The Violent Bear It Away
Flannery
O’Connor
Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1977. 243 pages.
Reviewed by Lee Ann Alexander
Flannery
O’Connor’s fiction has been widely acclaimed and gracefully takes its place
in all the major American literature anthologies. Known for her grotesque
imagery and disturbing violence, she exacts an incomparable intensity upon
readers by structuring each and every sentence with power-packed diction. Word
choice is deliberate and measured with a provocatively pronounced effect—we
feel the weight of every word. I’ve pulled and read literary reviews and
articles enough to fill your screen with footnotes, and the English student in
me wants to analyze the technical literary elements she so masterfully executes.
Yet I find myself pulled into this novel by something far more profound.
O’Connor
did not duck daunting religious issues, but rather hunted them down savagely and
exposed them with an intensity that captivates me. Openly proclaiming her faith,
the author penned standout fiction obsessed with the question of the Deity,
mercy, and redemption—all in the southern gothic style that she in large part
created. Her work is so rich and complex that a reader like me is left days
later still trying to dissect the allegory, the character representations, and
the concluding message about that familiar religion question.
I
was a bit overwhelmed by the intensity of The Violent Bear It Away, and had a
hard time finally digesting the bombardment of religious themes and overtones
that all at once seemed both positive and negative. The Christian reader might
at first tend to be offended, or at least confused, by the fanatical and flawed
religious caricatures, though most scholars agree that the novel ultimately
casts a favorable light on religion. Yet there’s a deeper moral at work than
merely the value of organized religion.
Here’s
the grand design: a 14-year-old boy named Tarwater goes to town to live with his
uncle Rayber after being kidnapped by his great uncle (old Tarwater) years
earlier in order to be baptized and raised according to old Tarwater’s
religious beliefs. There begins a battle for his soul between the fanatical
religious ideals of old Tarwater and the opposing logic-oriented agnosticism of
Rayber.
On
the one hand, Rayber is too rational, and his debilitating lack of human emotion
or faith in anything keeps him from loving anyone, even to the point of
attempting to kill his own son. On the other hand, old Tarwater perpetuates a
religion that justifies any means deemed necessary for its fulfillment, even to
the point that young Tarwater finally drowns Rayber’s son in his monstrous
attempt to baptize the boy. These disturbing characters are pitted at extreme
opposites to show the necessity of balancing reason and religion, faith and
logic.
I’m
not hard-pressed to find a Christian application from this novel that takes its
very title from that much-quoted passage, “And from the days of John the
Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take
it by force.” (Matthew 11:12) O’Connor chronicles the proclivity toward
violence that emerges out of absolute blind obedience in a religious system. I
can’t help but be reminded of the current state of terrorism and the ongoing
suicide bombings in Israel at the hands of people convinced that no cost is too
great to fulfill their religious mission. This novel reminds us that we must
understand the distinction between obeying doctrines in a belief system versus
being brainwashed.
As
a member of a religious organization that has been sometimes branded as a cult
by those who don’t understand our doctrine, I’m challenged by O’Connor’s
book more than ever to know what I believe and why I believe it. We, as
individuals, must have a personal, supernatural experience with God and
must weigh our actions and beliefs with the Bible. God grants us a sound mind.
Let’s use it to make sure we become the approved, studious workmen He has
called us to be, rightly dividing the word of truth.
ninetyandnine.com
© 2002, Lee Ann Alexander
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Lee Ann Alexander
is earning her M. A. in English literature at Southeastern Louisiana University.
She is actively involved in her home church and enjoys writing and playing the
guitar. Her next big project is the “send Lee Ann to General Conference”
penny drive.
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