Page 21 - 名媛直播 - Knighted 2019

The unforeseen savior in the story turns out to be the villain, The Misfit. O鈥機onnor鈥檚
dualistic representation of this character reveals that he is the darkness, yet he brings the light.
He represents the evil that is present within all of us that can lead to our ultimate destruction, yet
he also represents the evil that O鈥機onnor uses to awaken the grandmother into clarity, awareness,
and finally rebirth. As the grandmother experiences her enlightenment upon death, The Misfit
too, experiences a change in awareness. His change is evident in his shift in attitude after
shooting the grandmother, as well as in the emotions he experiences prior to shooting her.
During their conversation about Jesus raising the dead, The Misfit鈥檚 vulnerability, too, becomes
apparent as 鈥渉is voice seemed about to crack鈥� when he says, 鈥渋f I had of been there I would of
known and I wouldn鈥檛 be like I am now鈥� (O鈥機onnor, 鈥淕ood Man鈥� 260). There is desperation in
his voice as he seeks understanding. Prior to the grandmother鈥檚 murder, he revels in his sadistic
motto of 鈥淣o pleasure but meanness鈥� (O鈥機onnor, 鈥淕ood Man鈥� 260). After shooting the
grandmother, his awareness shifts to see killing as 鈥渘o real pleasure in life鈥� (O鈥機onnor, 鈥淕ood
Man鈥� 261). For The Misfit, his shift reveals a possible awakening of his conscience such that
killing will no longer equate to pleasure. Through the grandmother鈥檚 death, and perhaps her
recognition of authentic connection to him, he is awakened to a greater possibility of life.
O鈥機onnor believed that 鈥淩edemption is meaningless unless there is a cause for it in the actual
life we live鈥� (O鈥機onnor, Mystery 33). While the grandmother鈥檚 salvation and rebirth came at the
cost of death, The Misfit鈥檚 awakening will allow for the possibility of a new life, a life in which,
in O鈥機onnor鈥檚 worldview, he will now have the opportunity to be redeemed by Christ for the
murders he has committed.

O鈥機onnor鈥檚 approach to conveying a spiritual message is, at the very least, less than
orthodox, yet she achieves what is intended. Through the two main characters of the

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