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March 22, 2006
Had Bevel lived...
O'Connor, '''A Temple of the Holy Ghost'' -- Jerz: American Lit II (EL 267)
"She would pull down her mouth and hold her forehead as if she were in agony and groan, "Fawther, we thank Thee," exactly the way he did and she had been told many times not to do it. She would never be a siant, but she thought she could be a martyr if they killed her quick." (94)
O'Connor flat-out nails how a young person, who is coming into their own and really starting to question their world can feel about the whole religion/church rituals which the adults seem to swallow hook, line & sinker. Although "the child" has her fun, she also believes enough to sincerely pray to be a better person. The confusion that Bevel had in "The River" is carried on in this girl of 12.
Posted by BrendaChristeleit at March 22, 2006 8:56 PM
Comments
Brenda,
I found this to be humorous and funny. She is very clever and she does admit her guilt and faults. Amazing for a young girl to know exactly where she has went astray. I also think that she is cleaver and smart enough to outwit the older girls. Interesting point on the Confusion of Bevel and the river and this girl. I wonder why she didn't have a name.
Posted by: LisaRandolph at March 22, 2006 10:33 PM
While the narrator does mention that she sometimes felt religious "fervor" while praying, she only experienced it while praying for selfish things. And, of course, when she doesn't reach that highly emotional state, her prayers seem like mindless rituals rather than the intelligent, conscious pursuit of a closer relationship with God.
Posted by: ChrisU at March 23, 2006 2:54 AM
Brenda, I just blogged very similar ideas on Jason's blog. I felt much the same as a child being taught how to be a good Catholic. It seems like Bevel and the child are representing O'Connor's own ideas as a young adult. I think she must have questioned the ideas put forth by her religion and she is showing us that children need guidance to come to a clear understanding. Bevel obviously didn't have this and the child's future is unknown. When the nun "swooped down on her mischievously and nearly smothered he rin the black habit, mashing the side of her face into the crucifix" I took this as O'Connor's way of showing how religion can be pushed fiercely upon us and how confusing this can be to children. I think the child did try to pray because she was taught to do so and whether this was meaningful or mindless, she was making an effort.
Posted by: Jennifer DiFulvio at March 23, 2006 11:13 AM
I think that this girl does pretty well in experiencing God through prayer for only being 12 years old. I'm not sure how much religious fervor a 12 year old can feel. We adults fill their heads with seemingly innocent things like:
"Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
If I die before I wake,
I pray the Lord my soul to take."
No kid beleives that they are going to die in their sleep, but adults make them recite this prayer night after night before they really understand it, and by that time, they don't even think about it's meaning, which can be really scary to a child. I think about Stephen Daedalus in "Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man" and how he describes eternity and hell. Religion is drummed into kids' heads before they have an ability to make any conscious decisions about it. Its not necessarily a bad thing, it's just the way it is. Maybe that's why Catholics receive the sacrament of confirmation at about "the child"'s age.
Posted by: Brenda Christeleit at March 23, 2006 7:14 PM
Brenda-
I like how you pointed out that although this young girl prays, she is also confused about what she is praying for or maybe to whom...this is pointed out when she confesses that she does sort of make "fun" of how the father speaks in church and the church followers unison response. I felt how this girl was feeling when I was her age about religion...I may still feel that way, ha...but I used to not understand why I was being forced to go to church and my CCD classes. It seemed pointless to me, I thouhgt that if I prayed to God on my own that it was more personal...back then it may have been more personal in a selfish way like the little girl. Now, my prayers are more mature and for the better good...but still with confusion about what is beyond life... I enjoyed reading about this story alot and seeing what everyone blogged about!
Posted by: Terra Stumpf at March 27, 2006 7:21 PM