The main purpose of both of these stories is the same, in that both illustrate that prejudice and especially acting on that prejudice, can get you into a great amount of trouble. Politics doesn’t seem to have much sway over the O’Connor story, but holds much attention in the Welty excerpt. The speaker of the Welty reading mentions the president, and the different groups and what they are doing to ‘control’ the African-American population.
Sin is seen differently in both stories, although there are similarities. The man that shoots Roland believes that he has done the world a great favor with his single act of hatred. The son that sits next to the colored man on the bus is seen as sinful to his mother, but he considers himself to be making up for her sins with his simple action.
In the Welty story, the behavior represented as bad is letting Roland live, and the speaker is very proud of himself for murdering him. Even some of the people he runs into on the street agree with him, as there was a group that was about to do what he did, and in fact claims his act as their own.
In the O’Connor story, bad behavior is viewed differently by the two main characters. The mother believes that one must act their class and race, and that to act any other way was bad. The son believed that the lack of tolerance shown to all people was bad. Both attempt to persuade the other with the scene on the bus, first with the son changing seats, and then with the entrance of the woman and her little boy.
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