Research

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Research

Introduction

The grotesque writing published in American short stories in the 50 's rarely stand up to some of the outrageous , sickening , complex and downright distasteful characters seen in today 's literature

One of the finest American modernist , Flannery O 'Connor was probably the best-known author of Southern Gothic stories . Her works fit the scheme of the Southern Gothic literature , which , unlike the Romantic Gothic literature that utilizes the supernatural , focuses on the sublime and grotesque found

in reality . In her stories , the spiritual side of life represents the sublime , while the grotesque is symbolized by technique , material progress and disintegration of values however Flannery O 'Connor 's tale "A Good Man Is Hard to Find " shows distinctly morbid ideas , which are on par with some of today 's storytellers (Clark , 66-69

Flannery O 'Connor

The famous author , Flannery O 'Connor , was born on March 25 , 1925 in Savannah , Georgia . As a young child , Flannery was baptized her Christian name then became Mary Flannery O 'Connor . She was the only child of the devout Roman Catholics , Regina L . Cline and Edward F O 'Connor , Jr . O 'Connor 's mother came from a very prominent family in Georgia and her father worked in real estate and construction . In the fall of 1938 , her father was diagnosed with the disease lupus erythematosus and died in 1941

At the age of twelve , her family moved to Andalusia , the Cline homestead in Milledgeville , Georgia . Here , Flannery kept several peacocks as pets along with her beloved peafowl (Gian . As early as her teenager years , she knew that she wanted to become a writer . During her adolescent years , she read the works of Nathaniel Hawthorne , whose themes of sin and redemption influenced her writings . Also , the works of Edgar Allen Poe influenced her by his use of violence , the macabre and grotesque language in his short stories . During O 'Connor 's career , her primary mentor was Caroline Gordon , who was a leading southern writer and teacher of literature and creative writing

In 1942 , Flannery graduated from Peabody High School and entered Georgia State College for Women located in Milledgeville . During college and high school years , she drew satiric cartoons for student newss which helped her develop comic skills and use of exaggeration . In June 1945 , O 'Connor graduated from Georgia State College with a Bachelor 's degree in Sociology and English

At the age of twenty-one , her first short story titled "The Geranium was published and appeared in the popular Accent in 1946 . Her talent for writing fiction won her , a scholarship to the University of Iowa , where she earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing in 1947

In 1948 , she resided at Yaddo , a writer 's colony in Saratoga Springs New York . Here she began her novel , Wise Blood . For a few weeks O 'Connor moved back to Milledgeville and continued to work on it . In 1949 , she moved back to...