Decay of Faith in “The Enduring Chill”

Khaqhovia Lee Ms. Bolle IB Junior English October 5, 2012 Decay of Faith Heaven, earth, and beliefs of a superior being ruling the world are contradicted through Flannery OConnors stories. The Enduring shivering, a short story by Flannery OConnor, displays phantasmal figures combined with the hypocrisy of Christian conviction. The Enduring Chill is about Asbury, a male writer, who re wriggles home to live with his arrive ascribable to his illness. Great conflict occurs between Asbury and his mother, so much that he would quite an die and leave her in despair than to live with her, suffering lifetime in a cage.Flannery OConnor applies the motif of religion to express the contradiction of a Christian believer. Flannery OConnor portrays religion through the use of animals, symbolic representation to religious figures, and Christian stories throughout The Enduring Chill. Flannery OConnor uses religious animals to reveal the contradiction nature of humans. When Asbury sees his sister, he tells his mother to, let quiescence dogs lie (OConnor 358) the dogs could be related to Cerberus, the gate keeper to the underworld. Asbury sees his sister as evil.The quote similarly foreshadows Asburys illness, because he is lying in cognize waiting for the illness to take his life, like the sleeping dogs. Flannery OConnor alike uses animals from different religions to foreshadow misfortunate events, such as the dry cattle were on one side and the milk herd on the other. She s haplessed the railway car and then stopped altogether, her attention caught by a alarm with a naughtily quarter. (OConnor 362). The cow is a holy animal in the Hinduism religion, and the cow having a bad quarter is an omen of bad luck.It also foreshadows to the bad milk which is tainted with the stench of smoke, and causing Asbury to fall more ill. some other use of religious animals is to find freedom, to liberate my imagination, to take it like a hawk from its cage and set it whirling o ff into the widening coil (Yeats) and what did I find? It was incapable of flight (OConnor 364). The quote reveals Asburys grit of freedom through the use of a hawk hawks are cognise to be one of the most intelligent birds, as well as having a great vision.The hawk foreshadows Asburys realization, when Asbury disc everyplaces his illness wouldnt vote out him. Asbury is incapable of flying free from his caged life because he takes back the signalize to the drawers which held the letters, as soon as he discovers he would not die caging himself in and stopping himself from gaining his freedom. A hawk also refers to a dove, which represents freedom and peace in the book of account, and Asbury wants to live free and in peace. Animals are used to portray the progression of human life.Flannery OConnor uses allusion to refer to bible stories, while using the stories to display the unfaithfulness of Christians. Asbury returns off the train and waits for his mother to come pick him up, and Asbury felt that he was about to witness a majestic transformation, that the flat of roofs might at any moment turn intosome exotic temple of a god he didnt know (OConnor 357). The majestic transformation alludes to Jesus on Mt. Sinai, where Jesus becomes engulfed in light, and radiates with the power of paragon.Asbury does not know the temple of paragon because he constantly turns away from God. The illusion he witnesses is common in the bible when God sends a messenger and dreams to humans to warn and cooperate them. Another example appears during the car ride to his mothers home, and the he turned and faced his mother grimly, irked that he had allowed himself, even for an instant, to see an conceptional temple in this collapsing country oneness (OConnor 358). The temple of God is not a physical temple but the body of all the Christian believers, but Asbury does not understand Gods will.The collapsing country junction is an allusion to the destruction of the walls of Jer icho. The walls fall from the undying faith of the Israelites. Asbury does not believe he sees the event and decides to continue in life waiting for his dying to come without realizing God. The wall of Jericho symbolizes Asburys faith which is crumbling down. While Asbury lies in the hospital a blinding red-gold sun moved serenely from under a empurpled cloud below it the treeline was black against the redden sky (OConnor 382). The red-gold sun represents the death of Christ, as he is hanging on the cross.Jesuss blood symbolizes the crimson sky. The black tree line forms the countless amounts of sinners which resent God and Jesus. The darkest age of the world are also on the daytime Christ dies Asburys darkest days are also on the very same day he witnesses the scene. Each allusion displays the decaying faith of Christians and increase of human weakness. Flannery OConnor displays the decaying faith of Christians by incorporating religious figures. Asbury describes his friend as being as vapid as the Buddha himself (OConnor 359).Buddha is usually seen as a cheerful and chubby man, who neer falls into temptations, and not bland. Asburys knowledge of religion is very low by applying bland to Buddha. Buddha descends from a wealth family but he decides to decipher the road of hardships, but Asbury is from a well off family but he decides to live the life of a metropolitan. Asbury fails in upkeep the life and becomes overwhelmed with hardships bounteous up the life he wished for and travels on a darker path. As Asbury wonders nearly his mothers home he noticed the water stains on the gray walls.Descending from the top molding, massive icicle shapes had been etched by leaks and, directly over his bed on the ceiling, another leak had made a untrained bird with lot wings (OConnor 365). A fierce bird with spread wings symbolizes the Holy Spirit which appears to the disciples as they are enlightened by the Holy Spirit, with flames floating above their heads . Instead of flames there is a long icicle, the exact opposite of a flame. A fierce bird also symbolizes the anger of God because he would show no mercy to though who go against his will.Asbury disobeys his mothers rules and falls into a deeper illness. Asbury stunned by the fact he wouldnt die, looks into the mirror and the eyes that stared back at him were the same that had returned his gaze every day from that mirror but seemed to him that they were paler (OConnor 382). God is all powerful and all seeing, the eyes represent his presence in the room, but he realizes the eyes are paler. Asbury loses God and stays living in his life trapped in a cage, with is mother. Religious figures portray the weakening of Christian Faith.