Both Mrs. Turpin in Flannery O'Conner's Revelation and the narrator in Raymond Craver's The Cathedral have prejudicial worldviews. However, Mrs. Turpin is religious and openly expresses her smug thoughts, while the narrator dismisses the others because he believes in nothing. Both characters need to be saved from epiphanies, but their distinct natures shape how each character experiences the epiphany. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayMrs. Turpin judges people based on class, race, and disposition stereotypes to increase his complacency. As soon as she enters the waiting room, she immediately categorizes the others based on their appearance: the “well-dressed lady” (150) is the “pleasant lady,” the “gaunt-faced woman” (150) is the “white woman 'scruffy mother', and the girl with the face 'blue with acne' (150) is the 'ugly girl'. In fact, Mrs. Turpin is so obsessed with these stereotypical classifications that “sometimes Mrs. Turpin occupied herself at night with naming classes of people. At the bottom of the pile were most of the black people…then next to them…were the white waste; then above them were the owners of houses, and above them the owners of houses and lands, to whom she and Claud belonged” (151). Mrs. Turpin uses these stereotypes to justify her condescending ways towards others. She examines how the 'scruffy white mother' wears bedroom slippers that are "exactly what you would expect her to wear" (151), thus confirming Mrs. Turpin's prediction that she is "trashy." As Mrs. Turpin engages in conversation with the “nice lady,” she gives the “scruffy white mother” the “sheer limit of her attention” (152) because she does not deserve her attention. Mrs. Turpin feeds on self-satisfaction as she judges herself better than all "niggers," "white trash," and "ugly people." Furthermore, although Ms. Turpin claims to be a strong believer in Christ, her belief system is superficial. Mrs. Turpin always goes to church and “never held back when she found someone in need, whether black or white, trashy or respectable” (155). However, the fact that she takes so much pride in giving to less fortunate people suggests that she only does so to increase her self-satisfaction that she is superior to those people. Throughout the story, she constantly praises Jesus for giving her a little bit of everything: "When I think of who I could have been besides myself... it makes me want to cry out, 'Thank you, Jesus, for making everything the way it is.' And'". !'” (156) Although Mrs. Turpin may be expressing her appreciation to God, she is also condemning everyone else she could have been if she had not been herself. He claims to have it all, but lacks sincerity in his beliefs. With her complacency and superficiality, Mrs. Turpin mistakenly considers herself superior to Mary Grace, the 'ugly girl': “Mrs. Turpin thought how pitiful it was to have such a face at that age...Mrs. Turpino herself was fat but had always had beautiful skin” (150). She clearly disapproves of the girl's crass ways, as the girl "looked directly at Mrs. Turpin and smiled" (151). However, Mrs. Turpin fails to see that the girl's crass ways are a mirror of her prejudicial and critical attitudes toward people she doesn't know: “It was the ugliest face Mrs. Turpin had ever seen... looking as if he had known and hated her all his life…Why, girl, I don't even know you, said Mrs. Turpin silently.”(154). ThereMrs. Turpin does not realize that her ugly thoughts do not make her more beautiful than the "ugly girl." Similar to Mrs. Turpin, the narrator relies heavily on rigid stereotypes when judging people. Although he has never met a blind person in person, the fact that Robert is “blind bothers him. His idea of ​​blindness came from movies. In the movies, blind people moved slowly and never laughed. Sometimes they were led by seeing-eye dogs” (732). The narrator clearly conveys the discomfort of having Robert in his home only because of the stereotypes of the blind people he knows. However, unlike Mrs. Turpin who believes in divine power, the narrator does not believe in anything beyond his concrete, physical perspective. The narrator devalues ​​the connections and attachments his wife may have with Robert through constant tape conversations of mundane matters of everyday life. Instead, he gets angry even over a slight physical act when Robert touched his wife's face, even though to his wife the physical action itself may not matter at all, compared to the feeling implicit in her memories. The narrator complains about how the blind man “touched every part of his face, his nose, even his neck with his fingers!” (732), but ignores the poem his wife writes about “what she had felt at that moment about what had passed through her mind when the blind man touched her nose and lips” (732). Because he is not interested in pursuing other experiences outside of his perspective, the narrator fails to connect with his wife and Robert. As a result, the narrator retreats into his own world, smoking weed and watching TV while firing others. Rather than expressing satisfied thoughts like Mrs. Turpin, the narrator implies his self-centered and limited nature by ignoring the opinions of others: “But she was in love with that boy, and he was in love with her, etc.” (732). The casual narrative technique and the use of 'etc.' suggest how he doesn't bother worrying about his wife's relationship with her ex-husband. Likewise, when the narrator's wife tells him about Beulah "in more detail than [he] wanted to know" (734), she disparagingly comments on Robert's love for Beulah as "pathetic." Therefore, the narrator reveals that “a blind man in [his] house is not something [he] expected” (732) because he does not expect that a blind man would interest him. In this way, the narrator prevents himself from exploring different perspectives that others might have. Rather than knowing Robert for the person he is, the narrator is forced to see Robert through the lens of his stereotypes. The narrator secretly ridicules Robert for having a full beard: “A beard on a blind man! Too much, I say.”