What Is Flannery O Connor's Writing Style
Flannery O’Connor’s Writing Style
Flannery O’Connor was born on March 25, 1925, in Savannah, Georgia and died on August 3, 1964, at the age of thirty-nine of a disease called lupus. She attended college at what is today the University of Iowa where she received her master’s degree. O’Connor was believed to be one of the best short story writers of her time. She wrote thirty-two short stories as well as two novels. A few of her well-known short stories include: “Everything That Rises Must Converge”, “The Train”, and “The River”. Flannery, spending most of her life in the South, was a Southern writer who often relied heavily on Southern Gothic writing style and regional settings to add much deeper meaning to her stories. This style was fitting to the South because, “the plantation world of the antebellum period provided writers with an …show more content…
analogy to the medieval settings available to English gothic writers” (Southern Gothic Literature). In many of her works the Southern Gothic writing style is very evident through the actions and events of the main characters in those stories. As a result, many of her characters struggle for various reasons with their ability to accept recent changes taking place in their lives because of their southern upbringing, their religion lacking lifestyle, or their inability to analyze an unfamiliar situation.
In O’Connor’s “Everything That Rises Must Converge” Julian’s mother struggles greatly with accepting the new found equality for blacks in her society because of her southern upbringing and racial beliefs. Julian’s mother is said to be “a descendent of the former ruling class”(Rubin 3) which means that her family used to have slaves that worked the plantation her family once owned. This makes her believe that she should be placed higher than Negroes in the rankings of society. Julian on the other hand, like many of O’Connor’s characters has received a college education and is aware of the new racial equalities in society. As a result of Julian’s disgust in his mothers ignorance he goes out of his way to try and prove to his mother that she is, in fact, now placed on the same level as Negroes in society. Julian’s mother’s struggle is very evident when she refuses to ride the bus by herself because of the fact that Negroes are allowed to ride them. Then while on the bus when Julian’s mother says that she thinks the little boy likes her, the boy’s mother yanks him away violently “as if she were snatching him from Contagion”(Rubin 14). Then in Julian’s mother’s attempt to give the little boy a penny she catches up to the mother and when she tried to hand him the penny the boy’s mother whirls around and hits her in disgust. This is the event that finally brings light to Julian’s mother, understanding that she truly is no longer ranked in society, as she believes she should be. As a result this in turn proves too much for her to grasp and causes her to have a seizure and die. Julian’s mother’s refusal to accept the changing beliefs in society along with her deeply flawed characteristic traits are prime examples of O’Connor using beliefs from her own regional upbringing to depict Julian’s mother’s faults. The beliefs Julian’s mother acquired from being raised in the in the twentieth century American South are the sole reason for her inability to accept society’s new thoughts on racial equality.
In O’Connor’s “The River” Harry is a young boy who struggles with his own personal religious beliefs because of the nonreligious lifestyle his parent’s have raised him in. In this story, Harry, whose prosperous parents show little interest in him, goes to a religious revival meeting with his babysitter Mrs. Connin. While at the revival he is baptized and hears that he has a Father in Heaven who cares for him and is told by the preacher that in the great Kingdom of God, that he will count. Hearing this gives Harry a feeling of something that is real, which is new to him because of the fact that he believes everything in his home life to be a joke. After awakening the following morning of the baptism he is still greatly consumed by the feeling of being under the water where he counted. As a result Harry returns to the spot of the revival to baptize himself and search deep under the river until he found the Kingdom of Christ, a place where he mattered. This search in turn results in him being swept away by the current and drowning. The foundation of Harry’s struggle is brought about by the nonreligious description of Harry’s home life. It is stated when Harry awakens, “he got up and wandered around the room, looking into the ashtrays at the butts as if this might be a habit.”(O’Connor), this portrays the degenerated condition of his home brought upon by the habitual partying lifestyle of his parents. The second reason for his struggle is Harry’s misconception of believing that the Kingdom of Christ is actually somewhere in the river when in reality it is a heavenly place reached only by the spirit of a believer in Christ that is sent there in the believer’s afterlife. O’Connor’s ability to use her own personal knowledge of Christ and religion to create a character with such a great struggle in this novel is the reason for “The River” being such a gripping and heart wrenching story.
In O’Connor’s “The Train” Hazel Wickers, a young man from Eastrod, Tennessee, struggles with social interactions while on the train because of his inability to analyze and adapt to a situation if it does not play out as he envisioned it. In the story Hazel is clinging to the past life he once knew and is trying to manipulate the situations on the train by making connections with that past life. His mindset is described by McDermott as “Like a train moving through a dimly lit tunnel with its singular light attempting to penetrate the darkness”(1 McDermott). Hazel’s obsession with the porters’ face, resembling that of a friend from his past life, reveals somewhat of a spiritual deformation that is overcoming his conscious. This is a prime example of one of the many struggles Hazel experiences on the train because it brings to light his mutilation of the situation by relating someone from his past to the present in order to comfort him. Another example is when Hazel is in his berth and a small bit of light is protruding through the crack which irritates him. O’Connor uses an illusionary tactic to get the reader thinking differently, but it is stated by McDermott that what he truly does not want diluted is “his own version of the truth. He only feels comfortable in his illusory, veiled world”(McDermott 1). Hazel’s severely altered mind set causes him to over ride the true situation that is currently happening in the real world with one that is made up in his own mind. As a result of O’Connor’s ability to portray such a mentally altered character in Hazel, who “is so entangled in the egotistical maze of his darkened vision”(McDermott 2) that his inability to adapt or change, has sabotaged his way of living in a different society.
