F Bell Flannery O' Connor Blog

Flannery O' Connor is famous for her grotesque characters in her short stories. When asked about this she said "anything that comes out of the South is going to be called grotesque by the northern reader, unless it is grotesque , in which case it is going to be called realistic." In "A Good Man is Hard to Find" or "Good Country People" find an example of a grotesque character and elaborate (include which story the character comes from). Why is he or she considered grotesque? What made them grotesque? Try to choose secondary characters to make it creative and not repetitive.
Grotesque: departing markedly from the natural, the expected, or the typical fantastic human and animal forms often interwoven with foliage or similar figures that may distort the natural into absurdity, ugliness, or caricature.

G Bell due 21 September midnight- Short Stories-O'Connor

Flannery O'Connor is a Southern Gothic writer who is known for living a spiritual life in a secular world. Approaching all of these broad issues by providing moral, social, and psychological contexts that offer a plethora of insights and passion which her readers find very startling yet at the same time assimilating (Bedford Literature 439).


Grotesque-From a literary standpoint, this term implies a mutation of the characters, plants and/or animals. This mutation transforms the normal features and/or behaviors into veritable extremes that are meant to be frightening and/or disturbingly comic (Cornwell 273).

Southern Gothic Literature- relies on supernatural, ironic, or unusual events to guide the plot, uses these to explore social issues and reveal cultural character of the American South. (http://personal.georgiasouthern.edu/~dougt/goth.html)

Her style may be a classified as Southern Gothic Literature as present a link. Use the definitions above as an aid in showing how O’Connor’s short stories classify as Southern Gothic literature with an integral use of grotesque characters. How does O’Connor, raised a Catholic, reveal the juxtaposition of her religious beliefs(which are ambiguous about her stance) within the grotesque characters? Use textual evidence to support your answer.

G Bell - How to Read Literature Like a Professor - Due Tuesday, September 14th

How to Read Literature Like a Professor attempts to make literary interpretation accessible to everyone by clearly and humorously breaking down the interpretation into manageable "chunks".  Each chapter hones in on symbols, themes, and/or motifs that aid in the art of literary analysis. 

Choose two of the following five chapters and analyze a novel or short story you have read recently.  Use these analytical tools to help increase the reader's comprehension of characterization, plot, setting, theme, etc.  Be sure to use specific textual evidence to support your interpretation gleaned from using these tools.  Remember to avoid listing or "pointing out" this information.  You should analyze and look for the larger meaning created via the use of this technique.

• Hanseldee and Greteldum
• More than It's Gonna Hurt You:  Concerning Violence
• Is that a Symbol?
• Is He Serious and Other Ironies
• Geography Matters 

F Bell - How to Read Literature Like a Professor - Due Tuesday, September 14th

How to Read Literature Like a Professor attempts to make literary interpretation accessible to everyone by clearly and humorously breaking down the interpretation into manageable "chunks".  Each chapter hones in on symbols, themes, and/or motifs that aid in the art of literary analysis. 

Choose two of the following five chapters and analyze a novel or short story you have read recently.  Use these analytical tools to help increase the reader's comprehension of characterization, plot, setting, theme, etc.  Be sure to use specific textual evidence to support your interpretation gleaned from using these tools.  Remember to avoid listing or "pointing out" this information.  You should analyze and look for the larger meaning created via the use of this technique.
  

• Every Trip is a Quest
• Nice to Eat with You (vampires/communion)
• It's More than just Rain or Snow
• And Rarely Just an Illness
• So Does the Season

E Bell - How to Read Literature Like a Professor - Due Tuesday, September 14th

How to Read Literature Like a Professor attempts to make literary interpretation accessible to everyone by clearly and humorously breaking down the interpretation into manageable "chunks".  Each chapter hones in on symbols, themes, and/or motifs that aid in the art of literary analysis. 

Choose three of the following seven chapters and analyze a novel or short story you have read recently.  Use these analytical tools to help increase the reader's comprehension of characterization, plot, setting, theme, etc.  Be sure to use specific textual evidence to support your interpretation gleaned from using these tools.  Remember to avoid listing or "pointing out" this information.  You should analyze and look for the larger meaning created via the use of this technique.
  

• It's all Political
• When in doubt, it's from Shakespeare
• Yes, she's a Christ figure, too
• Or the Bible
• It is Greek to me
• Flights of Fancy