AN ANALYSIS OF CONFLICTS IN THREE SELECTED
SHORT STORIES OF FLANNERY O’ CONNOR
A THESIS
ANANTA POLITAN BANGUN
Reg.No. 050721050
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
FACULTY OF LETTER
UNIVERSITY OF SUMATERA UTARA
MEDAN
Approved by the English Department of Faculty of Letters University of Sumatra
Utara (USU) Medan as thesis for The Sarjana Sastra Examination.
Chairperson
Secretary
Drs. Umar Mono, Dipl.Trans.,M.Hum
Dra. Hj. Swesana Mardia Lubis, M. Hum
AN ANALYSIS OF CONFLICTS IN THREE SELECTED SHORT
STORIES OF FLANNERY O’ CONNOR
A THESIS
BY
ANANTA POLITAN BANGUN
Reg.No. 050721050
Supervisor,
Co Supervisor,
Dra. Martha Pardede, M.S
Drs. Siamir Marulafau, M.Hum.
Submitted to Faculty of Letters University of Sumatera Utara
In Partial fulfillment of the requirements
For the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
In English Department
ENGLISH DEPARTEMENT
FACULTY OF LETTERS
UNIVERSITY OF SUMATRA UTARA
MEDAN
Accepted by the Board of Examiner in partial fulfillment of requirements
for the degree of Sarjana Sastra from English Department, Faculty of
Letters, University of North Sumatra, Medan.
The examination is held on the Faculty of Letters, University of Sumatra
Utara on Friday, 26
thSeptember 2007.
The Dean of Faculty of Letters
University of Sumatra Utara
Prof. Syaifuddin, MA, Ph. D
NIP. 123098531
Board of Examiners
Drs. Umar Mono, Dipl.Trans.,M.Hum
………..
Dra. Hj. Swesana Mardia Lubis, M. Hum.
………..
Drs. Syahri Saja, M.A
………..
Drs. Parlindungan Purba, M.Hum
………..
Dra. Martha Pardede, M.S
………..
i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank the Almighty God that due to His help, my thesis has
been successfully completed. It is written in partial fulfillment of the final
academic requirement to obtain the S-1 degree from the English Department,
University Of Sumatera Utara.
In completing this thesis, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to
Dra. Martha Pardede, M.S. as my consultant and co-supervisor Drs. Siamir Marulafau, M.A who give valuable advices, goodness, comments, encouragements, and criticisms to the writer to extend her perception and
knowledge. Special thanks are also written due to the Dean of the faculty of letters
University Of Sumatra Utara, Drs. Syaifuddin MA. Ph. D for his guidance and
encourages during her study at the faculty. Next, I would like to thanks Drs.
Umar Mono, M.Hum as the head of English Department and Dra. Swesana Mardiah Lubis, M.Hum as the secretary of English Department, for their
suggestions and administrative assistances in completing this thesis. I also would
like to thank the lectures that have taught me during the study at the faculty of
letters.
The writer also thanks my beloved parents: (Alm) Drs. Aziz Bangun and
Rosianna br Purba, my beloved sister and brother Lawrent br Bangun and Bastanta Bangun for their never ending loves, spiritual supports and prayers.
And finally the writer thanks to my best friends Brother Amazone Kaban, Edi
Wardi Tarigan, Mario, Sanni, Muhammad Fahmi, Efi Nondang, Tiakhiroh, Sekar, and all the other friends that joined English Extension Programme,
and all funny and kind customers of Amazone Digital Printing for their supports,
encouragement, jokes, and suggestions. And finally, last but not least thanks for
all the love and the conflicts that we face and solve together J . Honestly, the hard times with all of you is a gracious bless in my life.
Medan, September 2007
The writer,
ABSTRAK
Tesis ini berjudul “An Analysis Of Conflicts In Three Selected Short Stories
Of Flannery O’ Connor” yang memusatkan pada analisis mengenai unsur konflik
yang terdapat pada tiga cerita pendek pilihan yang ditulis oleh Flannery
O’Connor, yakni: A Good Man Is Hard To Find, Everything That Rises Must
Converge, dan Greenleaf.
Penulis mengumpulkan dan menyeleksi kutipan-kutipan yang dari ketiga
cerita pendek tersebut sesuai dengan faktor-faktor yang mengakibatkan
konflik-konflik yang dialami oleh para karakter di dalamnya, berikutnya penulis
menganalisis keseluruhan faktor-faktor tersebut dengan mengklasifikasikan
konflik-konflik yang terjadi menurut karakter utamanya, yaitu konflik eksternal
dan konflik internal yang dialami oleh si pelaku utama.
Permasalahan yang akan diangkat dalam tesis ini ialah menganalisis
bagaimana konflik-konflik yang terjadi pada karakter utama dalam cerita pendek
karangan Flannery O’Connor berdasarkan faktornya masing-masing. Dengan
analisis tersebut akan didapati ciri khas pada tiga cerita pendek pilihan karangan
beliau di dalam tesis ini pada khususnya, dan pada cerita pendek karangan beliau
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENT ... i
ABSTRACT ... ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS... iii
1. INTRODUCTION ... 1
1.1. The Background of Study ... 1
1.2. Statement of the Problem ... 2
1.3. The Purpose of Study ... 3
1.4. The Scope of Study ... 3
1.5. Theoritical Framework ... 4
1.6. Review of Related Literature ... 6
2. METHOD OF STUDY ... 8
3. A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SHORT STORY AND CONFLICT ... 10
3.1. Short Story ... 10
3.1.1. Short story as the part of Literary Genres ... 10
3.1.2. The definition and characteristics of short story ... 11
3.1.3. Differences between short story and novel ... 12
3.2. Conflict ... 13
3.2.1. The relationship between plot and conflict ... 13
3.2.2. The definition and types of conflict ... 15
4. ANALYSIS OF CONFLICTS IN THREE SELECTED SHORT STORIES OF FLANNERY O’ CONNOR... 18
4.1. Conflicts In A Good Man Is Hard To Find ... 18
4.1.1. Main Character’s External Conflict ... 19
4.2. Conflicts In Everything That Rises Must Converge ... 30
4.2.1. Main Character’s External Conflict ... 31
4.2.2. Main Character’s Internal Conflict ... 37
4.3. Conflicts In Greenleaf... 39
4.3.1. Main Character’s External Conflict ... 39
4.3.2. Main Character’s Internal Conflict ... 49
5. CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS ... 51
5.1. Conclusion ... 51
5.2. Suggestions ... 52
1
I. INTRODUCTION
1.1. The Background of the Study
The title of this thesis is conflict in three selected short stories of Flannery
O’Connor. They are “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”, “Everything That Rises Must
Converge”, and “Greenleaf”. Short story is belongs to prose fiction, shorter in
form than a novel. It is single directed either in theme, plot and characters to show
unity, to quote Nurgiyantoro (1998:9).
