Within her stories Flannelly O’Connor writes in things that feel off putting to us. Something might just give us an off feeling about it, and make us cringe; in fact that “cringe feeling” is really what has come to be expected of her writings. These phenomena in their simplest manifestations are incongruities; which appear far more than in just the creepiness or horror, but they also show themselves in her humor, and irony, in fact all these things hold their bases within incongruities. The acts of the Misfit of course could easily be described as one of these incongruities. Killing a whole family is one of those actions that anyone in their right mind would classify as “just wrong”; but both “A good man is hard to find” and “ Good country people” are filled with all these kinds of incongruities on multiple levels. O’Connor’s stories are a veritable ocean of them, and that is what we find so entertaining of her writing. In “Good Country People”, O’Connor has some fun with names. Hulga, a name that most would already view as grotesque, is even explicitly stated in the story to be cho...
In O’Connor’s short stories she is writing from a catholic perspective, which was not very noticeable at first, but once it is realized that her stories are written with a religious undertone about grace it is hard to forget. In her short stories such as “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, “Revelation” and “Everything That Rises Must Converge” the characters are people who believe they are better than some other class and have a “holier than thou” attitude towards many, especially directed towards African-Americans who are seen as second class citizens. Because of their attitude and way of life, O’Connor gives them a chance to rethink their lives or show them grace, through an act that shocks them. O’Connor uses “freaks” to give the characters a chance at receiving grace such as the ugly girl in “Revelation”, which causes Mrs. Turpin to rethink the way she treats people she believes to below her and her judgmental ways. The “Freaks” bring about a distinct change in the way the characters view others by showing them the errors of their ways and that times have changed. This could also be considered an act of grace and a sign from God. The settings for the stories seem to be predominately take place in the south, where religion is a major influence in people’s lives during the time her stories take place. This change in their views of the world can be seen in all three of the short stories “Revelation”, “Everything That Rises Must Converge”, and “A Good Man is Hard to find”.
In the text “The Life You Save May Be Your Own” by Flannery O’Connor, a common mood emerges from the somewhat humorous yet unfortunate work. A mood of grotesqueness among the characters and overall story as it presents itself, generally, making the audience feel quite uneasy and uncomfortable while reading it. Grotesque is a literary style, which comically and somewhat repulsively represents a distorted character or a series of twisted actions or thoughts that embody a character. The text creates a grotesque mood simply because the actions carried out by the characters resemble an extreme sense of despair and uneasiness, yet the way in which it is executed is somewhat funny and jocular to the reader, therefore creating an awkward overall mood
Scott, Nathan A., Jr. "Flannery O'Connor's Testimony." The Added Dimension: The Art and Mind of Flannery O'Connor. Ed. Melvin J. Friedman and Lewis A. Lawson. New York: Fordham UP, 1966. 138-56.
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.
Flannery O’ Connor is known for her great short stories, “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, “Wise Blood”, “The Violent Bear It Away”, and “Everything That Rises Must Converge.” As a young reader, I often analyze every aspect of an author’s work in an attempt to figure out their influences and inspirations. In this paper, I will be unraveling the underlying factors that possibly played a part in O’Connor’s writing. Could her upbringing be the reason she wrote using southern dialect? Her religion majorly showed throughout all of her writings, so could that have been one of her main influence...
Flannery O’Connor’s Catholic faith is shown heavily in her writing’s, but yet most of her characters are Protestant. Protestants fall under Western churches, and follow the principle of Reformation. Flannery wants her characters to suffer, to feel anguish and find redemption. While Flannery O’Connor has written many complex texts with different themes, her faith is always the fueling force behind her creativity. Contrary to popular belief, O’Connor’s notions have only widened her points of view in her writings. O’Connor uses faith in her work to show the readers spirituality and grace.
Desmond, John. Flannery O’Connor’s Misfit and the Mystery of Evil. Renascence. Marquette University. Winter2004, Vol. 56 Issue 2, p129-137. 9p. Web.
