Flannery O’Connor: A Journey through Literary Success

Flannery O’Connor was an American writer born in Savannah, Georgia on March 25, 1925. O’Connor was born to her parents, Regina Cline and Edward F. O’Connor. In 1938 O’Connor and her family moved to Milledgeville where she attended school at Peabody Laboratory School (Merriam-Webster 824). At the young age of fifteen her father Edward passed away of a disease called systematic lupus erythematosus. Although the death of her father hit O’Connor hard she pushed on and began to write.

O’Connor became an editor of the Corinthian, a literary magazine at Georgia State College for Women. There she wrote and submitted fiction essays and some poems which drew a good bit of attention. O’Connor, a social science major began to write. After attending college

The Misfit is allegedly headed toward Florida as the story begins. The grandmother uses this to her advantage and adds another reason not to go to Florida and instead vacation in Tennessee. Eventually against her will the grandmother loads up in the car and heads to Florida. Flannery went into great detail in this story to make sure the reader clearly understood the situation. As they all get in the car O’Connor writes about the grandmother, “Positioning herself in the middle of the back seat between John Wesley and June Star, she places a large black valise in the corner, concealing beneath it a basket containing her cat, Pitty Sing (Johnson 444).” O’Connor even goes into detail describing what the grandmother is wearing. In case of a car accident the grandmother wears her very best clothes so that whoever finds them will know that she is a lady (Bloom 14).

Like many of her other works of literature, “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” The devil is definitely present throughout the story. “The Misfit” is an awful madman who purposely shows opposition towards Christ. Flannery uses the antagonist as a person who has strayed away from spirituality and lives a life of sin. O’Connor uses the character of “The Misfit” so that it may relate to a familiar person (Muller

As they speak with one another The Misfit collectively sends members of the family into the woods. Before long the family is all killed and only the grandmother remains. At this point the reader can sense what will happen next. The grandmother is becoming deeply religious as her death nears her. Finally the grandmother realizes she is no better than The Misfit and touches him on the shoulder. O’Connor demonstrates the dominant grandmother finally does not get her way. She is shot three times and thrown into the ditch soon after (Bloom