It is true that every prose fiction contains a story. Yet, the point is what kind
of story it means. Kenney (1966:12) states that:
“a story is minimum events that occur in temporal sequence that is one after another. The story of a man’s life, for example, will include his birth, his growing up, his marriage, his growing old, his death. Obviously, these events occur over a period of a time. “
The focus of analysis in this thesis does not focus only on that minimum of
events but also to story that contains a conflict. It is connected to the conflict
contained in the stories. To quote what Kenney further says (1966:19):
“ the conflicts with which fiction concern itself are of many kinds. A story may deal with a conflict within a single man, a conflict between men, a conflict between man and society, between man and nature, and so on. “
In reference from what Kenney says about the conflict above, I found that
conflict refers to person which deals with life situation. It is only situation that
offers a conflict. So, the focus of my attention is the main character’s conflict as
portrayed in the three selected short stories of O’Connor. Anyhow, a character in
The main character’s conflict is limited to internal and external conflict.
Internal refers to his personal conflict of himself; meanwhile, external one covers
an individual outside of the main character such as another individual and or
society.
Conflict occurs when man fails to fulfill his complete desire. It is natural to
every man since complete satisfaction is rather impossible to reach. It happens
because a man has restricted capacity to satisfy all his needs. Conflict it self is
very close to frustrations stem from three sources: the inability to overcome
obstacles in the physical environment, the inability to overcome restrictions
imposed by other people, and the inability to satisfy conflicting motives or to
obtain incompatible goals, to quote Moskowitz (1965:309).
All the conflicting matters as explained above can be traced in the three
selected short stories of O’Connor. That is why, I focus to analyze the main
character’s conflict in terms of obstacles occurring as portrayed in the stories. This
is the background as well as the reason why I analyze conflict in this thesis.
1.2. The Statement of the Problem
There are three selected short stories written by Flannery O’Connor being
analyzed in this thesis. They are “A Good Is Hard to Find”, “Everything That
Rises Must Converge”, and “Greenleaf”. The analysis is focused on conflict as
portrayed in the short stories. The word conflict suggests an intrigue which covers
life situation. As life situation deals with man’s struggle for living, the analysis of
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The focus of the analysis in the thesis is the main character’s conflict
through the three selected short stories, the conflict is about how the main
character faces his own conflict, he is in conflict with himself and his conflict with
another individual and or with society. It is conflict that makes a story is full with
intense. How it is started and faced and solved for better solution in order to get
wisdom in living.
1.3. The Purpose of Study
Conflict is the central in every story in literary works. It is an important
element that contained in plot of a story. It sounds problem that involves character
to take the story all in unity. To say simply, there won’t be literary works without
sequence of events or plot (especially the conflict) that unites all the elements of
literary works. In reference to this, the thesis aims at the exploring of the conflict
situation as expressed in three selected short stories of Flannery O’Connor. It
tends to find out of how the main character starts and faces and eventually solves
his conflict, internally and externally.
1.4. The Scope of Study
The analysis of the present thesis is limited to internal and external conflict
of the main character. An internal conflict suggests that a main character is in
conflict with himself; while, the external conflict means the main character is in
conflict with things out of himself such as another individual and society.
Therefore, the scope of the analysis is restricts to main character’s internal conflict
1.5. Theoretical Framework
Literature is broadly known as a kind of writing that tells a story. This kind
of writing is supposed to be imaginative for it tends particularly to tell subjective
matters. It deals with rather subjective than objective, then the literary kinds of
writing is grouped as fictitious kind of writing.
Nurgiyantoro (1994:2-3) confirms that fiction is narrative prose or narrative
text in literary kind of writing. It is imaginative story which is far away from the
truth. It is relatively compared to reality that offers factual event or truth in order
to mean what fiction is. Anyhow, fictions tell various problems of life with the
involvement of man as central of intention and exploration. Further he says:
“Fiksi menceritakan berbagai masalah kehidupan manusia
dalam interaksinya dengan lingkungan dan sesama, interaksinya dengan diri sendiri, serta interaksinya dengan Tuhan. Walau berupa khayalan, tidak benar jika fiksi dianggap sebagai kerja lamunan belaka, melainkan perenungan terhadap hidup dan kehidupan.”
“Fiction narrates various problems of human’s life in his interaction with his environment and fellows, and his interaction with himself, and also his interaction with Almighty God. Eventhough it is an imagery thing, it is not true to consider the fiction just as the imagery work, but it is a reflection of live and life.” (Trans.)
To quote Robert’s opinion (1995:2-10 about literature in which he means it as
composition that tell stories, dramatize situations, express emotions, and analyze
and advocate ideas. He classifies literature into four categories or genres: (1)
prose fiction, (2) poetry, (3) drama, and (4) nonfiction prose. Usually the first
5
fictions, or narrative fiction, includes myths, parables, romances, novels, and
shaped, but today the word refer to prose stories based in the author’s
imagination.
This thesis presents two important technical terms that is short story and
conflict. Short story is belongs to prose fiction. It is a brief, imaginative,
unfolding in a single predominating incident and a single chief character. It
contains a plot, the detail which are so compressed, and the whole treatment so
organized, as to produce a single impression, to adopt Esenwein’s idea in Marleini
(1999:1).
The suggesting word of plot as stated above brings an understanding of
conflict. It is so because plot suggests a sequence of events that show connection,
relation, cause and effect. The essence of plot may be referred to E.M. Forster’s
famous distinction between plot and story. He formulates in Tennyson
(1967:13-14) his statement as follows:
“The King died and then the Queen died, is a story” “The King died and the Queen died of grief is a plot”
It is grasped that plot offers the knot of conflict that contains elements of
intrigue and how the intrigue will be resolved. It is a conflict that lies at the centre
of the plot. In addition, Tennyson (1967:14) argues that there are three basic plots
in all of literature. The three basic conflicts most frequently cited are: (1) the
individual in conflict with another individual, (2) the individual in conflict with
himself, and (3) the individual in conflict with an outside force (for example,
society and super natural agents).
What has been directed to deal with plot anyhow refers to character, and
order to understand conflict as portrayed in the three selected short stories of
Flannery O’Connor.
