Grotesque in Flannery O'Connor
Flannery O'Connor, a prolific Southern author, was born in Savannah, Georgia in 1925 during the Great Depression. After her father's death from lupus when O'Connor was fifteen, she and her mother moved to Andulusia, a rural quail farm outside of Milledgeville, Georgia. O'Connor herself was diagnosed with lupus at the age of twenty-five and suffered greatly from the disease which finally killed her. She was educated in parochial Catholic schools where she learned the basics of literature and grammar. O'Connor began writing at the young age of ten, and her stories were frequently published. Her most prevalent themes include comic violence, the question of redemption, displacement, and religion. Flannery O'Connor's overriding religious views and perspectives on life were illustrated through the abnormal characters and grotesque figures in her stories, particularly in "Good Country People," "A Good Man is Hard to Find," and "The Life You Save May Be Your Own."Flannery O'Connor often used grotesque images in her writings to portray the fundamental struggles of human beings. However, she did not limit herself to the simple questions of right and wrong, good vs. evil. O'Connor's characters str
Most people who read her stories would agree that "O'Connor is undeniably a tough writer, and looking through her work the reader must strain to find a healthy family, a loving couple, or a pleasant child" (Mitchell 1). She seems to take discomfort in the reader to a new level and challenge people to understand her characters. Many of Flannery O'Connor's characters, such as The Misfit, are unlikeable and it is virtually impossible to identify with them as one would in a normal story. uggle in their daily lives to overcome their violent inner conflicts. In "Good Country People," O'Connor begins with the grotesque description of Joy, also known as Hulga, and her missing leg. Her leg was shot off in an unfortunate hunting accident when she was only ten. For more than twenty years, she has been limping with one leg. Hulga has never experienced those things valued by others growing up; she never danced, never knew what it was like to experience "normal good times" (O'Connor 173). Joy/Hulga's missing leg becomes the focus for a Bible selling con man who demonstrates artificial faith to get what he needs. In the end, the salesman manages to con Joy out of her prosthetic leg. The grotesque image of the man walking down the street with someone else's prosthetic leg would frighten anyone. Mrs. Freeman, a woman Joy lives with, has a biza
Some common words found in the essay are:
Hard Misfit, Joy Hulga, Flannery O'Connor, Flannery O'Connor's, Country People, Georgia O'Connor, Savannah Georgia, Shiftlet Lucynell, People O'Connor, flannery o'connor, Shiftlet Bible, country people, flannery o'connor's, prosthetic leg, o'connor's characters, life save own, abnormal characters, physical deformity, missing leg, life save, save own,
Approximate Word count = 907
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
