Ruby Turpin's Revelation Essay

When people read southern authors, sometimes readers who aren’t used to the southern culture could find themselves feeling uncomfortable, shocked, or even offended by the derogatory use of language in these specific works. We most certainly find the use of degrading words and labels in the work Revelation by Flannery O 'Conner. Ruby Turpin uses these terms throughout the entire story, even at the end of the story after she’s had her epiphany, Mrs. Turpin continues the use of these descriptive nouns, probably because she has no other terms to use because she can’t get rid of her bad habits. Her growth is showed more in her thoughtful attitude than in her not so thoughtful choice of words. Mrs. Turpin is full of arrogance, hatred, and racism

Throughout the entire story we can see that Mrs. Turpin thinks of herself as a Christian and a religious or spiritual being. This is stated several times before she confronts her maker shortly before the end of the story. She works on the assumption that she is somehow deserving of her place in life and grateful that she has not been placed lower and in the dimension of niggers and white trash, or to the worse of the worst, the place reserved for the trashy niggers. For her, being what and where she is can be attributed to the God she prays to and for that she is genuinely grateful. She realizes that all God 's children are destined for heaven regardless of the color of their skin, the amount of money or land they have, and their mental state only after their sins have been forgiven. She has come to this realization through the violence and hatred at the hands of the girl at the doctor’s office reading Human Development, which is probably what Mrs. Turpin needs to be reading, through her veil of contempt, who has seen Ruby as she truly is. Her faith, distain, and dislike for others “below her” humble her but at the same time elevates her to a place of euphoria she never would’ve reached without the outburst of that crazy college girl at