1.6. The Review of Related Literature
I use two thesis of my senior university students from University of
Sumatera Utara and some theoretical books to help me understand how to analyze
conflicts in short story, in which the study of these thesis has quite similar
theoretical framework and focusing on conflict through characters in literary
works. The two thesis and the theoretical books that I use as his review of related
literature are:
1. An Analysis Of Conflict In Three Hemingway’s Short Stories. By: Marleini
This thesis analyzes the conflicts among characters in three selected short
stories of Ernest Hemingway. This thesis provides the definition of short
story and conflicts, and also kinds of conflicts among the characters of
those three selected short stories.
2. An Analysis Of Conflict In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice And Men. By: Eka Junita
This thesis also does the analysis on conflict among characters in John
Steinbeck’s Of Mice And Men. Besides this thesis also give brief
description about conflict.
3. How To Analyze Fiction by William Kenney.
This book explains the steps of analyzing fiction, especially the short
stories. Besides it also describe the elements in fictions, especially the
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4. The Short Story: An Introduction By: Wilfred Stone
This book gives the clear description about novel and short stories, and the
2. METHOD OF THE STUDY
In order to analyze the conflicts in three selected short stories of Flannery
O’Connor, they are: A Good Man Is Hard To Find, Everything That Rises Must
Converge, and Greenleaf; I apply the library research as the method in composing
this thesis. In analyzing those three selected short stories, I should find out the
data to support my analysis. First of all, I read those three selected short stories of
Flannery O’Connor in order to have understanding about the content of those
short stories. Then, in order get the data, I use some steps as follows:
a) Data collecting procedure
This is the first step in analyzing the thesis. The primary source of the data
is the text itself. I underline and collect the important things from the novel such
as the information about the characteristics of each character, the way the
characters interact with other characters, and how do the characters respond to
certain accident in those short stories. I do the same thing with the related book
and references as the secondary data of my thesis. I use some books and several
other resources as references related to the subject matter being analyzed. Those
books are the books about conflict and short story. I mark the important
information from the sources which explain about the short story and conflicts.
b) Data selecting procedure
The second step is data selecting. All information that I have collected are
being selected and only the very significant data are used in the process of doing
9
the conflict and the motif of the conflict, in order to ease me in data analyzing
procedure.
c) Data analyzing procedure
The last step is data analyzing. All the selected data are being analyzed to
achieve what has been planned for the objective of this thesis and finally a
3. A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SHORT STORY AND CONFLICT
3.1. Short Story
3.1.1. Short story as the part of Literary Genres
Literature as the core of artistic writing always becomes the object of
analysis or research for those related to the scope of academics. The analysis of
the literature can be very wide; then people attempt to analyze it through its
genres.
Commonly, many people know that literature genres can be divided into
three parts, they are: poetry, prose, and drama. But, this is not proper to be a
reference in a scientific analysis, since the division does not cover all forms of
literary genres universally. According to Edgar V. Roberts (Roberts, 1995: 2) ;
“Literature may be classified into four categories or genres: (1) prose fiction, (2) poetry, (3) drama, and (4) nonfiction prose. Usually the first three are classed as imaginative literature.”
Based on the quotation above, the literary genres can be divided into four genres,
they are: prose fiction, poetry, drama and non fiction prose.
The object of study in this thesis, the prose fiction itself, has some sub
genres, just as stated by Edgar V. Roberts (Roberts, 1995: 2); they are: prose
fiction, narrative fiction, includes myths, parables, romances, novels, and short
stories. While, the complete division of prose fiction’s genres as stated by Richard
Taylor (Taylor, 1981: 41);
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Shortly, Richard Taylor divides the prose fiction into seven sub divisions, they are:
the folk tale, the epic, the romance, allegory, satire, novel, and short story.
Through the quotations above, it is known that the prose fiction is divided into
some sub divisions; one of them is the short story.
3.1.2. The definition and characteristics of short story
Short story as the part of the prose fiction genres can be defined as the prose
fiction works that may be read in a brief time. This is according Edgar Allan Poe
who states that the short story has the ‘unity of effect or impression’ was of prime
importance, and this unity could be obtained only in works that could be read ‘at
one sitting (Stone, 1976:5).According to Poe’s definition, the short story also has
unique characteristics. One of them is the ‘unity of effect and impression’. This
unity also becomes the factor that distinguishes the short story with other prose
fiction genres especially with the novel.
The definition of short story based on the time of reading it, is still not
accurate enough to describe the short story. Edgar V. Roberts in Literature:
Introduction to Reading and Writing (Roberts, 1995:1707) defines that short story;
“A compact, concentrated work of narrative fiction that may also contain description, dialogue, and commentary. Poe used the term ‘brief prose tale’ for the short story, and emphasized that it should create a major, unified impact.”
While Richard Taylor (Taylor, 1981:48) also defines that;
forms. In it we see the basic unit or building block of the novel isolated for examination.”
3.1.3. Differences between short story and novel
The first formal difference between short story and novel is through the
length of the story content. A short story that has long content (for instance in
hundreds of pages) of course may not be called as a short story, but precisely as a
novel. The short story, according to its name, is a story which is short in length of
content. But there is still no any convention among prose fiction writer and
scientist of prose fiction about it, except as stated by Edgar Allan Poe. Based on
this difference, Burhan Nurgiyantoro (Nurgiyantoro, 1998:10) distinguishes them
as follow;
“Walaupun sama-sama pendek, panjang cerpen itu sendiri
bervariasi. Ada cerpen yang pendek (short short story), bahkan mungkin pendek sekali: berkisar 500-an kata; ada cerpen yang panjangnya cukupan (middle short story), serta ada cerpen yang panjang (long short story), yang terdiri dari puluhan (atau bahkan beberapa puluh) ribu kata. Karya sastra yang disebut novelete adalah karya yang lebih pendek daripada novel, tetapi lebih panjang daripada cerpen, katakanlah pertengahan di antara keduanya. Cerpen yang panjang yang terdiri dari puluhan ribu kata tersebut, barangkali, dapat disebut juga sebagai novelet.”
“Eventhough they are the same in the shortness of the content, the length of the short story may vary. There is short story which including into short short story, and even very short: about 500s words; there is short story including to middle short story, and also the long short story, that consist of tens (or even tens of thousand) words. Literary work which is called novellete is the work which is shorter than the novel, but it is longer than the short story. It can be said the middle between them. Short story that consist of thousands of words, perhaps, can be included as the novellete.” (Trans.)
According to the quotation above, we may know that the novel is much
more in the length of content than the short story. Through that factor, novel may
13
detail, and give various problems which are more complex. But the short story,
with the less of length of content, may fulfill the ‘criteria’ of unity than the novel.
