Flannery O'Connor: Revelations of the Displaced Soul
Journal Title
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Issue Date
1-Dec-11
Authors
Tomasi, Rose M.
Publisher
The Graduate School, Stony Brook University: Stony
Brook, NY.
Keywords
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.
Description
43 pg.