Flannery O'connor

1313 Words3 Pages

In the mid 1900’s, America experienced many changes, from society and politics to religion and literature. Countries were facing the aftermath of World War II, and authors of the time reflected on how the world was dealing with the changes. Flannery O’Connor, a prominent Catholic writer from the South, was one of the many who examined society and shared their philosophies. O’Connor shocked her twentieth century readers with the haunting style and piercing questions in her short stories and novels, which were centered on a combination of her life experiences, her deep Catholic faith, and the literature of the time. Mary Flannery O’Connor was born in Savannah, Georgia in 1925 into one of the oldest and most prominent Catholic families in Georgia. She was the only child of Edward, a real estate appraiser, and Regina O’Connor. The year after the family moved to Milledgeville in 1940, Flannery’s father contracted and died of lupus. She and her father had always had a close relationship, and 15-year-old Flannery was devastated (Gordon). Catholicism was always a huge aspect of life for the O’Connor family, living across the street from a cathedral and growing up in the Bible Belt (Liukkonen). Flannery attended parochial schools until entering the Georgia State College for Women, where she entered into an accelerated three-year program as a day student (Gordon). She graduated with a Social Sciences degree in 1945 and left Milledgeville for the State University of Iowa where she had been accepted in Paul Engle’s prestigious Writers Workshop. (“Flannery O’Connor”). Flannery devoted herself to what she loved most, writing, though she spent a great deal of her youth drawing pictures for a career as a cartoonist (Liukkonen). It was at this ... ... middle of paper ... ...www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/424730/Flannery-OConnor>. Galloway, Patrick. “The Dark Side of the Cross: Flannery O’Connor’s Short Fiction.” Pat’s Lit Page. 1996. 25 March 2012. . Gordon, Sarah. “Flannery O’Connor.” The New Georgia Encyclopedia. Georgia College and State University. 3 March 2009. 21 March 2012. . “Is Flannery O’Connor a Catholic Writer?” Books Blog. The Guardian. 2012. 25 March 2012. . Liukkonen, Petri. “Flannery O’Connor (1925-1964).” Books and Writers. 2008. 21 March 2012. . Welborn, Amy. “Flannery O’Connor: Stalking Pride. Our Sunday Visitor. 8 August 1999. 25 March 2012. .

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