6/3/09 "The Lame Shall Enter First" by Flannery O'Conner

Flannery O’Conner ramps the intensity in this dramatic irony involving a widowed man who maladaptively copes with the loss of his wife by immersing himself in the salvation of a troubled 14yr old. Though you’d never guess by his dialect, the boy possesses an impressive 140 IQ which lends to a “universe” of possibilities that the widower is obsessively determined to make the teen aware of. The name Sheppard, not so strangely resembling “Shepherd”, proves to be a disturbing tag for the adult who is totally incapable of caring for his 10yr old in the presence (or absence) of his humanitarian project, Johnson.

Receiving an open invitation (in the form of a key to the front door – with no regard to his history of vandalism), Johnson shows up just as Norton begins to sense his own isolation. Sheppard pushes his son continually further into the shadows aloneness (…”like a fugitive from Sheppard’s kindness” p385, par 163), a place so far away that the only one who can reach him is the Johnson that Sheppard is trying to save. The constant search for approval that Sheppard seeks from Johnson gives this Masterful Manipulator of Persons Unaware a world of power that he can not help but indulge in (impervious to those as unaware as Sheppard). “Sheppard was not deceived. Secretly [Johnson] was learning what he wanted him to learn – that his benefactor was impervious to insult and that there were no cracks in his armor of kindness and patience…” (p386, par 164) Norton gives up his hope, submitting to the power that has overtaken his father.

The psychological banter between Sheppard and Johnson repeatedly proves not only who had control of the moment but who doesn’t have control over his life. Sheppard attempts to stand his ground by telling Johnson he is mortally confused and doesn’t have to use his lame foot as an excuse. But Johnson’s last words, “The lame’ll carry off the prey!” (p399, par 404) echo deep into the house, long after Sheppard is delivered from him. Being the only one to take notice of Norton’s search for the truth in what happened to his mother after her passing, Johnson, a wolf in sheep’s clothing, already directed Norton to his own salvation.