Flowering Judas Sparknotes

Katherine Anne Porter is most commonly known for her elaborate and complex short stories that resonated with different people in different ways. From Flowering Judas to That Tree, Porter’s message remains constant and her stories often draw to the same conclusion regarding a failure on the part of man. Characterized by her inventive use of symbolism in her short stories, Katherine Anne Porter manages to weave intricate tales that explore the misguided nature of the human psyche and thus analyze the origins behind the progressive downfall of the quality of life for the modern man.
Background
After the death of her mother, Callie Russell Porter and her impoverished family moved from their Texas home in Indian Creek to live with her grandmother,
Believing Mexico to be a “vessel of abstract virtues”(Porter 91) filled with revolutionaries who are “lean, [and] animated by heroic faith” (91), Laura is appalled upon the realization of the truth hidden behind her fantasies. Rather than finding brave and valiant men leading the people of Mexico to freedom, Laura finds Braggioni, a corrupt and callous man dedicated to naught but the procuring of his own unabated gain by whatever odious means
After seeking out those who wished to silence Jesus in turn for thirty silver coins, Judas traveled to Gethsemane where Jesus was praying with his disciples. In order to help the arresting soldiers distinguish Jesus from the rest of the crowd, Judas was to kiss the man he knew to be Jesus. After Jesus was arrested and sentenced to death, Judas became overwhelmed with remorse and, unable to cope, hung himself from a white budded tree, whose flowers then turned red with shame (God as a