Flannery O’Connor Essay - 1158 Words

Flannery O’Connor was fond of saying, â€Å"When in Rome, do as you done in Milledgeville.† O’Connor was born in Savannah, Georgia, but spent the bulk of her life in Milledgeville, and it is her Southern heritage that influenced her and made her writing extremely distinctive in the history that is American literature. As a Roman Catholic in the Protestant-majority South, she was often confronted with the differences between the surroundings and herself, a theme that often comes up in her writing. O’Connor was diagnosed with Lupus, an inherited disease that also killed her father, so she was constantly aware of her own impending death. It is because of this that so many of her fiction short stories have to do with death and the grace that†¦show more content†¦O’Connor borrowed these characteristics from her life and used them in the complex characters she would later create. Her Catholic faith is another point that drove O’Connor ’s writing, especially given that she grew up in a Protestant-majority region. â€Å"Flannery OConnor put much conscious thought into her dual role of Catholic and fiction writer† (Galloway). Her devout faith plays a huge role in her writing, as most of her characters grapple with salvation and grace. O’Connor’s influences in life were so powerful, they became the same topics that impacted her philosophy in writing. Flannery O’Connor’s philosophy of writing was directly related to her life and roots as a Southerner, a Catholic, and a woman. One of the Southern traditions that O’Connor used most in her writing was local customs and manners which make people laughable. â€Å"Exaggeration of characteristics and of incidents is one cause of our laughter in O’Connor’s stories† (Grimshaw 89). She would regularly expose the hypocrisy of character’s thoughts by exaggerating their ridiculous actions in moment s of distress causing readers to feel both horror and humor at the same time. Also present in most of O’Connor’s work, is her Catholic faith with regards to her vision of grace and the devil. Her view of faith was complete in the sense that it had a beginning, middle, and end, but she wrestled with Protestantism and depicted hypocrisy and intolerance when she found them (GrimshawShow MoreRelated Flannery Oconnor1301 Words   |  6 Pageson 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 ofRead MoreFlannery OConnor 1111 Words   |  5 PagesFlannery O’Connor When writing a piece of literature the content is often influenced from the background of the person who is writing. The author, whether consciously or subconsciously, adds in personal experiences or beliefs into their pieces. Flannery O’Connor is a good example of this trend. Her short stories illustrate the hardships, beliefs, and society at the time she lived and was writing. It is most blatantly demonstrated in her collection of short stories entitled, A Good Man Is HardRead More Flannery OConnor Essay1299 Words   |  6 PagesFlannery OConnor Flannery O’Connor and the Relationship Between Two of Her Stories Flannery O’Connor was born Mary Flannery O’Connor on March 25, 1925 in Savannah, Georgia, as the only child to Edward F. O’Connor, Jr., and Regina (Cline) O’Connor. Later in 1941, Flannery O’Connor’s father dies of lupus while O’Connor is in Milledgeville, Ga. After her father’s death, O’Connor rarely speaks of him and continues to be active in school projects such as drawing, reading, writingRead More Flannery O’Connor Essay1267 Words   |  6 PagesFlannery O’Connor Mary Flannery O’Connor was born in 1925 in Savannah, Georgia. She was an only child, and her parents were deeply religious Roman Catholics. She was educated at the Women’s College of Georgia and the State University of Iowa. While she was at college, she wrote short stories which were published. During this time her father died of lupus, a blood disease that would eventually claim her life as well. After she was diagnosed, she moved to Milledgville, Georgia, for treatment ofRead MoreFlannery OConnor Essay988 Words   |  4 PagesFlannery O’ Connor’s method of writing is extraordinary with the right amount of religion. She writes in a way in which the reader can easily comprehend. Nonetheless, let us first discuss her short story â€Å"A Good Man Is Hard to Find,† in this particular piece of writing O’ Connor gives us a sense of irony and suspense throughout the reading. One can easily recall when the family was passing by the beautiful scene ry of Georgia and the grandma had made a racist remark of a Negro child standing in frontRead MoreThe Humor of Flannery OConnor1852 Words   |  8 Pagesresult of a sequence of events and the expected result. Flannery OConnors works are masterpieces in the art of literary irony, the laughable and ridiculous. The incongruous situations, ridiculous characters, and feelings of superiority that OConnor creates make up her shocking and extremely effective, if not disturbing, humor. I say disturbing because OConnors humor, along with humor in general, most often contains the tragic. OConnor has been quoted as saying, The comic and the terribleRead MoreRevelation by Flannery OConnor Essay1426 Words   |  6 PagesRevelation [Name of Student] [Name of Institute] Revelation Introduction Revelation  is a  short story  by  Flannery OConnor. It was published in 1965 in her short story collection  Everything That Rises Must Converge. OConnor finished the collection during her final battle with  lupus. She died in 1964, just before her final book was published. A devout  Roman Catholic, OConnor often used religious themes in her work. All my stories are about the action of grace on a character whoRead MoreFlannery OConnor: A Brief Biography842 Words   |  3 Pageswriter to worry is to take over Gods business.† (O’Connor). This statement is encouraging to all believers in God, knowing that it is coming from a fellow Catholic like Flannery O’Connor. O’Connor is associated with the Christian Realism movement, which is a logical view developed by a theologian, Reinhold Niebuhr, who argued that the Kingdom of God cannot be realized on earth because of the naturally corrupt trends of society (â€Å"Flannery O’Connor†). This movement began in the late 1940’s and alongRead MoreFlannery OConnor and Her Works913 Words   |  4 Pages Flannery O’Connor â€Å"I am a writer because writing is what I do best,† Known for her unique collection of short stories, Flannery O’Connor had a major impact on the writing industry during the 20th century. She is still to this day considered one of the most famous American authors. She very well shows that your life really impacts your writing technique, and tone of writing. She was born March 3rd, 1925. O’Connor was raised by two very Catholic parents in Savanna, Georgia. Her father, Edward FrancisRead MoreEssay about Flannery OConnor774 Words   |  4 Pages Flannery OConnor is a blunt, cruel writer who uses violence to teach theology. OConnors works focus on grace through violent, cruel acts. In her stories its hard to find a happy person or a loving family. Her characters, Mrs. May Greenleaf, the Grandmother A Good Man is Hard to Find, and Hulga Good Country People all make terrible mistakes that result in finding grace through a tragedy. OConnor does not pull punches, but lets her characters suffer the consequences of their actions