The literature of Flannery O'Connor can appear to be distant and unemotional, as well as unbelievably harsh and violent. Her short stories characteristically conclude with horrific fatalities or an individual's emotional ruin. While O'Connor's mentality seems to be futile and interspersed with senseless brutality, in actuality, her writing is full of symbolism and meaning that is concealed beneath a flawless narrative approach. Through assessment of the writer's motives, outlooks, and styles, an explanation for her grotesqueries can be unearthed. .
As a Christian writer, Flannery O'Connor's work is message-oriented. She has created a style of writing that exists on both literary and religious grounds, and excels in doing justice to both. The mode of entry into O"Connor's dimension of the holy is primarily through the secular or the vulgar. (Oates, 44) It is necessary to look at how O'Connor achieved the presumably unfeasible task of producing thought-provoking Christian fiction by exploring elements of faith, style, and theme found in her stories. .
Minimal biography is required before analyzing the range of aspects that compose the noteworthy writing of O'Connor. Born in Savannah, Georgia on March 25, 1925 to dedicated Catholic parents, Mary Flannery O'Connor first attended Vincent's Grammar School and Sacred Heart Parochial School. She later went on to Georgia State College for Women and State University of Iowa where she received her MFA in 1947. In 1951, it was discovered that she had developed the same lupus that killed her father ten years earlier. Regardless of her illness, she wrote two novels and thirty-two short stories while acquiring success and praise. She passed away on August 3, 1964 at thirty-nine years old. (Galloway).
O"Connor's deep acknowledgment of her family's Southern legacy plays a strong role in the attitudes of her short stories. (Bence) A Good Man is Hard to Find is supported by her belief that modern society was radically changing for the worse.
Flannery O"connor Biography Flannery was born in Savannah, Georgia on March 25, 1925. ... Flannery and her family were Catholic, but Catholics suffered in Georgia. ... Flannery believed strongly in her Catholic religion. ... She wrote her first short story, and sold it in 1946. ... Her stories relate to many parables in the bible. ...
The American writer Flannery O"Connor is best known for her religious aspect in her fiction. ... In Flannery O"Connor short story "A Good Man is Hard to Find," she creates a struggle between two characters, the grandmother and the Misfit, which she displays by their different religious beliefs. ... In this short story, O"Connor characters are just vessels for her ideas. ... In the short story "Revelation" O"Connor's characters seem real. ... In this short story, O"Connor uses her character as vessels for ideas. ...
Authors write short stories, novels, poetry, or plays sharing their own beliefs to inspire, challenge, and entertain an audience. ... Flannery O'Connor is no exception to this theory. ... References to prayer and Jesus are found in both short stories. ... Flannery O'Connor's two stories examined here show many similarities, while being very unique from other authors. ... Flannery O'Connor cleverly combines symbolism, irony, violence, spirituality, and faith to create stories uniquely and recognizably her own that intrigue, inspire, and sometimes boggle the mind. ...
Flannery O" Connor is thought by many to be in a league of her own. ... While she was in Milledgeville to undergo treatment, Flannery began to write (Charters, 1116). ... In both stories a major part of the setting is the country that surrounded her, the south. ... Upon examining the two stories one will discover the South is a major contributor to the setting. ... With this element she is able to set the tone and support the themes of her stories. ...
Flannery O"Connor has been hailed as one of the most influential contemporary writers. ... Flannery O"Connor used grotesque themes and situations to make her stories differentiated from the common story. ... She uses the wooden leg at the end story to show how the leg is not Hulga's true deformity. ... Throughout these short stories Flannery O"Connor shows us how even the common person has a hidden past or a secret identity within themselves that even they might not be aware of. ... She combines Heroes and grotesque themes to create a lasting style of writing that can only be heard...
Throughout most of O'Connor's writing there is a racism factor in each novel or short story. ... As I read on in O'Connor's short stories I came across a short story called "The Barber.... Flannery O'Connor very well could have been talking about the Civil Rights movement in the story "The Barber." ... Which political leader was in favor of the Civil Rights Movement and which was not for supporting the movement in this short story. ... A good writer does no less" (Flannery O'Connor's Religious and Racial Beliefs). ...
The short story compares to a work of art. ... Flannery O'Connor effectively uses the plot to twist and shape a short story with intense highs and lows. ... Plot threads the backbone of the short story, it builds the framework for a short story that reads well and portrays the image the author attempts to convey. ... In creating the short story Flannery O'Connor selects the most fitting type of point of view in order to paint the image she desires. ... Short stories give the reader a short but very descriptive chain of events. ...
According to literary researcher Patrick Galloway, one must be "initiated to her trademarks when reading Flannery O'Connor's novels or short stories." ... (qtd. in Hawkins 30) Although there are moments in her works that are disturbing, Flannery O'Connor's use of paradox is an effective literary technique which resonate with the reader, deepening the feeling and meaning of her stories. Her short stories, "A Good Man is Hard to Find,"" and "Good Country People," "can be helpful tools for those looking for perfect examples of O'Connors unique and brilliant writing styl...
It is shown at the last part of the story right before she is shot. ... With ending up her story with violent killing, Flannery O"Connor shows to readers more about her redemption. ... By the way, the story may end with the realization of Sheppard as a father. However, Flannery O"Connor sets the violent ending to complete the revelation and redemption of the story. ... Therefore, Flannery O"Connor uses Norton's death as a vehicle to move Sheppard to the reality. ...