A View of the Woods :: View of the Woods Essays

A View of the WoodsFlannery OConnor is a very complex writer in terms of her use of symbolisation in addition to the elements of the grotesque and blackly humorous. OConnors account, A View of the Woods, is symbolically complicated. The story focuses on the relationship of Mary Fortune Pitts, a subatomic girl, and her grandfather, Mr Fortune. The story is one of conflict that mounts to tragedy in the end. The conflict is essentially between Mary Fortune and her grandfather over the cut-rate sale of any(prenominal) ground that Mary Fortune finds important for her fathers grazing of his cattle and for the watch out of the woods. You might look c arfully at the woods in this story because they assume a symbolic signifi sewerce similar to the woods in Greenleaf. In macrocosmy ways I think the woods can be seen as the tend of Eden. When they are sold, they are sold to a man called Tilman, and he is represented as a serpent Tilman was a man of quick action and few words. He sat hab itually with his arms folded on the counter and his insignificant head weaving snake-fashion higher up them. He had a triangular-shaped face with the point at the bottom and the sink of his skull was covered with a cap of freckles. His eyes were green and very get and his tongue was always exposed in his partly opened mouth. He had his chequebook handy and they got down to business at once. It did not deem him long to look at the deed and sign the bill of sale and Mr Fortune signed it and they grasped hands over the counter. (76)The idea here would step forward to be that in selling the land to Tilman, Mr Fortune is actually handing the Garden of Eden over to the control of the serpent. There is a lot make of their respective surnames earlier in the story, when the little girl and the grandfather are actually arguing over the land, and this supports this particular reading She turned and looked him truthful in the face and said with a slow concentrated ferocity, Its the lawn. My daddy grazes his calves there. We wont be able to see the woods any more. The old man held his fury as long as he could. He defeat you he shouted. And you worry about where hes going to graze his calves