Flannery O’Connor once said, “…It is when the freak can be sensed as a figure for our essential displacement that he attains some depth in literature.” With this, O’Connor correctly uses the freak to symbolize her reoccurring theme of a grotesque viewpoint on the world, and such symbolism is used prominently in two of her short stories, ‘Everything That Rises Must Converge” and “Good Country People.” Within both stories, the freak awakens both the characters in the stories, and, in fact, the reader themselves, to the fact that they embody the same state as the freak.
In “Everything That Rises Must Converge,” Julian’s mother’s racism serves as the displacement in the story, while the Black characters encountered the bus ride symbolically represent the freak. Julian’s mother expresses her pity with the Black race when she states, “Most of them in it are not our kind of people, but I can be gracious to anybody. I know who I am.” Despite people having no choice in the matter when it comes to what skin color they’re born with, the mother still believes that through God, all people are c...
Julian's discription of his relationship with his mother, in his mind, was he viewed himself as the savior that must teach her a lesson about her outdated veiwpoints. He feels as though he needs to treat her like a "little girl" because of her ignorance of the changing times. It seems that the new generation always seems to know more about "everything" than the one before. Meaning, the old generations are not nessasarily ignorant to the changes, but they might not know any better becuse of the way they were brought up. "They (blacks) don't give a damn for your graciousness", Julian explains to his mother. The condescension of "enlightened" whites towards blacks and the resentment of blacks towards well-meaning whites will never change because "knowing who you are is good for one generation only. You haven't the foggiest idea where you stand now ...
The novel The Garies and their Friends is a realistic examination of the complex psychology of blacks who try to assimilate through miscegenation and crossing the color barrier by “passing as white.” Frank J. Webb critiques why blacks cannot pass as being white through the characters Mr. Winston and Clarence Jr.
Jacqueline and her family aren’t treated fairly, because of the color of their skin. If they sit near the front of the bus, the driver will make them move. If there is a white person walking on the sidewalk the have to step off the curb and let
The ambitious individuals often follow a course of action involving the persecution of their own fellow brothers and the adoption of the features of their ideal, or higher, society. In trying to push herself to a level above the black folks, Mrs. Turner, a mulatto woman who is convinced of her superi...
O’Connor “creates a more discomfort feeling for her white readers than she does for black ones, forcing the white audience to confront their racism directly” (Armstrong 4-5). O’Connor’s title of this short story, “Everything That Rises Must Converge”, is metaphorical and serves as a purpose for racial occurrences. The title is linked to “the theme of hope- the belief that, despite the cruelty, violence, and intolerance prevalent in modern life, the planet is advancing and rising toward unity” (Explanation of: ‘Everything That Rises Must Converge’ by Flannery O’Connor 10-12). No one really knows if Flannery O’Connor was racist. She generates her readers to constantly be questioning themselves throughout all of her work. O’Connor displays her character to make a racial comment, however the character was in fact not. Jillian 's mother declares, “Now you see why I don’t ride the bus by myself” (O’Connor 5). This is a very racist quote, yet some of the readers might not understand why O’Connor decides to write this. After reading this quote, the reader sees how Flannery’s character gets along with the African Americans and likes them. O’Connor is displaying that many people are quick to judge, especially by the color of someone’s skin. The readers see Jillian’s mother’s intrigueness towards the other race by when she has her
As Julian enters into “a world of guilt and sorrow” Flannery O’Connor persuades readers to address the issue of racial integration using an intergenerational family dynamic in Southern America. In her 1961 short story “Everything that Rises Must Converge”, O’Connor focuses readers’ attention on Julian and his relationship with his mother to expose the complexities of racial perceptions. While many critics attempt to analyze this story solely using O’Connor’s religious beliefs, critic Patricia Dinneen Maida proposes that the story can be explored on a number of levels. In her article “’Convergence’ in ‘Everything That Rises Must Converge’”, Maida critiques Julian’s character while analyzing the variety of factors that influence his identity
Wherein lies the odd attraction and power of the freakish? Just as often as it introduces us to expressions of common human experience, study in the Humanities also introduces us to the decidedly uncommon--to writers, artists and thinkers who push conventional limits of language and narrative, vision and imagination, memory and history, or logic and rationality. For our Freaks of the Core colloquium, we explored the outer limits of human expression and experience. What, we asked, defines the abnormal or the outlandish? the fanatical or heretical? the illusory or the grotesque? Why are we commonly drawn to the very uncommon? "Nothing, indeed, is more revolting," wrote Thomas De Quincey in his famously freaky Confessions of an English Opium-Eater, "than the spectacle of a human being obtruding on our notice his moral ulcers or scars, and tearing away that 'decent drapery' which time, or indulgence to human frailty, may have drawn over them" (1).[1] But De Quincey chose to tear away that drapery in his Confessions nevertheless, believing that his outlandish experiences with addiction, poverty and illusion would teach his readers valuable lessons that outweighed any offense. "In that hope it is that I have drawn this up," wrote De Quincey, "and that must be my apology for breaking through that delicate and honorable reserve, which, for the most part, restrains us from the public exposure of our own infirmities" (1). The essays below also tear away the "decent drapery" which covers the sometimes unsightly extremes of human experience, and they do so with similar hopes and reasons.
