"The River" is a short story by the American author Flannery O'Connor

Flannery O'Connor

Mary Flannery O'Connor was an American novelist, short-story writer and essayist. An important voice in American literature, O'Connor wrote two novels and 32 short stories, as well as a number of reviews and commentaries...

. It is one of the ten stories included her short story collection A Good Man Is Hard to Find

A Good Man Is Hard To Find

A Good Man Is Hard to Find and Other Stories is a collection of short stories by American author Flannery O'Connor. The collection was first published in 1955...

, published in 1955. As a Roman Catholic novelist, most of Flannery's writing describe Christian redemption.

Plot summary

The story involves a boy who is unloved by his family. The boy is brought to a Christian revival meeting by his babysitter and baptized in the river by the evangelist who tells him he has a father in heaven who loves him and that he is counted among the saved now. Harry tells them that his name is Bevel, the name of the preacher, and Harry's newly taken Christian name. When the boy returns home his family still ignores him despite now being one of the elect. In the morning Harry returns to the river to re-experience the events of the preceding night, and he drowns signifying his displeasure with the currently earthly world and seeking of the perfect heavenly one.