Flannery O'Connor: "The Turkey"

O'Connor uses three main literary techniques in her work, "The Turkey." These three techniques include tone, situational irony, and allegory. O'Connor uses literary techniques in order to show the folly of a Christian's belief that God will shower good on the children whom he finds special.

O'Connor uses tone throughout the story. She is never critical towards Ruller; instead, she is very nonjudgmental. She lets the reader decide what they should thnk about Ruller. This is important because it keeps the reader from realizing until the very end what is going to happen.

Situational irony is also very important, as it is used many times. First, we expect Ruller to catch the turkey because it has been shot. However, Ruller does not catch the turkey, and instead starts making fun of God. The reader expects Ruller to eventually end up as Hane, because as he lies there in the woods he is looking forward to that seemingly unavoidable fate. When Ruller gets up, he spots the turkey and ends up catching it after all; this is a surprise, because the reader was expecting that the turkey was completely out of the story. Then, in an even bigger turnabout, Ruller stops making fun of God. He decides that God must want him to be a preacher or something similar, and starts taking with God as if they are best friends. When Ruller goes into town, everybody admires his big turkey. When he shows the turkey to the country boys, both Ruller and the reader are startled and shocked when one of the boys nonchalantly steals it. These cases of situational irony keep the story moving. The reader is constantly and almost unconsciously being surprised by the twists and turns that the plot takes.

"The Turkey" also uses allegory several times. Ruller represents every Chrisitan who believes that God 'bribes' people who he thinks are extra special in order to get them to follow him. When Ruller spotted the turkey again after he stood up after making fun of God, he imagined that God was saying: "Hey, chum, don't get mad at me- I think you're cool, and I want to be your friend. I gave you this turkey, so won't you give the rest of it to me, please?" Ruller graciously agrees to this deal that he believes he and God have worked out. The turkey, of course, represents the gift or bribe. Ruller was proud of his turkey, as a 'bribe' Christian might be proud of their gift that they received from God. "Look at me!" They both say. "Look at how special God thinks I am! He gave this to me, but he didn't give it to you!" The people in town who admired Ruller's turkey are those who hope that God comes to them, but don't realize they need to or don't want to come to God. The country boys who steal Ruller's turkey are the embodiment of realization. Ruller and the 'bribe' Christians realize that God doesn't think that they are any more special than everybody else, that God did not beg them to come to him on bended knee, that God didn't bribe them to follow him, and that God is immensely powerful and omnipotent, not somebody to be trifled with.

O'Connor's story "The Turkey" is an intense lesson that many people, including Christians, could do well to learn. O'Connor uses several literary techniques to teach this lesson to her readers. The message of the story shows the backwardness of the belief that God hands out gifts and bribes to the people whom he thinks are special.