The book “Freak The Mighty” follows one main them, to never judge a book by its cover, or in the case shown in the book to never judge a person base on appearance. This book I feel captures this theme very well. There are many times this theme shows itself throughout the book, especially when introducing new characters.
Director Tod Browning was a product of circus life. He grew up in the circus with manic clowns, hairy women and human deformity all lined up for our entertainment, so he sheds a bit of light on the reality of our idea of what is freakish and what is normal. The film begins with disclaimer about its subject matter set up in the format that would later be adopted and tweaked just a bit by Star Wars. He calls this film a “Highly Unusual attraction” keeping with the circus theme of the film. We have a history of beasts of abnormal birth and who did not fit into society such as Frankenstein, Tom Thumb, Thumbelina, Goliath and Nosferatu. These things were all feared but they also fascinated us. Tod Browing goes on to explain that It's a natural urge to be beautiful across all species. To carry your genetics into the next generation, you had to be a desirable partner and abnormalities just won't cut it. Judging the so called freaks has been going on for thousands of years and it's a taught habit. There is an emphasis put on the freaks code to stick together, as it reads “ the hurt of one is the hurt of all; the joys of one is the joys of all” showing there is a deep need to stick together in a world against them. He ends this opening with “We present the most startling horror story of the abormal and the unwanted.” The word “abonormal” and the phrase “the unwanted” are both in bold. I take this as an emphasis on the circus performers who are deformed, mentally impaired and otherwise mutilated and it puts in a nutshell how many people have labeled them and others like them for thousands of years.
Southern gothic is a type of literature that focuses on the harsh conflicts of violence and racism, which is observed in the perspective of black and white individuals. Some of the most familiar southern authors are William Faulkner, Flannery O’Connor, and Cormac McCarthy. One author in particular, Flannery O’Connor, is a remarkable author, who directly reflects upon southern grotesque within her two short stories, “A Good Man is Hard to Find” and “Revelation.” These two short stories are very similar to each other, which is why I believe that O’Connor often writes with violent characters to expose real violence in the world while tying them in with a particular spiritual insight. The first short story that O’Connor refers to with southern grotesque and violence is in “A Good Man is Hard to Find.”
In my view, I doubt whether we have misread McCullers’s concern with the deformed people, these “monstrous” characters. We could not explore the flourishing connotation of freakish figures through its correspondence with essence in existentialism. Nor could we simply validate these characters as the product of the exaggeration on loneliness and failure in gaining love. Because these interpretations seem to reduce the aesthetic distinction that McCullers creates. Furthermore, these interpretations “involve a certain sacrifice: they tend to lose humanity, becoming symbols rather than people” (Evans, 302). William Van O’Connor’s accounts for the grotesque in southern writing as a response to a world of violence and upheaval, is highly reasonable
“The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas” is a short fictional story written by Ursula K. LeGuin. Although this story contains many realistic characters and setting, there is an overall eerie vibe about the city of Omelas that makes the story unusual. Omelas is described with several vivid details that indicate the city to be a gorgeous place, yet it appears to be a sort of unrealistic utopia. After analyzing the story, it was evident that this story was written about people who are trapped in Purgatory trying to decide where to go next. Although never stated directly, LeGuin wrote this story intentionally about Purgatory, which is made clear by her use of the literary elements: imagery, point of view, and symbolism.
The freak is not merely a figure subjected to oppression, but yet an uncanny figure that’s appealing as it exceeds the borders of self-identity. Tod Browning’s 1932 movie called Freaks ultimately put an end to his career. The film uses real carnival sideshow performers with deformities to disclose how “freaks” are the normalized and trusting figures while the “normal” members of the circus are delineated as the real monsters that exploit the freaks for their own desires and benefits. The film manifests the freak as a spectacular body that’s repulsive yet fascinating paralleling to the objectification of a monster.
A main theme in this novel is the influence of family relationships in the quest for individual identity. Our family or lack thereof, as children, ultimately influences the way we feel as adults, about ourselves and about others. The effects on us mold our personalities and as a result influence our identities. This story shows us the efforts of struggling black families who transmit patterns and problems that have a negative impact on their family relationships. These patterns continue to go unresolved and are eventually inherited by their children who will also accept this way of life as this vicious circle continues.
In Winesburg, Ohio, Sherwood Anderson writes an allegorical account of the failure of mankind (1919). Although Anderson depicts rural life in the "New World," his understanding of human nature and descriptive terminology provide a valuable framework for examining Joyce's rendition of urban misery in the "Old World." "The Book of the Grotesque," the opening piece of Anderson's short story collection, animates the thoughts of a dying old man: