Death of the General in O’Connor’s A Late Encounter with...

Death of the General in O’Connor’s A Late Encounter with the Enemy I did an analysis of the paragraph where the General passes away (page 143 in my edition of The Complete Stories of Flannery O’Connor) The most obvious thing about this paragraph is that is that the General’s death is portrayed as death during battle. The title â€Å"The Late Encounter with the Enemy† is very appropriate because the general views his death as such. The most obvious thing about this paragraph is that it is like a battle. Words are used as bullets in this paragraph. For example, â€Å"He couldn’t protect himself from the words and attend to the procession too and the words were coming at him fast.†(143) makes it really seem like a battle. Since he was a†¦show more content†¦For example words such as Chickamauga, Shiloh, and Marthasville are present. Interestingly enough the General mentions in the prior paragraph that he heard the words Chickamauga, Shiloh, Johnston, and Lee, and that he knew that these words that he was inspiring meant nothing to him. These words ended up stirring up the picture in his mind at the time of his death. Even when he returns to those words at the time of his death, he still seems confused. When this occurs, the general thinks; â€Å"then a succession of places Chickamauga, Shiloh, and Marthasville-- rushed at him as if the past were the only future now and he had to endure it. †(142) This seems to be the moment that the General finally faces his past. The words dealing with his past could be viewed as soldiers in a battle. He keeps running away from them until he finally faces them. Perhaps the General’s distaste for history has something to do with a very traumatic experience during the Civil War (not to mention senility) Right before the General passes away he thinks to himself, â€Å"The suddenly he saw that the black procession was almost on him. He recognized it, for he had been dogging it all his days.† Perhaps the mention of battles brought out a hidden fear within him. The thing that he has been dogging for all his days may possibly be death (especially since his is so old). In the general’s mind it seems that what caused his death was that his entire past wasShow MoreRelatedA Late Encounter With the Enemy by Flannery O’Connor911 Words   |  4 Pagesliterature that include Works like Flannery O’Connor’s â€Å"A Late encounter with the enemy† incorporates the idea of â€Å"investigating madness, decay and despair, and the continuing pressures of the past upon the present, particularly with respect to the lost ideals of a dispossessed Southern aristocracy and to the continuance of racial hostilities.†(Marshall 3). These ideas all share a common theme that O’Connor brings to the table in â€Å"A Late Encounter with the enemy, along with â€Å"The American South servesRead More Analysis - Second to Last Paragraph in Flannery O’Connor’s A Late Encounter with the Enemy479 Words   |  2 PagesLast Paragraph in Flannery O’Connor’s A Late Encounter with the Enemy This essay analyzes the first full paragraph on page143 (the second to last paragraph in the story) that begins with â€Å"The speaker was through with that war†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . This passage appears to be what is going through ‘General’ Sash’s head right before he dies. The passage begins by saying â€Å"The speaker was through with that war and had gone onto the next one and now he was approaching another†. The general goes on to state that all his