Flannery O’Connor, having been raised in the South, was a firm believer in the use of the Southern Gothic writing style in her stories.
Many of her stories contain characters with fatal faults. This produced a much deeper meaning to the story then what meets the eye. O’Connor was faced with many hardships throughout her writing career: her father’s death caused by the disease lupus, followed years later by herself contracting the same deadly disease that also resulted in her death. Nevertheless, despite her struggles she still managed to produce some of the most award wining and well-known short stories in history. Through Flannery O’Connor’s “Everything That Rises Must Converge”, “The River”, and “The Train” her ability to write such graphic yet gripping stories with characters struggling to adapt to their understandings of new found religious beliefs, their society’s new views of racial equality, and their inability to analyze an unfamiliar situation is stunningly displayed. Despite her many life struggles O’Connor was still able to write these stories, which dubbed her as one of the greatest short story writers of all
time.
Works Cited
Booth, Alison. Mays, Kelly J. “The Norton Introduction to Literature”. 10th Edition. New York, London. Norton. 2010. Print.
Columbia University, Press. “Flannery O’Connor.” Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia. 6Th Edition (2011): 1. History Reference Center. Web. 31 Nov. 2012.
McDermott, John V. “O’Connor’s THE TRAIN.” Explicator 60.3 (2002): 168-169. Academic Search Premier. Web. 31 Nov. 2012.
" Flannery O’Connor." 2012. FamousAuthors.org 22 April, http://www.famousauthors.org/flannery-oconnor
O 'Connor, Flannery. "The River." N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2013. .
O’Connor, Flannery. “The Train.” The Complete Stories. New York: Farrar, Straus and
Giroux, 1971. 54-62.
Rubin, Charles T. Rubin, Leslie G. “Flannery O’Connor’s Religious Vision Of Regime Change.” Perspectives On Political Science 31.4 (2002): 213. Military & Government Collection. Web. 31 Nov. 2012.
"Southern Gothic Literature." Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism. Ed. Janet Witalec. Vol. 142. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 27 Apr. 2013.
Flannery O’Connor was born on March 25, 1925, in Savannah, Georgia and died on August 3, 1964, at the age of thirty-nine of a disease called lupus. She attended college at what is today the University of Iowa where she received her master’s degree. O’Connor was believed to be one of the best short story writers of her time. She wrote thirty-two short stories as well as two novels. A few of her well-known short stories include: “Everything That Rises Must Converge”, “The Train”, and “The River”. Flannery, spending most of her life in the South, was a Southern writer who often relied heavily on Southern Gothic writing style and regional settings to add much deeper meaning to her stories. This style was fitting to the South because, “the plantation world of the antebellum period provided writers with an …show more content…
analogy to the medieval settings available to English gothic writers” (Southern Gothic Literature). In many of her works the Southern Gothic writing style is very evident through the actions and events of the main characters in those stories. As a result, many of her characters struggle for various reasons with their ability to accept recent changes taking place in their lives because of their southern upbringing, their religion lacking lifestyle, or their inability to analyze an unfamiliar situation.
In O’Connor’s “Everything That Rises Must Converge” Julian’s mother struggles greatly with accepting the new found equality for blacks in her society because of her southern upbringing and racial beliefs. Julian’s mother is said to be “a descendent of the former ruling class”(Rubin 3) which means that her family used to have slaves that worked the plantation her family once owned. This makes her believe that she should be placed higher than Negroes in the rankings of society. Julian on the other hand, like many of O’Connor’s characters has received a college education and is aware of the new racial equalities in society. As a result of Julian’s disgust in his mothers ignorance he goes out of his way to try and prove to his mother that she is, in fact, now placed on the same level as Negroes in society. Julian’s mother’s struggle is very evident when she refuses to ride the bus by herself because of the fact that Negroes are allowed to ride them. Then while on the bus when Julian’s mother says that she thinks the little boy likes her, the boy’s mother yanks him away violently “as if she were snatching him from Contagion”(Rubin 14). Then in Julian’s mother’s attempt to give the little boy a penny she catches up to the mother and when she tried to hand him the penny the boy’s mother whirls around and hits her in disgust. This is the event that finally brings light to Julian’s mother, understanding that she truly is no longer ranked in society, as she believes she should be. As a result this in turn proves too much for her to grasp and causes her to have a seizure and die. Julian’s mother’s refusal to accept the changing beliefs in society along with her deeply flawed characteristic traits are prime examples of O’Connor using beliefs from her own regional upbringing to depict Julian’s mother’s faults. The beliefs Julian’s mother acquired from being raised in the in the twentieth century American South are the sole reason for her inability to accept society’s new thoughts on racial equality.
