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How Does Flannery O Connor Show The Mentality Of The Weather

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Writers have always used the weather as an indicator to an aspect of a story. The sun repressing good times; the rain is the sadness, and storms are eerie and dark. Flannery O’Connor is no different. However, she chooses it to show us the mentality of the characters. The changes of the weather throughout the story represent each of Grandma and the Misfit’s state of mind and their religious faiths. Meeting the Misfit was the last thing that the family ever did and what led them to their deaths. When the trip first started, we are told it was a beautiful day, “neither too hot nor too cold” and “the trees were full of silver-white sunlight” (O’Connor 35). We can see the weather staying the same when the family stopped by ‘The Tower’. We learn …show more content…

But when Grandma realizes who it was, the first thing she does is cry and worry about her life and no one else’s. This is when we see the changes in the sky. The Misfit draws attention to it saying, “Ain’t a cloud in the sky… Don’t see no sun but don’t see no cloud neither” (O’Connor 42). Grandma then calls it a beautiful day. It could symbolize the Misfits own state-of-mind and hints us of his emptiness. But it also shows us Grandma’s hypocrisies. He brought up the fact that he has no memories of what he did that put him in jail in the first place, but feels no regret and remorse for the lives he has taken. We can think the same of Grandma as she shows no care to the other members of the family as they get killed off in the woods. She still says the Misfit that he is a ‘good man’ to spare …show more content…

Learning the Misfit’s belief, we can understand why he does the things he does. He questions the existence of Jesus and how He “thown everything off balance” (O’Connor 45). The Misfit simply states that if He was real, then drop everything and blindly follow. If he was not, enjoy what we can in this life. Grandma has a moment of realization and connects with him. However, the Misfit is frightened and shoots her. She dies in a prayer position with “her face smiling up at the cloudless sky” (O’Connor 45). We can view this as Grandma accepting her own sins and hypocrisy in her final act in the world. However, it is not only her that changed in the end. The Misfit’s last words are “It’s no real pleasure in life” when previously he stated the

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