Because the shortness in its content, the short story should have brief story telling,
it does not give “specific details which are not important” that make story be
longer in content. This is according Burhan Nurgiyantoro (Nurgiyantoro, 1998:
11) who states that;
“Kelebihan cerpen yang khas adalah kemampuannya
mengemukakan secara lebih banyak—jadi, secara implisit— dari sekedar apa yang diceritakan. Di pihak lain, kelebihan novel yang khas adalah kemampuannya menyampaikan permasalahan yang kompleks secara penuh, mengkreasikan sebuah dunia yang “jadi”. Hal itu berarti membaca sebuah novel menjadi lebih mudah sekaligus lebih sulit daripada membaca cerpen. Ia lebih mudah karena tidak menuntut kita memahami masalah yang kompleks dalam bentuk (dan waktu) yang sedikit. Sebaliknya ia lebih sulit karena berupa penulisan yang lebih besar daripada cerpen.”
“The typical excess of the short story is its ability to offer things in greater number — so, implicitly — than what is narrated. In other side, the typical excess is its ability to carry on complex problem fully, in creating a world that has been “exist”. That thing means reading a novel become easier and also be more difficult than reading a short story. It is easier because it does not demand us to comprehend the complex problem in little form (and time). In other way, it is more difficult because its content of the composition is greater in number than the short story has. (Trans.)
3.2. Conflict
3.2.1. The relationship between plot and conflict
One of the elements in intrinsic elements is the plot. Generally, plot is
regarded as the chronology of events. This opinion is not quietly true. Plot does
have the events that happen chronologically, but the plot itself is more than the
Aspects of the Novel, E.M. Forster distinguishes the simple story from the more
complex plot:
““The king died and the queen died” is a story. “The king died and then the queen died of grief” is a plot. “
Both of the examples in the quotation above do have the events, but if they are
compared, it will be found that the essential differences on the existence of the
events. The first example is something that happen commonly or naturally, thing
that happen in the first event does not have the causality relationship with the next
event. While the second example shows the causality relationship, which means
the existence of an event is caused by the previous event. The examples above do
not only show the events that exist in a plot should not chronologically but the
order should have the causality events. This according to Edgar V. Roberts’
statement (Roberts, 1998:88);
“In a well-plotted story, things precede or follow each other not simply because time ticks away, but more importantly because effects follow causes. In a good story nothing is irrelevant or accidental; everything is related and causative.”
Based on the explanation above, Edgar V. Roberts defines the meaning of plot
(Roberts, 1998:1708) as:
“The plan or groundwork for a story, with the actions from believable and authentic human responses to a conflict. It is causation, conflict, response, opposition, and interaction that make a plot out of a series of actions.”
To Edgar V. Roberts the order of plot can be divided into five categories,
they are: exposition, complication, crisis, climax, and resolution or dénouement
(in which he describes that the complication is the onset of the major conflict
which support the categories move to the next categories of plot). According to
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“The well-made plot, like the classical models from which it is derived, always contained an introduction, a development section of rising action, a crisis or catastrophe, a resolution or falling action and a climax or unraveling of the original conflict that had set the plot in motion. The effect is to organize subject matter into a logical and expressive structure which also has the benefit of a balanced and satisfying external pattern or shape. A well-made plot can always be represented graphically since its outline is so pure and unity as well as decorum are so essential to it.
Of course, the well-made plot is only possible when dealing with a subject matter and theme which can be expressed by a linear or straightforward development of events because A happened, B followed, and because B happened, C followed, etc. The logic of events in well-made plot is a pattern of progressive consequences, of cause and effect, of expectation and fulfillment.”
Besides giving the explanation of well-made plot from the quotation above,
Richard Taylor also provide the explanation through the picture as shown in the
next page.
Based on the order of plots from Edgar V. Roberts and Richard Taylor, it is
known that conflict trigger the order of plot to move to the next order of plot.
Without the conflict there will be no movement of the order of plot in a prose
fiction, especially in short story.
3.2.2. The definition and types of conflict
Based on its role, conflict has the main role in a prose fiction works,
especially the short story that does not provide the “unimportant” details which Conflict
Action
make the content of the story be longer. Conflict is needed to move the order of
plot faster to the next order.
By knowing the role of the conflict, the definition of conflict, can be drawn
easily. One of the well definitions of conflict is as stated by Edgar V. Roberts
(Roberts, 1995:1694);
“The opposition between two characters, between large groups of people, or between protagonists and larger forces such as natural objects, ideas, modes of behavior, public opinion, and the like. Conflict may also be internal and psychological, involving choices facing a protagonist. “
To Edgar V. Roberts, the conflict is also the sub elements that cause the doubt,
create tension, and produce the interest of the prose fiction works.
In common aspect, the conflict itself consists of two types, they are: the
internal conflict, that is the struggle within one’s self; a person must make some
decision, overcome paint, quite their temper, resist an urge, etc.; and the external
conflict, that is the struggle with a force outside one’s self. As an addition,
Tennyson (1967:14) argues that there are three basic of conflicts in all plot of
prose fiction. The three basic conflicts most frequently cited are: (1) the
individual in conflict with another individual, (2) the individual in conflict with
himself, and (3) the individual in conflict with an outside force (for example,
society and super natural agents).
In conclusion, short story is a form of short fictional narrative prose. Short
stories tend to be more concise and to the point than longer works of fiction, such
as novellas (in the modern sense of this term) and novels. Short stories have their
origins in oral story-telling traditions and the prose anecdote, a swiftly-sketched
17
opposition forces which ties one incident to another and makes the order of the
plot move. Conflict is not merely be limited to open arguments; rather it is any
form of opposition that faces the main character. Within a short story there may
be one central struggle, or there may be one dominant struggle with many minor
4. ANALYSIS OF CONFLICTS IN THREE SELECTED SHORT
STORIES OF FLANNERY O’ CONNOR
Conflicts in three selected short stories of Flannery O’Connor can be
divided into two kinds; they are the external conflict of the main character with
other characters and the internal conflict of the main character, because it is the
external conflict that results the internal conflict of the main character. Each of
these conflicts is also divided based on their natures that cause the conflict.
4.1. Conflicts In A Good Man Is Hard To Find
In Flannery O’Connor’s A Good Man Is Hard To Find, the main character is
the grand mother/the old lady (Bailey’s mother). The main character has the
internal conflict and external conflict. The internal conflict of the main character
is caused by the nature of telling lies to other characters in order to have her
wishes or to save her life. While the external conflict is caused by the nature of the
different wishes or different opinion about something of the main characters with
the other characters, they are: Bailey, Bailey’s wife, John Wesley, June Star, and
the Misfit.
