Flannery O’Connor & Religion

by Haley Sandoval, Cristina Ocampo, Jeremy Scroggins, Chelsea Boushka, Rona Hedjazi, and Trevor Long

Biography● Her life story is important to understanding her

works● Born in 1925 in Savannah, Georgia as Mary

Flannery O’Connor● An only child raised in a Catholic home ● But predominant religion in South was Protestantism● Very shy but had a unique sense of humor● Had a close relationship with her father, but he

passed away from lupus while a teenager● Studied social sciences at Georgia State College for

Women● Worked on The Corınthıan, a college literary

magazine● Once graduated, decided to go by Flannery O’Connor

Biography Continued● After, she attended a Writer’s Workshop which was led by Paul Engle who

commented that she “preferred her stories to be read anonymously and worked hard”

● Began associating with Southern professors and writers who would influence her work

● Published her first story, The Geranıum, and also began working on her first novel, Wıse Blood

● Worked on her writings in New York, but was diagnosed with lupus in 1951● Went back to live with her mom on the farm “Andalusia”● While living here, she wrote the majority of her works● Died from her illness in 1964

O’Connor’s Works● Wrote short stories, novels, essays, and letters● Her religion gave her another insight to the everyday rituals of Southern life● Early works themes: not as in depth with religion, dealt with the contrast

between whites and blacks and country vs city living● Later works themes: much more spiritual in nature and dealt more with the

challenges and the revelations that appear when confronting the enemy● Critiques Southern ideals and traditions● She was very violent and blunt with her works and refused to sentimentalize

religion

O’Connor’s Faith - Catholic Christianity

● Suffering soteriology: the study of religious doctrines asserting that salvation is achieved through suffering○ Catholicism → Jesus’ death on the cross

○ “The greatest dramas naturally involve the salvation or loss of the soul.”

● Original sin: man’s sinful state as a result of the Fall (Adam & Eve)○ O’Connor believes most drama is based on the concept of original sin

○ To Christian writers, sin = not a disease, not incidental; purposeful action against God

● The Devil: evil incarnate○ “Our salvation is a drama played out with the devil…”

O’Connor’s Faith cont’d.● Christian dogma as moral code & compass

○ Used as basis for morality○ Used to guide us through life○ Used to provide meaning

● The Fall, the Redemption, & the Judgment as main elements○ Fall: humanity’s fall from grace through sin○ Redemption: humanity is saved○ Judgment: eternal fate is determined by our

actions in life

○ Note: can also be categorızed as Death, Judgment, Heaven, and Hell

How O’Connor’s Worldview Affects Her Writing- Challenges

- Assumptions by nonbelievers stating narrow mindedness.- The weak of faith’s condemnation of the Christian novel.- A general lack of faith in the reading populace. - Writing on Man’s Encounter with God

- Benefits- Combining Nature with Grace; adding a dimension.- Revealing Mystery by using the Eyes- Using Distortion to Reveal “But the real novelist, the one

with an instinct for what he is about, knows that he cannot approach the infinite directly, that he must penetrate the natural human world as it is.”

“It is when the individual’s faith is weak, not when it is strong, that he will be afraid of an honest fictional representation of life: and when there is a tendency to compartmentalize the spiritual and make it resident in a certain type of life only, the supernatural is apt gradually to be lost”

Religion in the South

● O’Connor said, “The two circumstances that have given character to my own writing have been those of being Southern and being Catholic”

● Why has her Southern background affected her so much?

○ “The novelist is concerned with the mystery of personality, and you cannot say much that is

significant about this mystery unless the characters you create exist with the marks of a believable society about them”

○ “The image of the South, in all its complexity, is so powerful in us that is a force which has to be counted and engaged.”

Religion in the South● How was her writing affected by her being Catholic when the the South is overwhelmingly

Protestant?

○ First, we have to understand the difficulties O’Connor felt about writing about religion at all■ “When you write about backwoods prophets, it is very difficult to get across to

the modern reader that you take these people seriously, that you are not making fun of them, but that their concerns are your own…”

■ “It becomes more and more difficult in America to make belief believable…”

■ “... But in this the Southern writer has the greatest possible advantage. He lives in the Bible Belt.”

Religion in the South○ On Southern Protestants.

● Catholics may feel that Southern Christianity has

been so corrupted “that there is nothing left of it that he can recognize…”

● “...[But my] interest and sympathy… go… directly

to those aspects of Southern life where the religious

feeling is most intense and where its outward forms

are farthest from the Catholic, and most revealing of a need that only the [Catholic] Church can fill.”

A Good Man is Hard to Find● In O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” her religious background is

extremely present throughout the story.○ “I'm a born Catholic and death has always been brother to my imagination.”

● Being a strong Catholic, her stories allude to the “last four things; death, judgement, heaven and hell.”○ Foreshadows death in story with some examples: “anybody seeing her dead on the highway

would know that she was a lady.” and the Misfit’s hearse like vehicle, etc.

● She shows religious symbolism of good and bad.○ “the trees were full of silver-white sunlight and the meanest of them sparkled."

● Foreshadows Redemption in the end of story○ Misfit killing helpless grandmother changed him

A Good Man is Hard to Find

● "She could have been a good woman," The Misfit said, "if it had been someone there to shoot her every minute of her life."

● Epiphanies- as expressed by O’Connor● Action of grace in territory held largely by

the devil● Cherish these temporary moments

Conclusion● Questions for “A Good Man is Hard to Find.”

○ What does the Misfit’s inner conflict say about human nature and the origin of evil according to O’Connor’s view?

○ What does O’Connor try to accomplish/accomplish with her distortion of reality?○ How does the grotesque amplify the meaning of “A Good Man is Hard to Find?”

○ Was the Grandmother’s faith genuine? If not, did it affect her efforts to evangelize The Misfit or to save herself?

○ Redemption is a prevalent theme in her works. In the end, how was the Grandmother redeemed?

● How background knowledge adds to the understanding “A Good Man is Hard to Find”○ Many instances of foreshadowing to death

○ Observations of the natural to further reveal the mystery of the human condition and theology.