ENGL 4310

We cannot break the Ten Commandments. We can only break ourselves against them.
-Cecil B. DeMille, director of The Ten Commandments

We have Flannery O'Connor, a writer who uses Christian themes, imagery, and symbolism in her work. I started out with the intention of compiling a list of the times the eighth commandment - "Thou shalt not steal" - was broken in her stories (and in Porter's stories, as well), but then decided it might be more fruitful to look at the hugely influential list of The Ten Commandments as a whole, see what commandments were broken where, when, and by whom, and see if that got me anywhere good.

I. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
One of the things I've heard and discussed often in church settings is that "having other gods" isn't just as clearly defined as actually getting on your knees and praying to a figure that is not the true God. Anything that takes the place of God in our hearts as the item or idea or _____ that we value more than Him is that "god" had before Him.
This being so, we have "gods" before God all over the place. Sheppard in "The Lame Shall Enter First" doesn't claim belief in any god at all; his godlessness and his obsession with fixing/solving the problem that is Rufus Johnson is, in effect, his god. The god that Lucynell Sr. cherishes in "The Life You Save May Be Your Own" is getting her daughter married off. Helton's gods ("Noon Wine") are his harmonicas. Every story, as far as I can tell, has an example of breaking this commandment that could work.
II. Thou shalt not make unto me any graven image.
The image of the Byzantine Christ on Parker's back in "Parker's Back" is a graven image, a depiction of the invisible God. In general, his tattoos are, according to Sarah Ruth, "a heap of vanity. Vanity of vanities," (pg. 660) indicating another sin. Actually, on page 663 we read, "They were married in the County Ordinary's office because Sarah Ruth thought churches were idolatrous." Under that interpretation, I suppose any story with a church in it could be considered to be showing a violation of this commandment ... although I can't think of any O'Connor stories that feature a church ... HOW STRANGE! Whoa. Weird. I remember that Juan and Maria Concepcion were married in a church, but other than that ... I don't think I remember an actual church. Help?
III. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.
The first instance I thought of for this commandment is when the Grandmother appears to be swearing in "A Good Man Is Hard To Find." (I found one time on the bottom of page 151, but it seems like there was another time, too ...) In general, I'm not sure I would've noticed every instance of "Lord," "God," and "Jesus" being said frivolously in the dialogue, but I assume it happened every now and then.
IV. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Umm ... ideas? I don't remember it being notable that certain events took place on the Sabbath.
V. Honor thy father and thy mother.
Oh, boy. Which stories feature this broken commandment? "The Enduring Chill," "Everything That Rises Must Converge," "Good Country People," "A Good Man Is Hard To Find," "The Lame Shall Enter First," "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall," "Noon Wine," and "The Fig Tree." So that's a lot. We've addressed the parent/child thing a lot, and there are also several instances of a father or a mother not honoring his/her children (though that doesn't violate any of the Ten Commandments).
VI. Thou shalt not kill.
This commandment is broken in "Maria Concepcion," "Flowering Judas," "Noon Wine," "Pale Horse, Pale Rider" (if we want to look at killing in battle as a violation), and ... well ... "The Fig Tree," if you count the baby bird. "The Lame Shall Enter First" and "A Good Man Is Hard To Find," also.
VII. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Interestingly enough, I could only find one concrete time this one was violated, and that was in "Maria Concepcion." It's also implied in "Theft" that the man in the cab is a philanderer, but it's not explicitly stated. I find it very interesting that the breaking of this commandment, one that has been so studied and salivated over and written about, should come along so rarely in Porter's work and not at all in the stories of O'Connor that we've studied. For O'Connor, a writer who deals so consistently with faltering morals and broken commandments, it's surprising that the seventh commandment, out of all of them, should not be addressed. However, the same rule that I talked about with the first commandment could apply here; maybe it's adultery anytime a spouse is replaced with something/someone else in a person's heart.
VIII. Thou shalt not steal.
We have the stolen purse in "Theft," the stolen leg in "Good Country People," the stolen (or lost, or, in any case, taken and unreturned) harmonica in "Noon Wine."
IX. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
Johnson implies false things about Sheppard in "The Lame Shall Enter First," and the villagers don't tell the whole truth about Maria Rosa's death in "Maria Concepcion," but for the most part, I can't think of any other super clear examples of this one. Ideas? There's some definite lying going on, but I don't think it's all "against thy neighbor." Hmm.
X. Thou shalt not covet.
I think of "Everything That Rises Must Converge" for this one. Julian covets a more elevated, more interesting, less common life than the one he has. Generally, I think a lot of covetousness is implied in these stories.