Flannery O'Connor: Revelations of the Displaced Soul

Abstract

Flannery O'Connor's thematic paradigm incorporates spiritual overtones, irony and black comedy into her works. The characters appear to possess displaced souls that require some type of spiritual and moral awareness through a shocking intervention. This paper provides an analysis of the introspective development that occurs within the characters; and I will examine the process in which the characters seem to come to shocking revelations about their flawed view of life. Furthermore, an investigation of the protagonist's journey from selfishness to self-awareness will demonstrate the human flaws and weakness in their lives. The circumstances surrounding these outcomes is tragic, yet they are somehow ironic and comic when main characters seem to get what they deserve. Therefore, an interpretation of the turning point and conclusion, which teaches the protagonist a lesson, will be explored. O'Connor's characters may undergo a moral revelation, but the reader also contemplates the anagogical implications presented. The characters in Flannery O'Connor's short stories, 'Good Country People,' 'A Good Man is Hard to Find,' 'The Displaced Person,' and 'Everything That Rises Must Converge' undergo possible spiritual and moral revelations of their displaced souls through the narrative form of black comedy.