The external conflict can be divided in two parts, the external conflict with
the Bailey’s family and the external conflict with the Misfit. The external conflict
with the Bailey’s family is dominated by the nature of the different wishes, the
less of respect, and telling lies. While in the external conflict with the Misfit, the
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4.1.1. Main character’s external conflict
Main character’s external conflict in A Good Man Is Hard To Find is mostly
happened with the other characters. Basically, the external conflict with other
characters can be divided into two parts, they are; with the Bailey’s family and
with the Misfit. The external conflict with the Bailey’s family is begun by the
nature of different wishes between the grand mother and the Bailey’s family. The
Bailey’s family would like to go to Florida, but the grand mother would like to go
to Tennessee in order to visit some of her relatives.
“The grandmother didn’t want to go to Florida. She wanted to visit some of her connections in east Tennessee and she was seizing every chance to change Bailey’s mind.” (Roberts, 1985:510)
This nature of different wishes between the grand mother and the Bailey’s
family cause the conflict among the member of the Bailey’s family is informed by
the quotation above. Besides it also shows that the grand mother keeps attempt to
make the Bailey’s family to cancel their travel to Florida but going to Tennessee.
a. The external conflict with Bailey
The external conflict of the grand mother with Bailey is caused by the
different wishes between them. Bailey feels that his mother just a burden and
always bothers him in order to cancel the travel to Florida. The conflict between
them is seen by the unrespected attitude of Bailey toward his mother (the grand
mother) that cause by the nature of different wishes between them.
The quotation above shows the effort of the grand mother to seize Bailey
not to go to Florida. Bailey who has known the real purpose of his mother just
ignores her. He ignores his mother because he has known they are in conflict
about different wishes on traveling out.
Even though the grand mother is his mother, but they also have conflict by
the nature of complaining the personal habit. The quotation below point that
Bailey complain about the grand mother’s habit on looking after a cat, especially
bring it in a travel.
“The next morning the grandmother was the first one in the car, ready to go. She had her big black valise that looked like the head of a hippotamus in one corner, and underneath it she was hiding a basket with Pitty Sing, the cat, in it. She didn’t intend for the cat be left alone in the house for three days …. (while) her son, Bailey didn’t like to arrive at a motel with a cat.” (Roberts, 1985:511)
It shows that they have a strange relationship, as if they regard each other as a
stranger; just as shown in the quotation below:
“She asked Bailey if he would like to dance but he only glared at her. He didn’t have naturally sunny disposition like she did and trips made him nervous.” (Roberts, 1985:512)
The tension of their conflict getting higher at the time the grand mother
attempts to persuade Bailey’s children to see the secret panel in an old house in
Georgia.
“She knew that Bailey would not be willing to lose any time looking at an old house, but the more she talked about it, the more she wanted to see it once again and find out if the little twin arbors were still standing. “There was a secret panel in this house, ”she said craftily, not telling the truth but wishing that she were, and the story went that all the family silver was hidden in it when Sherman came through but it was never found ….”
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Bailey was looking straight ahead. His jaw was as rigid as a horse shoe. ”No,” he said. …. The children began to yell and scream that they wanted to see the house with the secret panel. …
“All right!” he shouted and drew the car to a stop at the side of the road. “Will you all shut up? Will you all just shut up for one second? If you don’t shut up we won’t go anywhere.”
“It would be very educational for them,” the grandmother murmured.“ (Roberts, 1985:514)
At the time they get accident, the conflict between them has been a climax where
he becomes so mad about the accident that is caused by the grand mother.
“Bailey was removed the cat from his neck with both hands and flung it out the window against the side of a pine tree. …. “I believe I have injured an organ, but no one answered her. Bailey’s teeth were clattering. He had on a yellow sport shirt with bright blue parrots designed in it and his face was as yellow as the shirt.” (Roberts, 1985:515)
b. The external conflict with Bailey’s wife
The external conflict of the main character with Bailey’s wife just happens
once in the A Good Man Is Hard To Find. The conflict between them is happened
because the nature of the different wishes.
“…so she wheeled around then and faced the children’s mother …. “The children have been to Florida before,” the old lady said. “You all ought to take them somewhere else for a change so they would see different parts of the world and the broad. They never have been to east Tennessee.” The children’s mother didn’t seem to hear her …” (Roberts, 1985:510)
The quotation shows that Bailey’s wife ignores the grand mother. Her
attitude is the same with her husband. She also does it because the nature of the
c. The external conflict with Bailey’s children
The external conflict of the main character with Bailey’s children is caused
by the nature of different wishes and this makes them show unrespected attitude
toward the grand mother, since they also see that their parents do not respect the
grand mother.
““…, but the eight-year-old boy, John Wesley, a stocky child with glasses, said, “If you don’t want to go to Florida, why dontcha stay at home?” … She wouldn’t stay at home to be queen for a day,” June Star said without raising her yellow head.” (Roberts, 1985:510)
The conflict between Bailey’s children with the grand mother continue
when they argue about the Misfit who has escaped from the prison, how if he
catch them. The children respond by the offended answers, as shown in the
quotation below;
““Yes, and what would you do if this fellow, The Misfit, caught you?” the grandmother asked.” “I’d smack his face,” John Wesley said. “She wouldn’t stay at home for a million bucks,” June Star said. “Afraid she’d miss something. She has to go to everywhere we go. “All right, Miss,” the grandmother said. “Just remember that the next time you want me to curl your hair.” June Star said her hair was naturally curly.” (Roberts, 1985:510-511)
The unrespected attitude toward the grand mother is shown in the external
conflict between the main character and the children through the statement about
something that does not related to the travel. The argument between them seems a
common thing. But the quotation show that the grand mother has felt the sense of
unrespected attitude toward her, as quoted below;
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“Tennessee is just a hillbilly dumping ground,” John Wesley said, and Georgia is a lousy state too.”
“In my time,” said the grandmother, folding her thin veined fingers, “children were more respectful of their native states and their parents and everything else. People did right then.”” (Roberts, 1985:511)
In the moment they get accident, the Bailey’s children show the unrespected
attitude again toward the grand mother, and the children even feel better if the
grand mother dies because of the accident.
“We’ve had an ACCIDENT!” the children screamed in a frenzy of delight. “But nobody’s killed,” June Star said with disappointment as the grandmother limped out of the car.” (Roberts, 1985:515)
d. The external conflict with the Misfit
The external conflict of the main character with the Misfit is happened
based on the dishonest statements of the main character about the Misfit, beside
that the Misfit never trusts any other stranger who becomes his hostages. The
external conflict between the main character with the Misfit is began when the
grand mother recognize identity of the Misfit. As an escaped prisoner, the Misfit
feel that it may harm his position, so he threat the grand mother with a black
humor that become his characteristics in this short story.
