The Violent Bear It Away Analysis

Not many novels are comparable to Flannery O’Connor’s The Violent Bear it Away. Perhaps this is due in part to her skillful composition, but O’Connor’s blunt addressal of the natural struggle between faith and reason is strikingly convicting. Raised in the south in a predominantly Catholic family, O’Connor herself was no stranger to the concepts, using her experiences to create a composition that is deeply personal. O’Connor uses the themes of faith and reason as means of bearing her true beliefs to the reader, drawing them in further to the mesmerizing work that is The Violent Bear it Away.
In order to better analyze the relationship between the two, faith and reason must first be defined. The novel’s definition of faith is heavily demonstrated through the character of Old Tarwater, the self-proclaimed prophet. Though O’Connor claims to be “a novelist with Christian concerns,” this story’s “man of faith” is not portrayed in a favorable light.
Raised in the Catholic faith, O’Connor’s belief system was heavily influenced by the saints - one of these being St. Augustine. In St. Augustine’s Confessions, he writes of his relationship with faith and reason: "I believe, in order to understand; and I understand, the better to believe" (Sermo 43:9). St. Augustine’s writings were firmly grounded in the idea that reason drives man toward God, and faith helps to guide and increase reason. Other philosophers and saints throughout the years have repeatedly debated the relationship between the two concepts, questioning which should be prioritized in various contexts. Though the subject has been rigorously debated, we see in O’Connor’s writings that she has not strayed far from the faith in which she was reared. Like Augustine, O’Connor’s writings revolve around the idea that faith and reason must work together in order to be