The book opens with the reluctant prophet in a particularly compromising position: “Francis Marion Tarwater’s uncle had been dead for only half a day when the boy got too drunk to finish digging his grave.” This leaves a passerby to “drag the body from the breakfast table where it was still sitting and bury it […] with enough dirt on top to keep the dogs from digging it up.” Though her own politics are still debated, O’Connor’s fiction could also be attuned to the racism of the South.
Cerita dimulai saat tokoh utama di posisi yang mecurigakan: \"Paman Francis Marion Tarwater sudah meninggal setengah hari saat anaknya terlalu mabuk untuk menggali kuburannya.. Ini membuat orang sekitar menyeret jasadnya dari meja makan di mana dia berada dan menguburnya. Dengan tanah sekadarnya agar anjing tak menggalinya.\" Meski politiknya masih diperbincangkan, Karya O’Connor sesuai dengan perlakuan rasis di Amerika Selatan.