“”You’re The Misfit!” she said.”I recognized you at once!” “Yes’m,” the man said smiling slightly as if he were pleased in spite of himself to be known,” but it would have been better for all of you, lady, if you hadn’t of reckernized me.” …
The grand mother realizes that she is in the dangerous situation; so she
begins to persuade the Misfit, by telling the well manner things about him, so that
the Misfit may let her and the Bailey’s family free.
“… she was looking at The Misfit squatting on the ground in front of her. “I just know you’re a good man,” she said desperately. “You’re not a bit common!”
“Nome I ain’t a good man,” The Misfit said after a second as if he had considered her statement carefully, “but I ain’t the worst in the world neither. My daddy said I was a different breed of dog from my brothers and sisters.” (Roberts, 1985:517)
In the moment they have a dialogue, they are speaking about the reason of
why the Misfit to be jailed by the police.
“”Pray, pray,” the grandmother began, “pray, pray …” “I never was a bad boy that I remember of,” The Misfit said in an almost dreamy voice,” but somewhere along the line I done something wrong and sent to the penitentiary. I was buried alive,” and he looked up and held her attention to him by a steady stare.
… “What did you do to get sent to the penitentiary that first time?”
“… . I forget what I done lady. I set there and set there, trying to remember what it was I done and I ain’t recalled it to this day. Oncet in a while, I would think it was coming to me, but it never come.”
“Maybe they put you in by mistake,” the old lady said vaguely.
“Nome,” he said. “It wasn’t no mistake. They had the papers on me.”
“You must have stolen something,” she said.
The Misfit sneered slightly. “Nobody had nothing I wanted,” he said. “It was a head-doctor at the penitentiary said what I had done was kill my daddy but I known that for a lie. My daddy died in nineteen ought nineteen of the epidemic flu and I never had a thing to do with it. He was buried in the Mount Hopewell Baptist churchyard and you can go there and see for yourself.”
…
“Well then, why don’t you pray?” she asked trembling with delight suddenly.
25
In the quotation above, all the grand mother’s guesses is contradicted by the
Misfit; and this show the conflict between them. Knowing that this conflict makes
her life getting more dangerous, so the grand mother begin to pray and call the
name of the God, but the Misfit keep to contradict about the belief to God.
“Finally she found herself saying, ”Jesus, Jesus,” meaning, Jesus will help you, but the way she was saying it, sounded as if she might be cursing.
“Yes’m,” The Misfit said as if he agreed. “Jesus thrown everything off balance. It was the same case with Him as with me except He hadn’t committed any crime and they could prove I had committed one because they had the papers on me. Of course,” he said,” they never shown me my papers. That’s why I sign my self now. I said long ago, you get a signature and sign everything you do and keep a copy of it. Then you’ll match and in the end you’ll have something to prove you ain’t been treated right. I call myself The Misfit,” he said, “because I can’t make what all I done wrong fit what all I gone through in punishment.”
“Does it seem right to you, lady, that one is punished a heap and another ain’t punished at all?”
“Jesus” the old lady cried, “You’ve got good blood! I know you wouldn’t shoot a lady! I know you come from nice people! Pray! Jesus, you ought not shoot a lady. I’ll give you all the money I’ve got!”
“Lady,” The Misfit said, looking beyond her far into the woods, “there never was a body give the undertaker a tip.”” (Roberts, 1985:519)
The conflict finish when the grand mother tries to touch the Misfit. That
makes him surprise and then he shoot her.
“She reached out and touched him on the shoulder. The Misfit sprang back as if a snake had bitten him and shot her three times through the chest. Then he put his gun down on the ground and took off his glasses and began to clean them.” (Roberts, 1985:520)
4.1.2. Main character’s internal conflict
The internal conflict that happen to the main character in Flannery
O’Connor’s A Good Man Is Hard To Find are commonly caused by the natures of
story, the nature is telling lies to the other character so that she can get her purpose
and to save her life.
The nature of the conflict is telling a lie that the grand mother does to
Bailey’s family about the secret panel in an old house in Georgia is done to make
them canceling the travel to Florida.
“She knew that Bailey would not be willing to lose any time looking at an old house, but the more she talked about it, the more she wanted to see it once again and find out if the little twin arbors were still standing. “There was a secret panel in this house,”she said craftily, not telling the truth but wishing that she were, and the story went that all the family silver was hidden in it when Sherman came through but it was never found ….”
“It’s not far from here, I know,” the grandmother said. “It wouldn’t take over twenty minutes.”
Bailey was looking straight ahead. His jaw was as rigid as a horse shoe. ”No,” he said. …. The children began to yell and scream that they wanted to see the house with the secret panel. …. “(Roberts, 1985:514)
The nature of telling lies is shown at the time they are almost arrive to the
old house, the grand mother suddenly aware that actually is in Tennessee and not
in Georgia. The nature is signed through the ashamed feeling in her self after
knowing the truth.
“It’s not much farther,” the grandmother said and just as she said it, a horrible thought came to her. The thought was so embarrassing that she turned red in the face and her eyes dilated and her feet jumped up, upsetting her valise in the corner.”(Roberts, 1985:515)
Through three quotations below, it will be found the order of plot that
trigger the internal conflict of the main character.
“The instant valise moved, the newspaper top she had over the basket under it rose with a snarl and Pitty Sing, the cat, sprang onto Bailey’s shoulder.
27
over once and landed right-side-up in a gulch on the side of the road. Bailey remained in the driver’s seat with the cat— gray-striped with a broad white face and an orange nose— clinging to his neck like a caterpillar. As soon as the children saw they could move their arms and legs, they scrambled out of the car, shouting, “We’ve had an ACCIDENT!”(Roberts, 1985:515)
“Bailey was removed the cat from his neck with both hands and flung it out the window against the side of a pine tree. …. “I believe I have injured an organ, but no one answered her. Bailey’s teeth were clattering. He had on a yellow sport shirt with bright blue parrots designed in it and his face was as yellow as the shirt. The grandmother decided that she would not mention that the house in Tennessee.“ (Roberts, 1985:515)
“The grandmother was curled up under the dashboard, hoping she was injured so that Bailey’s wrath would not come down on she had remembered so vividly was not in Georgia but in Tennessee.” (Roberts, 1985:515)
The first order is the accident that happens at the time they almost reach the
old house. The accident trigger the conflicts among them, first is the external
conflict of the main character with Bailey’s family, for Bailey’s family blame the
grand mother who makes them get into an accident. The second is the internal
conflict of the main character. The internal conflict is shown in the second
quotation when the main character decides not to tell the truth after seeing the
anger of Bailey. And in the third quotation, the main character attempts to find an
excuse to stop Bailey’s anger, and again gets the internal conflict by deciding not
to tell the truth.
