Analysis of Revelation
... about where to put the blacks that also own their own homes and land. I think Mrs. Turpin is a very typical character that lived in this particular time frame. Obviously living in the South and probably during the civil rights movement of the 60’s, she exhibits stereotypical judgments about blacks. This particular passage brings to mind the question of,” why is one race a higher class simply on color?” Mrs. Turpin makes me think that she believes that she is of a much better class than everyone else. Her thoughts on the fat girl also steer me toward the same train of thought. Mrs. Turpin thinks herself what if God gave her the choice between being black, white-trash, or ugly, which would she choose. The text goes on to say that Mrs. Turpin felt an awful pity for the girl. This kind of syntax pushes me in the direction that Mrs. Turpin thinks she is better than everybody in the room. During her entire conversation with the well-dressed body, a conflict is brewing between Mrs. Turpin and the fat girl. The fat girl attacks her and tells Mrs. Turpin to “go back to hell, you old wart hog.” Mrs. Turpin is left wrestling with this statement in her mind the rest of the day. At first, she cannot see the reasoning behind the statement the girl made. I believe the girl actually saw Mrs. Turpin for what she really was. It was if the girl could hear everything Mrs. Turpin said to herself in her mind. Mrs. Turpin doesn’t fully understand until she has her vision. During the vision, she sees all the people she has looked down on for all these years on their way up to heaven. She sees the white trash, the black, and the lunatics all marching up the line on their way to heaven. In the back of the line she recognizes people that are just like her. She describes them as being somewhat fortunate and having enough sense to use the wit God has given them. Mrs. Turpin also comments on the shocked look on the people’s faces. I believe it is this scene where Mrs. Turpin finally sees her reflection and she understands. It is her vision in the field that causes her to see that God doesn’t look down upon those less fortunate or that do not have much sense. God looks at everyone the same. It is a message telling her to stop her hypocrisy and to treat others with respect to matter what their disposition or color. Another theory I used in looking at this story was deconstruction. Using this theory, the reader must identify the binary oppositions in the text and switch them around, thus giving the reader a new perspective from which to look at the text. There are several binary oppositions that are at work in this story. Some of these include rich/poor, white/black, and Mrs. Turpin/fat girl. In most people’s worldview, we believe that rich would be the privileged and poor to be unprivileged. We give rich the privileged status because we associate people with money as being powerful, and they are able to do as they wish. Poor receives the unprivileged status, because we tend to believe they are of lower class. Perhaps we associate this lack of money whit a lack of talent or effort. The white/black binary opposition is a little more complex. In the South, white people regard themselves as a better class of people than blacks. This goes back to the beginning of our country when slavery was still present. Whether or not this kind of attitude is ...