Pain is Always Too Real

"'What lies have you been telling today, honey?' He shut his eye and heard her voice from a long way away, as if he were under the river and she on top of it" (O'Conner 41).

I feel very sad for this little boy because this passage shows how much emotional pain he is in. For being so young, this is outrageous. His parents don't show him much attention and also have serious issues of their own. This little boy is not stupid and can see that. The whole experience of going to the river with Mrs. Connin was something so memorable for him and something that he saw as a saving grace. His mother was his pain and because of that, he just wanted to be saved and throw that pain away. The river came to his mind because the preacher said that the river is where you throw your pain in. This little boy was obviously very lost because he didn't even tell his real name. He wanted to escape in any way that he could. Emotional pain can be just as bad, if not worse than physical pain because it takes over your spirit and sense of happiness. You can lose hope and feel as though you just want to run away, but that place to run to is eternal. This is what I saw in this little boy. This passage clearly shows his pain because he was in another world. He was thinking of the saving river and her words not being there to harm him.