Thesis Statement: In Flannery O’Connor’s short story “Good Country People,” the expulsion of the outside world allows for more emphasis on the symbolic nature of each of the active characters. I. The Kitchen A. Introduction of the characters B. Symbolic use of names in Free.man and Hope.well C. Introduction of the outside world II. The ...
“The point is that nobody likes having salt rubbed into their wounds, even,” wrote Rebecca West, “if it is the salt of the earth” (qtd. in Oxford 430). This statement reflects the intrinsic fallacies of human nature in Flannery O’Connor’s “Good Country People. Using symbolism, O’Connor illustrates the effects of physical and psychological problems, as ...
Flannery O’Connor writes with an infusion of Christian beliefs mixed with a horrific humor in order to show the reader, through literary example, why one should examine him/herself more acutely. In general, John R. May summarized O’Connor’s goal in his piece “The Parable of Flannery O’Connor” as her “power of language to interpret its listener ...
Flannery O’Connor was an American short story writer of the mid-20th Century who possessed exceptional talent and received high critical acclaim, yet her work today seems obscure if not apocryphal. “Dismissed as a minor writer by some critics, totally rejected by others…” (Lukas 5197) or as eloquently described in 1997 by Joseph Zornado …[R]ecent scholarship ...
When first reading “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, one may find oneself wondering whether or not good will prevail over evil, whether or not the grandmother will live. But upon closer reading, we see Flannery O’Connor’s use of foreshadowing throughout the story, predicting the grandmother’s ultimate demise. The southern gothic tale of a ...