Flannery O' Connor's 'The Violent Bear it Away' is one of the most striking, unforgettable, warped novels I have ever encountered. The images toward the end are almost painful to read, and linger even after I've closed the pages.
That being said, Tarwater's final revelation- "GO WARN THE CHILDREN OF GOD OF THE TERRIBLE SPEED OF MERCY" seems to portray the fine line between mercy and power, which is a significant theme in this novel (242). He thinks it is his mission to save children who have been disillusioned and warped by a false sense of mercy. God's mercy, as he has experienced it through life with his religious uncle, is entirely destructive. His uncle thought he was showing mercy to the boy by kidnapping and baptizing him, but was actually negatively transforming his life forever. What was thought to be mercy was actually an expression of power.
Similarly, Tarwater expresses both power and mercy over Bishop. He drowns him, but accidentally baptizes him in the process. Afterwards Tarwater is more concerned over the fact that he baptized him (an act of mercy) than the realization that he has killed him (an act of power). Power and mercy, two opposing forces, become one in this novel.
Tarwater is left to save others from the destruction that is consuming him.
That being said, Tarwater's final revelation- "GO WARN THE CHILDREN OF GOD OF THE TERRIBLE SPEED OF MERCY" seems to portray the fine line between mercy and power, which is a significant theme in this novel (242). He thinks it is his mission to save children who have been disillusioned and warped by a false sense of mercy. God's mercy, as he has experienced it through life with his religious uncle, is entirely destructive. His uncle thought he was showing mercy to the boy by kidnapping and baptizing him, but was actually negatively transforming his life forever. What was thought to be mercy was actually an expression of power.
Similarly, Tarwater expresses both power and mercy over Bishop. He drowns him, but accidentally baptizes him in the process. Afterwards Tarwater is more concerned over the fact that he baptized him (an act of mercy) than the realization that he has killed him (an act of power). Power and mercy, two opposing forces, become one in this novel.
Tarwater is left to save others from the destruction that is consuming him.
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