The internal conflict of the main character by the purpose to have her wishes
done in A Good Man Is Hard To Find happen when the grand mother and
Bailey’s family are being hostaged by the Misfit and his friends (Hiram and
Bobby Lee). In the incident when they are hostaged by the Misfit; the nature of
other side, the Misfit knows the nature of telling lies by the grand mother about
him; it is shown by the black humor of the Misfit when responding the Grand
mother’s lies.
“… she was looking at The Misfit squatting on the ground in front of her. “I just know you’re a good man,” she said desperately. “You’re not a bit common!”
“Nome I ain’t a good man,” The Misfit said after a second as if he had considered her statement carefully, “but I ain’t the worst in the world neither. My daddy said I was a different breed of dog from my brothers and sisters.” (Roberts, 1985:517)
Based on the quotation above, the grand mother realizes that she is in
dangerous situation, so she thinks by telling the well manner things about the
Misfit (although she also knows that her statements are not true, and this cause the
internal conflict to her, but she has to do it), perhaps he will not hurt her and the
Bailey’s family. Besides persuading the Misfit by telling the well manner things,
she also persuades him to pray to God in order to ask the forgiveness of the Jesus
(God).
“Finally she found herself saying, ”Jesus, Jesus,” meaning, Jesus will help you, but the way she was saying it, sounded as if she might be cursing.
“Yes’m,” The Misfit said as if he agreed. “Jesus thrown everything off balance. It was the same case with Him as with me except He hadn’t committed any crime and they could prove I had committed one because they had the papers on me. Of course,” he said,” they never shown me my papers. That’s why I sign my self now. I said long ago, you get a signature and sign everything you do and keep a copy of it. Then you’ll match and in the end you’ll have something to prove you ain’t been treated right. I call myself The Misfit,” he said, “because I can’t make what all I done wrong fit what all I gone through in punishment.”
“Does it seem right to you, lady, that one is punished a heap and another ain’t punished at all?”
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Based on the quotation above; begin from line sixteen, it can be found five
sentences which show the internal conflict of the main character, they are:
1. “You’ve got good blood!”
2. “I know you wouldn’t shoot a lady!”
3. “I know you come from nice people!”
4. “Pray! Jesus, you ought not shoot a lady”
5. “I’ll give you all the money I’ve got!”
From these five sentences the nature that show the internal conflict is shown
step by step. First, the main character (the grand mother) telling lies that the Misfit
is a kind people, while she has known that Misfit is jailed for a crime (sentence 1
and 3), then state that a kind people should not shoot (kill) somebody (sentence 2
and 4).Finally, the nature is revealed when she said that she will give all her
money if she is not murdered by the Misfit. The Misfit gets the sense of the nature
and replies it by the black humor, as stated in the quotation below;
“Lady,” The Misfit said, looking beyond her far into the woods, “there never was a body give the undertaker a tip.”” (Roberts, 1985:519)
Another internal conflict of the main character, is shown when the main
character feels that her life is in critical moment, the incident make a conflict
inside herself whether her religion is true or not, especially about the existence of
God. This is shown by the quotation below;
The nature of telling lies through the main character’s statement here
showing the internal conflict of herself in which actually she knows that the Misfit
is an evil man but she causes the internal conflict by telling the untrue manner
about the Misfit in order to save her life. When aware that her life is in critical
situation she also gets conflict about her faith in religion.
So, the internal conflict of the main character in A Good Man Is Hard To
Find is caused by two natures; first is the nature of telling lies by the main
character, but with two different purposes they are; to make Bailey’s family to
cancel the travel to Florida, and to save her life from the evil of the Misfit. The
second is the nature of losing faith in religion.
4.2. Conflicts In Everything That Rises Must Converge
The short story of Flannery O’Connor’s Everything That Rises Must
Converge performs two characters who lead the whole plot of the short story; they
are Julian and Julian’s mother. But since the point of view mostly dominated by
the character of Julian, so it can be said that Julian is the main character in
Everything That Rises Must Converge.
The conflict in Everything That Rises Must Converge consist of two kinds,
they are: the internal conflict and the external conflict. The internal conflict of the
main character happen because Julian is still supported by his mother, since he
does not have a job. He would like to set his life free from his mother’s
domination and traditional perception, but unfortunately he can not do it. This
triggers both the internal and external conflict. The external conflict between
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makes him feel useless; besides he also feel nauseated by the past of his mother’s
life which she always being pride of, and because of the past memory her mother
always looks down the race who has been his mother’s slaves.
4.2.1. Main character’s external conflict
The main character’s external conflicts in Everything That Rises Must
Converge mostly happen between Julian and his mother. The conflict begins when
they will go the Julian’s mother weight reducing class in Y city.
“She would not ride the buses by herself at night since they had been integrated, …, she said Julian could at least put himself out to take her, considering all she did for him. Julian did not like to consider all she did for him, but every Wednesday night he braced himself and took her.
She was almost ready to go, standing before the hall mirror, putting on her hat, while he, his hands behind him, appeared pinned to the door frame, waiting like Saint Sebastian for the arrow to begin piercing him.” (Kennedy, 1991:319-320)
Based on the quotation above, it seems that Julian feels boring with his
mother’s habit and he hates everything that she did for him. His mother’s habit
always makes him nauseated. This is shown in the quotation below:
““She kept saying,” Maybe I shouldn’t have paid that for it. No, I shouldn’t have. I’ll take it off and return it tomorrow. I shouldn’t have bought it.”
Julian raise his eyes to heaven. “Yes, you should have bought it,” he said. Put it on and let’s go.” …. He decided it was less comical than jaunty and pathetic. Everything that gave her pleasure was small and depressed him.“ (Kennedy, 1991:320)
The nature is repeated again as in the quotation below:
The mother at last knows his feeling and decides to cancel the travel, but Julian
forces her to continue the travel and even by a rough statements.
“Julian thought he could have stood his lot better if she had been selfish, if she had been an old hag who drank and screamed at him. …. Catching sight of his long, hopeless, irritated face, she stopped suddenly with a grief-stricken look, and pulled back on his arm. “Wait on me,” she said. “I’m going back to the house and take this thing off and tomorrow I’m going to return it. I was out of my head. I can pay the gas bill with that seven-fifty.”