Someone might believe that the moral code they have set for themselves is good because it is based on these outside factors such as religion or the teachings of parents, so therefore it must be right. This is why the grandmother believes that her moral code is good. She believes that in order to be a good person that you must demonstrate an upholding of the moral code she has built. A person might also believe that what they are doing is okay because their moral code has been warped by physiological factors. The misfit feels that he must give his life meaning. He says that he thinks about Jesus a lot, but since he doesn’t know for sure that he is real, he decides to give his life meaning in a different way- by murdering people. In his mind, what he is doing is not wrong. He believes that the morally correct thing to do is to kill these people in order to give his life meaning. There is no guarantee of an afterlife for any human, only the guarantee of the life we currently have, so why not leave behind a legacy? Is what the misfit doing really wrong? These are the kinds of questions that O’ Connor leaves the reader to reflect on. The Misfit is only trying to leave his mark on the world just like everyone else, and killing just happens to be his way of doing it. O’ Connor wants the reader to consider that just maybe he is not a bad
In her short story, Revelation, author Flannery O'Connor explores the human mind along with the naivety that sometimes comes with it. She develops this by writing from a point of view that not only shows what the protagonist says and does, but what she restrains herself from saying every time she speaks. O'Connor's purpose is to invite the readers to take a look at themselves to see if they are truly who they think they are. The author is able to use several different devices in order to illustrate the several themes that protrude throughout the story. She appeals to the emotions of the audience by making the protagonist begin to seem like an enemy to an ordinary reader. O'Connor is able to extend her own credibility by mastering the jargon
All of O’Connor’s writings are done in a Southern scene with a Christian theme, but they end in tragedy. As Di Renzo stated “her procession of unsavory characters “conjures up, in her own words, “an image of Gothic monstrosities”… (2). Flannery O’Connor was highly criticized for her work as a writer, because of her style of writing, and her use of God. It was stated that “…whatever the stories may have meant to her, they often send a quite different message to the reader”… (Bandy). But the stories of O’Connor take a look at the way people depict themselves on the outside, but inside they are
Her style and disapproval is expressed through the words of Hulga. After Manley Pointer steals her wooden leg she finally sees his true intentions. She realizes he has a twisted mind, and that he is “a fine Christian [... who] says] one thing and do[es] another”(12). Hulga no longer sees that Manley Pointer is the innocent Bible selling boy he presented himself as, rather, she sees him as a manipulative man who steals her wooden leg. Hulga’s pejorative language expresses her disapproval of ungracious people. Additionally, the pejorative language gives insight on how truly rare it is to find a good person. Moreover, O'Connor's style is also expressed through the thoughts of Hulga. After Manley Pointer kisses her she realizes “it was an unexceptional experience and all a matter of the mind's control [and that] some people might enjoy drain water if they were told it was Vodka”(10). Hulga’s pejorative thoughts display her disapproval of others. O'Connor's style also reveals that Hulga feels superior to others. All things considered, O'Connor's pejorative style in “Good Country People” unveils the character of both Manley Pointer and
Can a person get so subconsciously desperate that he/she, unknowingly, creates an imaginary figure to rescue them? While that may seem like an insane notion to ponder, it is all too real for Connie, a fifteen year old girl in “Where are you going, Where have you been?” by Joyce Oates. There are three separate writers whose interpretations of Oates’ story prove that the answer to that question, in Connie’s case is yes. Arnold Friend is a figment of Connie’s imagination created by her desperate need for a reality check.
Another style Dillard shows is the way she uses her point of view and voice. The story is from the point of view of Dillard as a child, however the voice is of Dillard as an adult. Readers notice this distinct difference when she uses more intelligent vocabulary and descriptive words. For instance, when Dillard says,” it was transparent, luminous oblong.”(Dillard 211), she is reliving the past from the point of view of her adolescent however, it’s her adult voice when she describing. Dillard is able to express her fear as a small child, while also using sophisticated language that
In 1965, a serial killer was being shown by the media to the citizens. The killer was a loafer who had great imagination. He always made up stories about him killing others and told the stories to his friends. He told so many stories that no one believed it when he really killed someone. His way of deception was to talk to girls and kill them when they were off their guard. Three innocent girls were killed by his hand and he was named “The Pied Piper of Tucson”. Wondering how could a weird guy like this successfully kill so many girls, Joyce Carol Oates wrote “Where are you going, Where Have You Been”.
Gilbert, Muller, H. Nightmares and Visions. Flannery O?Connor and the Catholic Grotesque. University Press. University of Georgia Press. 1977. 125.