Arrogance does not make one smart, and does not shed someone in a good light. In Flannery O’Connor’s short story “The Enduring Chill,” the main character Asbury projects an arrogant attitude. Asbury grew up the South, and then moved up to New York City. After getting a taste of the city life and trying to aspire to be a writer, Asbury went back home. Asbury mainly went home because he fell ill, and believed he was going to die in the coming days. His attitude towards death was somewhat accepting, however he was a but bitter while he was at home. Looking into his conversations with the other characters in the story, it is obvious how they felt about him, and he them. So why was Asbury so cavalier? The point of the matter is that he came up with many excuses during his time home. There are many reasons for Asbury’s behavior throughout the story, which can be seen through the interactions that he makes with the other characters. 

To begin with, Asbury’s career did not take off at all. Failure could be a big reason for Asbury’s attitude. One character in particular Mary George, Asbury’s sister, who continually pointed out that he never actually produced any work of art. When she first saw him, she kept calling him “the writer”. When her mother told her that he was sick, Mary George just shot her down. Mary George then said to her mother, “I’ve told you and I tell you again: what’s wrong with him is purely psychosomatic.” Mary George saw right through her brother, and was not going to let him act the way he was. Another statement that Mary George made was; “You’ve got to face the facts: Asbury can’t write so he gets sick. He’s going to be an invalid instead of an artist.” This is a great example of why Asbury has this sad demeanor, and cavalier attitude. He did not deny anything that his sister said about him. He was sick, and was using his sickness as an excuse for why he was not writing. Mary George’s statements about Asbury really show how she feels about him as a person, which is not much. As for Asbury’s attitude, he feels that his sister is not very smart. He really shows arrogance when he talks about Mary George. 

Another character that Asbury has strong interactions with it his mother. Asbury’s mother was worried about him from the moment he stepped off the train, until the end of the story. Asbury did not want that from his mother, and just wanted her to leave him be, and let death do its job. His mother could not accept the idea of her son dying, and would not even entertain the idea. In the beginning of the story Asbury’s mother was very concerned. She would do typical motherly things, for example tell him he needed to see a doctor, or to take off his jacket. Asbury would yell at his mother in response, thinking he knew better. Also, as a last minute effort to write something Asbury wrote a letter to his mother instead of telling her to her face. What the letter said is unknown, be he obviously appreciated her enough to write her something. He acted so cold towards her throughout the story, when she was just worried because he was sick. Here is another way that Asbury used his sickness as a means to get attention. 

The last two characters that Asbury has a real interaction with are Randall and Morgan. When he talked to these two men, his attitude was very different than it was when he talked to his family members. While talking to Randall and Morgan, it was almost as if Asbury was their friend. He tried to get the two of them to drink milk from a cow that was just milked. Asbury also tried to get them to smoke cigarettes with him. Randall and Morgan were not trying to get in trouble by Asbury’s mother, so of course they did not do any of it. Asbury was just doing all of these stupid acts, and though Morgan and Randall would automatically join him. In a way, the two of them were much smarter than Asbury. With Morgan and Randall, Asbury did not use any excuses, and when he was “dying” Morgan and Randall just told him he would be fine. The interactions Asbury had with them were very different than what he had with everyone else; however, Asbury did think that he was smarter than them like with Mary George. 

Throughout “The Enduring Chill,” Asbury had many conversations with all of the other characters in the story. These conversations really projected Asbury’s attitude and showed a little bit of why Asbury is the way he is. He acts very different with each of the characters. With his sister, he was arrogant and thought she was stupid. Asbury was cold towards his mother the majority of the time, and with Morgan and Randall he was friendly. In playing the dying card he got a lot more attention, especially from his mother. Though, in playing that card, he showed his sister how much of a failure he really was in his line of work. In the end, Asbury still had a bad attitude, even after he found out he was not dying.