A Circle In The Fire by Flannery O’Connor - I have written another note on this same story eleven years ago, and here it is, at the address: https://realini.blogspot.com/2013/12/a-circle-in-fire-by-flannery-oconnor.html - 10 out of 10

 

A Circle In The Fire by Flannery O’Connor  - I have written another note on this same story eleven years ago, and here it is, at the address: https://realini.blogspot.com/2013/12/a-circle-in-fire-by-flannery-oconnor.html

 

10 out of 10

 

Flannery O’Connor is so venerated by the under signed that he is considering converting, becoming a religious man…actually no, I am kidding, up to a point, it looks as if I am a lost soul, destined for that fire below, only seriously speaking, if this glorious luminary was so sure about God, the holy texts, then there must be something there

 

It works as some kind of proof, and she is not the only one, there is also magnificent CS Lewis https://realini.blogspot.com/2023/09/surprised-by-joy-shape-of-my-early-life.html who has quite a few books, essays on the subject, convincing the hesitant, also saying that Jesus was either a fraud, or the Son of God…

In the same exclusive club, we have our very own Andrei Plesu, the greatest thinker in this part of the world -and one of the most remarkable anywhere – who is not just religious, but talks on the subject, with panache, humor, erudition, persuasion – he explains quite a few passages, such as the one with ‘blessed are the meek’

 

He is convinced that we are not talking literally there, it is a question of those who do not attach themselves to earthly goodies, it is not decided that the rich will just plunge into hell, as soon as they depart forever, and it makes sense, though many (most in corrupt places) get rich by cheating, not through honest travail

Let us just think of two examples – before that, spoiler alert, I have left The Circle In The Fire behind, and I may not return to it…nonetheless, there is that link, up there on this page, and 11 years ago, I really wrote about the tale – one is this Orange Jesus aka first convicted American president, who is an established fraudster

 

He is the proof that you can climb to the very top, the most powerful position in the world, and have little, or nothing to recommend you for it, except the ability to sell anything, convince buyers that shit is genuine gold, he is ‘a very stable genius, has the greatest mind’, and now about seventy million fools are ready to anoint him again

Another is next to me, where two ruffians have a pool, luxury cars, and other amenities, collected with a…state wage, well, a couple of pay checks, only it would take over seven hundred years, maybe more, to amass a sum to pay for all this, with the meagre salaries that public employees get…it was all massive corruption

Now this type of rich eejit will not reach Eden, if my feeble knowledge of the New Testament and the like is any good, but there is also the problem of the envious rest, those who just want to be like the fat cats, and they just did not have the chance to seal, get bribes, or else they would have done it, hence those disgusting votes

 

“Wealth - any income that is at least $100 more a year than the income of one's wife's sister's husband…” this is what smart, amusing HL Mencken has said – he was also spot on regarding democracy ‘On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.’

How inspired and prophetic, for the former, we do have an obsession with what others make, in a psychological study, participants in the research have been given two options, one in which they would have about 80k income, while their peers had 60k, and the other scenario would have them get 120k, only the rest would have even more, about 140k (these are from the top of my head, probably inaccurate, but the idea is true) and what do you think humans opt for, they would rather have 60k, but more than their group

 

However, we have ‘Happiness Activity No 3: Avoid Over thinking and Social Comparison- using strategies such as distraction to cut down on how often you dwell on your problems and compare yourself with others’ which is included in The How of Happiness https://realini.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-how-of-happiness-by-sonja.html by Sonja Lyubomirsky, if we keep looking at the better car, clothes that others have, we will be miserable

Let me just try and say a few words about A Circle In The Fire, now that there is nobody left here to read these lines, Mrs. Cope has this farm, and she has three visitors, boys that will cause a lot of trouble – the spoiler alert has been inserted a long time ago – in what is a very complex situation, which is so specific to magical Flannery O’Connor

 

On the one hand, Mrs. Cope will suffer more than she deserves – only it is for God to decide, and he is omniscient, ergo there is surely some sin there, or more – but then, just as I was speculating, she does seem inhospitable, careful with her possessions, the teenagers could not sleep in the barn, a fire could be expected, the woods are out of the question for the same reason, albeit the visitors are not accepting the idea that she owns the forest

They are told to stay away from the animals – well, anything for that matter – and they ride the horses, against the interdiction, they let loose a bull, and that animal could have caused a lot of mischief, and it takes time for the farm hands to get it back…so it all depends on how we see this ‘there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so’ Hamlet

 

I am not fond of children, on the contrary, it may be in the magnum opera of Magister Ludi Kingsley Amis https://realini.blogspot.com/2022/06/take-girl-like-you-by-kingsley-amis-one.html that I have read something to the effect of ‘it is only to be expected of these foolish adults, seeing as they had been children…in our gated community we have some fat cats (remember the guy with the pool?) and they raise their brats with the same contempt for the rest of the world

 

Now for my standard closing of the note with a question, and invitation – maybe you have a good idea on how we could make more than a million dollars with this http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/02/unique-in-world.html?q=unique+in+the+world – as it is, this is a unique technique, which we could promote, sell, open the Oscars show with or something and then make lots of money together, if you have the how, I have the product, I just do not know how to get the befits from it, other than the exercise per se

 

 There is also the small matter of working for AT&T – this huge company asked me to be its Representative for Romania and Bulgaria, on the Calling Card side, which meant sailing into the Black Sea wo meet the US Navy ships, travelling to Sofia, a lot of activity, using my mother’s two bedrooms flat as office and warehouse, all for the grand total of $250, raised after a lot of persuasion to the staggering $400…with retirement ahead, there are no benefits, nothing…it is a longer story, but if you can help get the mastodont to pay some dues, or have an idea how it can happen, let me know

 

As for my role in the Revolution that killed Ceausescu, a smaller Mao, there it is http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/03/realini-in-newsweek-participant-in.html

 

Some favorite quotes from To The Hermitage and other works

 

‘Fiction is infinitely preferable to real life...As long as you avoid the books of Kafka or Beckett, the everlasting plot of fiction has fewer futile experiences than the careless plot of reality...Fiction's people are fuller, deeper, cleverer, more moving than those in real life…Its actions are more intricate, illuminating, noble, profound…There are many more dramas, climaxes, romantic fulfillment, twists, turns, gratified resolutions…Unlike reality, all of this you can experience without leaving the house or even getting out of bed…What's more, books are a form of intelligent human greatness, as stories are a higher order of sense…As random life is to destiny, so stories are to great authors, who provided us with some of the highest pleasures and the most wonderful mystifications we can find…Few stories are greater than Anna Karenina, that wise epic by an often foolish author…’

 

‚Parturiunt montes, nascetur ridiculus mus’

 

“From Monty Python - The Meaning of Life...Well, it's nothing very special...Try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations.”