Reading Flannery O’Connor’s “The Displaced Person”: Part III

Posted by Caleb Coy on

Part III—Jesus was just another dirty Refugee

[Read part I and part II]

In the third act of Flannery O’Connor’s short story, having stood on the assumption that none of the world’s miseries are her responsibility, Mrs. McIntyre justifies her own lack of care for those in her care, rejecting the call of the Gospel. Expecting her employees to be grateful to work for her, she hypocritically fails to embrace gratefulness. Like someone who only reads half of the creation account, she wants to be a master without being a caretaker. The world revolves around her.
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Reading Flannery O’Connor’s “The Displaced Person”: Part II

Posted by Caleb Coy on

Part II—All the Colorful, Useless Peafowl
[Read part I here]

In part two of O’Connor’s story, Mrs. Shortley has left the farm and Mrs. McIntyre is left with the displaced Pole and her black workers. We’re given more insight into her character through her conversations with the older farmhand, Astor. While Astor remembers well her husband, the Judge, Mrs. McIntyre is haunted by her late husband. Astor has noticed two things: The decline of the peacocks and the incline of Mrs. McIntyre’s greed.
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Reading Flannery O’Connor’s “The Displaced Person”: Part I

Posted by Caleb Coy on

For fans of Flannery O’Connor, “The Displaced Person” is a a short story that occupies a special place, not only because it exhibits her love for peacocks, but because of its more overt religious themes. The story takes place on a farm, the inciting incident being the hiring of a “displaced person” (or refugee) from Poland. O’Connor, a devout Catholic, is one of America’s most famous writers, known for her southern stories of grotesque people encountering beautiful grace.

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50 Differences Between Nehemiah’s Wall and Trump’s Wall

Posted by Caleb Coy on

Some preachers have concluded that because Nehemiah built a wall for the Lord, and President Trump wants to build a wall for America, that somehow Trump’s wall is the will of God and Christians must support the effort, because Trump is God’s Nehemiah for America. Because Nehemiah and because a wall.
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5 Questions for Mike Rugnetta about the Genesis Creation Story

Posted by Caleb Coy on

I’ve followed and appreciated from “day 1” what Crash Course has done to educate people. Anyone with internet access can get access to entertaining, thought-provoking introductions to various subjects, getting a quick survey of topics.

The downside, of course, is that these speedy courses can reduce or misrepresent complex and nuanced understandings of the world.
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Forsythia: A Poem

Posted by Caleb Coy on

Forsythia

I walked my dog about the day
After a mild snow melting
The pavement soaked by
The gushing of swollen
Grasses saturated and dark
Littered with chunks of snow.

The air was fresh and crisp
My flannel sleeves rolled up
And beside the damp Bradford pears
Broke the yellow forsythia blooming
the first of bushes of the spring
In these rusty Virginia hills.