E.M. Forster’s “A Horse and Two Goats” and Flannery O’Connor’s “Parker’s Back” both explore profound cultural clashes, albeit through different lenses and geographical settings. Forster’s novella, set in rural India during the colonial era, highlights the communication breakdown and mutual misunderstandings between a British couple and the local villagers. O’Connor, on the other hand, uses the American South as a backdrop to examine the clash between an individual’s spiritual aspirations and the rigid social and religious expectations of their community. While Forster focuses on the macroscopic divide between East and West, O’Connor delves into the internal, spiritual conflict within a single character, ultimately revealing how deeply ingrained cultural identities shape individual lives and interactions.
In "A Horse and Two Goats," the cultural chasm is starkly illustrated by the language barrier and differing worldviews between the visiting English couple, Mr. and Mrs. Perry, and the Indian villagers of Bichari. The Perrys, seeking an authentic experience of India, are met with polite but ultimately impenetrable resistance from the locals, particularly the village elder, Ram Lal. Their attempts at conversation are hampered not just by the lack of a common language, but by fundamentally different assumptions about life, society, and even the value of material possessions. When the Perrys inquire about local customs or history, their questions are filtered through the lens of their own cultural expectations of curiosity and intellectual engagement. Ram Lal, however, operates within a framework where direct questioning can be seen as intrusive, and where knowledge is passed down through tradition and lived experience rather than academic inquiry. The incident with the stolen goat, which Mr. Perry interprets as a theft, is more accurately understood by Ram Lal as a misunderstanding rooted in differing perceptions of ownership and community. The novella’s title itself, “A Horse and Two Goats,” suggests a focus on simple, agricultural life, a world far removed from the Perrys’ urban, Western sensibilities, and their attempts to bridge this gap prove ultimately futile, leading to a poignant depiction of cultural isolation.
Flannery O’Connor’s “Parker’s Back” tackles a cultural clash that is more internal and spiritual, yet no less potent. The protagonist, Obadiah Parker, a young man from rural Georgia, is consumed by a desire to transcend his own impoverished, religiously conservative upbringing. His quest takes him through various experiences, including military service and a troubled marriage, but it is his obsession with tattoos that becomes the central vehicle for his rebellion against his inherited culture. Parker’s desire to get a large tattoo of Christ on his back is not born from genuine piety, but from a desperate attempt to assert his individuality and escape the suffocating religiosity of his mother and her community. This is a culture that views tattoos as inherently sinful, a mark of the devil. Parker’s mother, a woman of deep and unyielding faith, embodies this cultural judgment, seeing his tattoos as an affront to God and her own values. The climax of the story, where his mother confronts him and is momentarily struck blind by the sight of his tattooed back, serves as a powerful metaphor for the blindness of judgment and the profound divide between Parker's yearning for a unique identity and the rigid, unforgiving cultural norms he seeks to escape. His ultimate failure to find solace or acceptance, even in his radical act of self-expression, underscores the enduring power of cultural identity and religious dogma.
Both Forster and O’Connor, despite their distinct styles and settings, masterfully illustrate how culture acts as both a binding force and an isolating barrier. In “A Horse and Two Goats,” the clash is between two distinct societies with vastly different histories and priorities. The Perrys’ failure to connect with Bichari is a consequence of their inability to see beyond their own cultural assumptions, to appreciate a way of life that operates on principles alien to them. Ram Lal’s quiet dignity and his subtle refusal to be assimilated or understood on Western terms highlight the resilience of local culture. Conversely, “Parker’s Back” shows a clash within a single cultural context, where an individual’s attempt to forge a new identity founders against the bedrock of inherited beliefs. Parker’s tragic pursuit of selfhood, marked by the very symbols his culture abhors, reveals the inescapable influence of one’s origins. Ultimately, both stories suggest that while the desire for understanding and connection is universal, the deep currents of cultural identity can create chasms that are exceedingly difficult to bridge, leaving characters adrift in a sea of misunderstanding and alienation.