(734). Furthermore, the narrator is surprised to learn that Robert does not use a cane or wear dark glasses: “I always thought that dark glasses were a must for the blind” (735). Because Robert seems to fit the narrator's stereotype of blind people, the narrator dismisses these qualities as "creepy" rather than appreciating Robert's self-sufficiency. Both characters experience epiphanies that challenge their worldviews. Furthermore, they are able to do so by helping those they initially despise. However, each character's unique nature shapes how they receive help in their epiphanies. Mrs. Turpin is forced to face her "ugly" thoughts through the ugly action of the ugly girl, while the narrator is gradually able to "see" through the guidance of the blind man. It is thanks to the crude action of the ugly girl that Mrs. Turpin is able to realize her shortcomings. As Mrs. Turpin persistently expresses her self-pleasuring, the "ugly girl" finally reaches her limitand hurls the book symbolically titled "Human Development" right into Mrs. Turpin's eyes. With such direct and forceful action, Ms. Turpin finally shows the potential to achieve the epiphany she aspires to. Despite her upset, Mrs. Turpin accepts the possibility that the girl “knew her intensely and personally, beyond time, place and condition” (157) and is sending her a message from God. However, a message addressed to such a smug and pretentious character as Mrs. Turpin cannot be kind and beautiful. Holding her breath, “waiting, as if for a revelation” (157), Mrs. Turpin is told “Go back to hell where you come from, you old warthog pig” (157). This is especially shocking to Mrs. Turpin considering how she has always regarded herself (far from ever being compared to a pig) as superior to everyone else. The trigger is sudden and unpleasant, but because of Mrs. Turpin's obviously self-satisfied nature, an overt incident is also necessary for her to recognize her shortcomings. Turpin's religious beliefs, though superficial, ultimately save her. While she doesn't want to believe she's being called a 'dirty old whore,' Mrs. Turpin's “denial had no force” (158). She cannot ignore this message given to her by God and is very upset by it. So, in the end, he confronts God: “Why do you send me such a message?...How am I a pig and both? How do I save myself and also from hell?”(161). It is when Mrs. Turpin admits her pig image and challenges God to tell her why this is how Mrs. Turpin experiences a divine vision: “A vast horde of souls thundered toward the sky. There were whole companies of white trash, clean for the first time in their lives, and gangs of black niggers in white robes, and battalions of monsters and madmen... And bringing up the rear of the procession was a tribe of people. ...like her and Claud...their virtues were also burned." (162)Mr. Turpin is struck by a terrifying divine vision that tests her hypocrisy. The images of "gangs of black negroes" and " battalions of monsters and madmen" convey the turmoil that Mrs. Turpin experiences in her vision. She is paralyzed between her old prejudiced opinions and this horrific celebration. She tries to express her vision that all are equally blessed, but she doesn't have the vocabulary to express it, as it ends up classifying groups as "white trash", "niggers" or "crazy". However, Mrs. Turpin is forced to surrender to this terrifying yet beautiful vision and feels safe at the same time more beautiful life that awaits her up there, but this beautiful life also awaits everyone, white or black, honest or trash, all the same. Unlike Mrs. Turpin who is hit with force and must respond with force in order to reach her epiphany, the narrator is easily integrated into his epiphany. Robert constantly surprises the narrator with his self-confidence and openness. As a result, the narrator eventually stops ridiculing these characteristics that are inconsistent with his stereotypes and begins to appreciate them. As the narrator “watched in admiration as [Robert] used a knife and fork on the meat” (736), he slowly and progressively dissolves his initial stereotypes. Furthermore, the narrator is amazed at how Robert is not only able to smoke dope for the first time “like he has been doing since he was nine” (738), but is also open to trying new things. Through Robert's persistent attempts to show the narrator how "there's a first time for everything" (737) and to stay up late "until [the narrator is] ready to go to sleep" (738), the narrator begins to feel an appreciation for Robert's presence than initially.