A Temple of the Holy Ghost

This story was a very interesting story for me to read. I felt like it had a lot of deeper meaning to it than just the obvious surface; for instance, the hermaphrodite seems to represent an acceptance of God's will. Susan and Joanne witness the hermaphrodite at the fair, and then later tells the “child” about it while in bed. As I read Flannery O'Connor’s story in Pearson, she herself suffered from lupus that resulted in the loss of the use of her legs which lead to her death. For me this story demonstrates a sympathy for "freaks," as this hermaphrodite is called in the story. I think that O'Connor has some type of connection to this story with her own life. She seems to be almost talking about herself in a way. It seems to be that the hermaphrodite's body is a temple of the holy ghost in the mind of the “child:” as she watches the priest raise the host, which I have learned in the Catholic faith is believed to “literally” become the body of Christ, she remembers the hermaphrodite's words.

Also the fact that the child remains nameless is significant to me also, since it could imply that the child could represent children everywhere around the world or it could just mean nothing. The child can also be interpreted as a representation of O'Connor herself like I said before how I felt that O’Connor has some personal connection to her story, since the author; from what I have read and looked up was very socially awkward and not very graceful. The child makes judgments about the intelligence of those who surround her, and thinking that she is much more intelligent and faithful than the others. She finally lets go of her pride and allows herself to be “into” the experience of the Catholic mass, then she finally achieves Grace.