He caught her arm in a vicious grip. “You are not going to take it back.” he said. “I like it.” “Well, she said. “I don’t think I ought …”
“Shut up and enjoy it,” he muttered, more depressed than ever.” (Kennedy, 1991:321)
The conflict between them also deals with the nature of self identifying,
since Julian’s mother think that Julian can not be independent because he still does
not identify himself. This nature is shown by the quotation below:
““Of course,” she said, “if you know who you are, you can go anywhere.” She said this every time he took her to the reducing class. “Most of them in it are not our kind of people,” she said, “but I can be gracious to anybody. I know who I am.”
“They don’t give a damn for your graciousness,” Julian said savagely. “Knowing who you are is good for one generation only. You haven’t the foggiest idea where you stand now or who you are.”
She stopped and allowed her eyes to flash at him. “I most certainly do know who I am,” she said, “and if you don’t know who you are, I’m ashamed of you.”
“Oh hell,” Julian said.” (Kennedy, 1991:321)
The conflict which is triggered by remembering the royal of past life is
shown when Julian’s mother tells Julian that his-great grandfather was a former
governor of their state.
“”Your great-grandfather was a former governor of this state,” she said.”Your grandfather was a prosperous landowner. Your grandmother was a Godhigh.”
33
the neighborhood, which the growing darkness at least made less dingy.
“You remain what you are,” she said. ”Your great-grandfather had a plantation and two hundred slaves.” “There are no more slaves,” he said irritably.”” (Kennedy, 1991:321)
It also shows the nature of looking down the race who was the slave in Julian’s
state. That makes Julian’s mother always look down the races who was Julian’s
great-grandfather slaves. This nature makes them being in conflict since Julian
sees that nowadays all people have the same right and position. Besides he also
realize they are not as prosperous as they were.
The stress the nature of the conflict between them makes Julian can not hide
her feeling toward his mother, and that make the conflict between them getting
worse.
“The frustration of having to wait on the bus as well as ride on it began to creep up his neck like a hot hand. The presence of his mother was a borne in upon him as she gave a pained sigh. He looked at her bleakly. She was holding herself very erect under the preposterous hat, wearing it like a banner of her imaginary dignity. There was in him an evil urge to break her spirit. He suddenly unloosened his tie and pulled it off and put it in his pocket.
…. “Why must you look like that when you take me to town!” she said. “Why must you deliberately embarrass me!”
“If you’ll never learn where you are,” he said, “you can at least learn where I am.”
…
“I’ll just go home,” she said. ”I will not bother you. If you can’t do a little thing like that for me …”
Rolling his eyes upward, he put his tie back on. ”Restored to my class,” he muttered. He thrust his face toward her and hissed, “True culture is in the mind, the mind,” he said, and tapped his head, “the mind.”
“It’s in the heart,” she said, ”and in how you do things and how you do things is because of who you are.”
“I care who I am,” she said icily. (Kennedy, 1991:322)
Julian thinks that he is not dominated by his mother anymore; he can do
“The further irony of all this was that in spite of her, he had turned out so well. …, he was free of prejudice and unafraid to face facts. Most miraculous of all, instead of being blinded by love for her as she was for him, he had cut himself emotionally free of her and could see her with complete objectivity. He was not dominated by his mother. “(Kennedy, 1991:324)
To prove that thing he begins to oppose his mother by doing action that his
mother does not like to do by him. He does it by approaching and sits beside a
Negro man who enters the bus.
”Julian rose, crossed the aisle, and sat down in the place old the woman with the canvas sandals. From this position, he looked serenely across at his mother. Her face turned an angry red. He stared at her, making his eyes the eyes of a stranger. He felt his tension suddenly lift as if he had openly declared war on her.” (Kennedy, 1991:324)
When Julian sitting beside the Negro man, he feels satisfy show the reaction
that signs that she is so mad by his action.
“His mother continued to gaze at him but she did not take advantage of his momentary discomfort. Her eyes retained their battered look. Her face seemed to be unnaturally red, as if her blood pressure had risen, Julian allowed no glimmer of sympathy to show on his face. Having got the advantage, he wanted desperately to keep it and carry it through. He would have liked to reach her a lesson that would last her a while.” (Kennedy, 1991:325)
The moment keep go on, as shown in the quotation below:
“His soul expanded momentarily but then he became aware of his mother across from him and the vision shriveled. He studied her coldly. Her feet in little pumps dangled like a child’s and did not quite reach the floor. She was training on him an exaggerated look of reproach. He felt completely detached from her. At the moment he could with pleasure have slapped her as he would have slapped a particularly obnoxious child in his charge.” (Kennedy, 1991:325)
Julian even thins to give his mother more opposing actions in order to make
35
in their conflict. If his mother dares to oppose his actions he will leave his mother
alone. It is shown in the quotation below:
“He imagined his mother lying desperately ill and his being able to secure only a Negro doctor for her. He toyed with that idea for a few minutes and then dropped it for a momentary vision of himself participating as sympathizer in a sit-in demonstration. This was possible but he did not linger with it. Instead, he approached the ultimate horror. He brought home a beautiful suspiciously Negroed woman. Prepare yourself, he said. There is nothing you can do about it. This is the woman I’ve chosen. She’s intelligent, dignified, even good, and she’s suffered and she hasn’t thought it fun. Now persecute us, go ahead and persecute us. Drive her out of here, but remember, you’re driving me too. His eyes were narrowed and through the indignation he had generated, he saw his mother across the aisle, purple-faced, shrunken to the dwarf-like proportions of her moral nature, sitting like a mummy beneath the ridiculous banner of her hat.” (Kennedy, 1991:326)
Seeing the actions of Julian toward her that seem opposing her opinion, she
also attempting doing actions that Julian hates to do by her. It seems like the fight
back of Julian’s mother to Julian’s actions. Julian also gives the negative reaction
to her actions as shown in the quotation below:
“Julian was thankful that the next stop was theirs. He reached up and pulled it at the same time. Oh my God, he thought. He had the terrible intuition that when they got off the bus together, his mother would open her purse and give the little boy a nickel. The gesture would be as natural to her as breathing. The bus stopped and the woman got up and lunged to the front, dragging the child, who wished to stay on, after her. Julian and his mother got up and followed. As they neared the door, Julian tried to relieve her of her pocket book.
“No,” he murmured. “I want give the boy a nickel.” “No!,” Julian hissed. “No!”
She smiled down at the child and opened her bag. The bus door opened and the woman picked him up by the arm and descend with him, hanging at her hip. Once in the street she set him down and shook him.
so that she better see into her pocketbook. The woman was heading off rapidly down the street with the child still hanging backward of her hand.
“Oh little boy!” Julian’s mother called and took a few quick steps and caught up with them just beyond the lamp post. “Here’s a bright new penny for you,” and she held the coin, which shone bronze in the dim light.
The huge wo
