern landowner. She believes that there are classes of people, and blacks, for example, are below homeowners, but above white trash. She does not, however, consider herself racist. This is a dangerous characteristic to have. She claims to treat blacks well, but she refers to them as "niggers" and clearly states that she is above them. Mrs. Turpin is grateful to be a "superior" white landowner who is above the white trash in the waiting room and the black helpers on her farm. She is repulsively guilty of pride and obsessed with status and property She believes you have to "have certain things before you can know certain things"(344).
             Her "revelation" is brought on by an unattractive, yet well educated young woman in a doctor¹s office. Mary Grace ends up throwing a book at Mrs. Turpin because of her frustration with the woman¹s ignorance. After Mrs. Turpin gets knocked upside the head, she looks at Mary Grace, expecting God to talk to her, and she is told that she is a "wart hog." Mrs. Turpin, still thinking this is a message from God, is quite confused by it. She doesn¹t know where it came from, or its true meaning, so she se...