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Flannery O'Connor and the Southern Grotesque
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Flannery O'Connor and the
Southern Grotesque
A Study of Good and Evil in
the Southern United States
Biography
-b. 1925 in southern Georgia
-Dad died when she was 15; she was left
devastated
-entered the highest literary circles almost
immediately after graduating from college @
the University of Iowa
-Was diagnosed with lupus and lived 14 years
beyond the diagnosis - this was the same disease
that killed her father.
O'Connor's Ideas
Of Faith
O'Connor: "I write the way I do because
I am a Catholic."
-She has warned those who misinterpret the
violence in her stories to look for the true evil that
exists, and whether or not what horrifies an
audience is the "true horror" in a story
-The ultimate sin O'Connor discusses in her work
is pride. Pride tends to manifest hypocrisy, which
is, in her estimation, a commission of ultimate sin.
The Southern
Grotesque
The Southern Grotesque is also referred to as Southern
Gothic literature. Like Poe's Dark Romanticism, several
similar aspects of human nature are highlighted.
-Grotesque: Comes from the Latin grotto, meaning a
"hidden place"; this suggests that the Southern Grotesque discusses elements of human nature that lie under the
surface, often unnoticed, until something provokes part
of that nature to come forth.
Characters in grotesque literature tend to induce
both "empathy and disgust."
-Possible motifs include poverty, racism, class dispute,
alienation, crime, and...of course, violence.
-IRONY of all types is heavily used to identify
the values of the Deep South
-Morality is never in 'black and white'; any given
character's moral compass in the Southern Grotesque
is subject to the battle between good and evil.
-Characters are often referred to as "freaks"
-Setting of SG literature is often subject
to stereotype (dirt roads, barns, mossy trees...)
-Conflicts are plenty, but identifying the primary
conflict can be difficult, as there are MANY contained
in a single story.
Thematic Questions
Within O'Connor's story "A Good Man Is Hard To Find",
our questions are difficult to answer, but we'll try...
1. Is it wrong to cheer for the bad guy?
2. Are humans capable of grace, especially when violence
is imminent?
3. Which is more dignified: honesty or survival?
4. If one commits evil acts, does that person deserve retribution?
5. Can hope be found in violence?
Symbolism in Literature
In this story, we have a few potential symbols:
1. The Car.
2. The BBQ restaurant.
3. The Pistol.
4. The Grandmother's Hat.
5. The Baby.
6. The Wrong Turn.
7. ...I'm sure there are others, but you'll have to
find them!