In O’Connor’s “The River” Harry is a young boy who struggles with his own personal religious beliefs because of the nonreligious lifestyle his parent’s have raised him in. In this story, Harry, whose prosperous parents show little interest in him, goes to a religious revival meeting with his babysitter Mrs. Connin. While at the revival he is baptized and hears that he has a Father in Heaven who cares for him and is told by the preacher that in the great Kingdom of God, that he will count. Hearing this gives Harry a feeling of something that is real, which is new to him because of the fact that he believes everything in his home life to be a joke. After awakening the following morning of the baptism he is still greatly consumed by the feeling of being under the water where he counted. As a result Harry returns to the spot of the revival to baptize himself and search deep under the river until he found the Kingdom of Christ, a place where he mattered. This search in turn results in him being swept away by the current and drowning. The foundation of Harry’s struggle is brought about by the nonreligious description of Harry’s home life. It is stated when Harry awakens, “he got up and wandered around the room, looking into the ashtrays at the butts as if this might be a habit.”(O’Connor), this portrays the degenerated condition of his home brought upon by the habitual partying lifestyle of his parents. The second reason for his struggle is Harry’s misconception of believing that the Kingdom of Christ is actually somewhere in the river when in reality it is a heavenly place reached only by the spirit of a believer in Christ that is sent there in the believer’s afterlife. O’Connor’s ability to use her own personal knowledge of Christ and religion to create a character with such a great struggle in this novel is the reason for “The River” being such a gripping and heart wrenching story.
In O’Connor’s “The Train” Hazel Wickers, a young man from Eastrod, Tennessee, struggles with social interactions while on the train because of his inability to analyze and adapt to a situation if it does not play out as he envisioned it. In the story Hazel is clinging to the past life he once knew and is trying to manipulate the situations on the train by making connections with that past life. His mindset is described by McDermott as “Like a train moving through a dimly lit tunnel with its singular light attempting to penetrate the darkness”(1 McDermott). Hazel’s obsession with the porters’ face, resembling that of a friend from his past life, reveals somewhat of a spiritual deformation that is overcoming his conscious. This is a prime example of one of the many struggles Hazel experiences on the train because it brings to light his mutilation of the situation by relating someone from his past to the present in order to comfort him. Another example is when Hazel is in his berth and a small bit of light is protruding through the crack which irritates him. O’Connor uses an illusionary tactic to get the reader thinking differently, but it is stated by McDermott that what he truly does not want diluted is “his own version of the truth. He only feels comfortable in his illusory, veiled world”(McDermott 1). Hazel’s severely altered mind set causes him to over ride the true situation that is currently happening in the real world with one that is made up in his own mind. As a result of O’Connor’s ability to portray such a mentally altered character in Hazel, who “is so entangled in the egotistical maze of his darkened vision”(McDermott 2) that his inability to adapt or change, has sabotaged his way of living in a different society.
Flannery O’Connor, having been raised in the South, was a firm believer in the use of the Southern Gothic writing style in her stories.
Many of her stories contain characters with fatal faults. This produced a much deeper meaning to the story then what meets the eye. O’Connor was faced with many hardships throughout her writing career: her father’s death caused by the disease lupus, followed years later by herself contracting the same deadly disease that also resulted in her death. Nevertheless, despite her struggles she still managed to produce some of the most award wining and well-known short stories in history. Through Flannery O’Connor’s “Everything That Rises Must Converge”, “The River”, and “The Train” her ability to write such graphic yet gripping stories with characters struggling to adapt to their understandings of new found religious beliefs, their society’s new views of racial equality, and their inability to analyze an unfamiliar situation is stunningly displayed. Despite her many life struggles O’Connor was still able to write these stories, which dubbed her as one of the greatest short story writers of all
time.
Works Cited
Booth, Alison. Mays, Kelly J. “The Norton Introduction to Literature”. 10th Edition. New York, London. Norton. 2010. Print.
Columbia University, Press. “Flannery O’Connor.” Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia. 6Th Edition (2011): 1. History Reference Center. Web. 31 Nov. 2012.
McDermott, John V. “O’Connor’s THE TRAIN.” Explicator 60.3 (2002): 168-169. Academic Search Premier. Web. 31 Nov. 2012.
" Flannery O’Connor." 2012. FamousAuthors.org 22 April, http://www.famousauthors.org/flannery-oconnor
O 'Connor, Flannery. "The River." N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2013. .
O’Connor, Flannery. “The Train.” The Complete Stories. New York: Farrar, Straus and
Giroux, 1971. 54-62.
Rubin, Charles T. Rubin, Leslie G. “Flannery O’Connor’s Religious Vision Of Regime Change.” Perspectives On Political Science 31.4 (2002): 213. Military & Government Collection. Web. 31 Nov. 2012.
"Southern Gothic Literature." Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism. Ed. Janet Witalec. Vol. 142. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 27 Apr. 2013.