The monkey
in the chinaberry tree is catching fleas from his body and eating them as if they are a
delicacy.
The family encounters the monkey during their road trip when they
stop at The Tower restaurant for barbecued sandwiches. The monkey is chained to a chinaberry
tree. When he sees the children coming towards him he jumps to the highest branch of the tree to
avoid them.
While the meaning of the monkey is open to interpretation, he
probably represents the family themselves, living materially rather than spiritually, with no
thought beyond their own comfort and security. It is unflattering to think of this family, and
humankind in general, as no different from a monkey picking fleas from its body, but this is
arguably how O'Connor sees us when we are not infused with God's grace.
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