The Bull as a Symbol in Flannery O'Connor's “Greenleaf”
Zabdiel Munoz
The Bull as a Symbol in Flannery O 'Connor 's “Greenleaf” “How do you like that? I 'm the victim. I 've always been the victim.” These are the words of Mrs. May, a character in Flannery O 'Connor’s short story, “Greenleaf”. Her remark is interesting because after studying the stories of various millionaires and successful people in the world, I discovered that a key trait that all of them possess is that they made a decision to not live their life as victims to their external circumstances. However, this is not the case with Mrs. May. She spent fifteen years living miserably because of her condescending and negative attitude towards the people in her life, especially the Greenleafs. Finally, to top it all of, a stray bull has broken loose into her territory and is threatening her herd. O 'Connor uses the bull in “Greenleaf” as a symbol of Mrs. May 's dark perception of the people and circumstances around her and how it is affecting her, but by the time she finally realizes the truth it is too late. O 'Connor skillfully deposits clues throughout the story revealing that the bull represents Mrs. May 's condescending attitude and contempt she feels towards the Greenleafs. Firstly, Mrs. May is greatly annoyed by the Greenleaf 's unsophisticated and uncivilized way of living. She describes Mr. Greenleaf as a lazy, uncooperative man who would most likely not have a job if it was not for her and how she has had to put up with him and his family for fifteen years. Throughout the story she is continually complaining of Mr. Greenleaf 's unenthusiastic work and how his family would not be anywhere if it was not for her. She is also greatly annoyed by Mrs. Greenleaf who “[i]nstead of making a garden or washing [her children 's] clothes” was devoted to “prayer healing”. Similarly, the bull becomes a pesky annoyance for her right from the beginning. The story opens with Mrs. May discovering the bull eating the shrubbery right outside her window in the middle
The Bull as a Symbol in Flannery O 'Connor 's “Greenleaf” “How do you like that? I 'm the victim. I 've always been the victim.” These are the words of Mrs. May, a character in Flannery O 'Connor’s short story, “Greenleaf”. Her remark is interesting because after studying the stories of various millionaires and successful people in the world, I discovered that a key trait that all of them possess is that they made a decision to not live their life as victims to their external circumstances. However, this is not the case with Mrs. May. She spent fifteen years living miserably because of her condescending and negative attitude towards the people in her life, especially the Greenleafs. Finally, to top it all of, a stray bull has broken loose into her territory and is threatening her herd. O 'Connor uses the bull in “Greenleaf” as a symbol of Mrs. May 's dark perception of the people and circumstances around her and how it is affecting her, but by the time she finally realizes the truth it is too late. O 'Connor skillfully deposits clues throughout the story revealing that the bull represents Mrs. May 's condescending attitude and contempt she feels towards the Greenleafs. Firstly, Mrs. May is greatly annoyed by the Greenleaf 's unsophisticated and uncivilized way of living. She describes Mr. Greenleaf as a lazy, uncooperative man who would most likely not have a job if it was not for her and how she has had to put up with him and his family for fifteen years. Throughout the story she is continually complaining of Mr. Greenleaf 's unenthusiastic work and how his family would not be anywhere if it was not for her. She is also greatly annoyed by Mrs. Greenleaf who “[i]nstead of making a garden or washing [her children 's] clothes” was devoted to “prayer healing”. Similarly, the bull becomes a pesky annoyance for her right from the beginning. The story opens with Mrs. May discovering the bull eating the shrubbery right outside her window in the middle
Cited: O 'Connor, Flannery. "Greenleaf." 1995. The Complete Stories of Flannery O 'Connor. New York: Noonday, 1946. 311-34. Print.