Religious and Financial Oppression in Short Fiction

Poor financial circumstances and religious oppression have been the subject of many stories since the beginning of time. Issues dealing with a lack of money and privileges have always been popular subjects because there is no lack of people in the world dealing with those issues. Although set in different time periods, Flannery O'Connor's "Parker's Back" and James Joyce's "Araby" share somewhat similar viewpoints on the subject of financial and religious oppression.

One way these stories are similar is the setting. Both stories, although set in separate countries, are located in poor communities that are filled with people of a lower, working class. In both stories, the characters are oppressed not only by their financial status, but also their religions. For example, in Joyce's "Araby," Mangan's sister is prohibited from visiting the bazaar due to a retreat in her convent. Another example from "Araby" is when asked if he could attend the bazaar, his aunt was "surprised and hoped it was not some Freemason affair (Araby 35)." Religion aids in providing the lower-class citizens of Dublin a simple, downtrodden life, seemingly uncomplicated by the unholy temptations of more modernized and sexualized societies.

In "Parker's Back" the characters appear to be living in a poor community in the Deep South. The character's lives have not been filled with excessive wealth, nor have they been exposed to many frivolities, and there is no doubt that they are aware of this lack of wealth. Parker and his devout Christian wife live their lives under the strain of financial instability, seemingly preventing them from truly enjoying life together. The wife, being extremely religious, provides an entirely different type of strain for Parker. She makes him feel as if he isn't good enough, as if he is living a completely immoral life. His wife's constant negative outlook provides him no comfort, leading him to make terrible decisions knowingly.