FREE ESSAY ON FLANNERY O'CONNOR

FLANNERY O'CONNOR

Flannery O'Connor and the Relationship 
Between Two of Her Stories
Author, Flannery O'Connor was born Mary Flannery O'Connor on March 25, 1925 in Savannah,
Georgia, as the only child to Edward F. O'Connor, Jr., and Regina (Cline) O'Connor. Later
in 1941, Flannery O'Connor's father dies of lupus while O'Connor is in Milledgeville, Ga.
After her father's death, O'Connor rarely speaks of him and continues to be active in
school projects such as drawing, reading, writing, and playing instraments. Further, in
the summer of 1942, O'Connor graduates and enters Georgia State College for Women as a
sociology and English major. Moreover, O'Connor took on the name Flannery O'Connor,
dropping Mary from her signature. When O'Connor graduates from college, she leaves for
Iowa City and applies for several college teaching positions while attending the
University of Iowa. Thus, she receives her Masters of Fine Arts in 1947. Although her
first story, "The Geranium" was publised in Accent, during the summer of 1946, it was
only the beginning of many of her works to be published. Like her father, O'Connor was
living with lupus and her first major attack came in December, 1950. However, O'Connor
did not allow the disease to keep her from writing and getting her works published. In
fact, she got her nineth story , "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" published. Also, O'Connor
has won many prizes and awards with her writings over the years. For instance, she was
named the Honorary Doctor of Letters by institutions, was the first prize of the O. Henry
award in 1957 and 1963 and had previously won second in 1954 and 1955. Moreover, O'Connor
died on August 3, 1964 I a Milledgeville hospital. Nevertheless, her stories continued to
reign as award winners and are still chosen often to be read by college instructors and
their students.
"A Good Man Is Hard to Find" and "Good Country People" are two of many short stories by
Flannery O'Connor. In addition, the two stories enfold a mystery ending in catastrophe.
O'Connor uses plenty of irony or subtle kind of sarcasm in developing each of the
stories. Coincidentally, "A Good Man Is Hard To Find" and "Good Country People" are both
set in the South during the earlier years, when segregation was an issue and trust was
not. "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" and "Good Country People" are two ironically twisted
tales of how two different families lives are altered after trusting and being mislead by
a stranger.
In "A Good Man Is Hard to Find," O'Connor introduces a family whose lives ironically turn
up side down while on a trip to Florida. For instance, before leaving on the trip, the
grandmother (who wants to go to Tennessee in stead of Florida) tells her son, Bailey,
about the newspaper article. Thus, the article states that a prisoner escapes to Florida
and calls himself the misfit. However, her son basically ignores her and they end up
taking the trip to Florida regardless of the warning. Also, the grandmother takes her
cat, Pitty Sing, along on the trip in order to prevent any mishaps by leaving her behind.
In addition, the grandmother wears a pin so that if she dies in an accident anyone who
finds her, knows that she is a woman. Moreover, she points out several different sights
on her way to Florida. Most significantly, she says, "Look at that graveyard (O'Connor
139)!" 
?With a twist the family decides to take a detour on a dirt road in Georgia with the
intentions of visiting an old plantation. Unfortunately, this frightens Pitty Sing and
she springs onto Bailey's shoulder while he is driving. As a result, this causes an
accident. " The horrible thought that she [ the grandmother] was having before the
accident was that the house she had remembered so vividly was not in Georgia but in
Tennessee" ( 145). Minutes later, the grandmother flagged down a big black hearse-like
car with three men inside. "You're The Misfit... I recognized you at once," says the
grandmother to the older man (147) ." Nevertheless, the misfit kills the entire family.
In "Good Country People," a second story by O'Connor, another family mistakes a trusted
stranger and this too, gives the story an ironic twist. To illustrate, Mrs. Hopewell is a
positive thinker and the divorced mother of her daughter, Joy, who has since changed her
name to Hulga. For instance, some of her favorite sayings are "Nothing is perfect, that
was life, and well, people have opinions too. However, her daughter Hulga is nothing like
her. In addition, Hulga is a stout thirty-two year old Atheus woman with a heart
condition and who also has a Ph.D. in Philosophy. Furthermore, at the age of ten, Hulga
loses her leg in a hunting accident. For this reason, she possesses no drive. "All day
Joy sat on her neck in a deep chair, reading" (268). 
Ironically, the story "Good Country People," takes a twist when a stranger interrupts the
lives of Mrs. Hope well and specifically the life of Hulga. For instance, Manley Pointer,
introduce himself as a friendly Bible sales man, but hides his liquor, cards of naked
women, and condoms in his Bible case. After spending sometime with Hulga and using his
manly charm, Pointer asks her, "Couldn't we go on a picnic tomorrow ? Say yes, Hulga"
(276). Now as an existentialist, Hulga does not appreciate nature as it exists. "She
looked at nice young men as if she could smell their stupidity" (268). On the contrary,
Hulga does meet Pointer for a picnic and finally she reveals, "I don't even believe in
God" (277). Further, she explains, "I am saved and you are damned but I don't believe in
god" (278). Soon, Pointer pulls her close and plants a heavy kiss, which turns out to be
her first kiss ever. Similarly, before deciding to meet Pointer, Hulga has a seductive
dream about the two of them together. Well, this dream comes close to reality when
Pointer seduces her, but the difference is that he humiliates her by running away with
her wooden leg and leaving her in the Cedar's barn.
In a subtle kind of sarcasm, O'Connor reveals that Manley Pointer was nothing more than a
thief with a strange fetish for women's false body parts. For example, she reveals that
Pointer is not really a Bible salesman but uses this profession as a way to con his way
into people's lives. Strangely enough, Pointer travels, seducing women with a unique
handicap and takes advantage of their vulnerability. "One time I got a woman's glass eye
this way. And you needn't to think you'll catch me because Pointer ain't really my name.
I use a different name at every house I call at and don't stay nowhere long" (287).
In conclusion, both of the stories where quite interesting since, they were so strange.
O'Connor uses a unique writing style in comparison to other writers. Also, judging from
these two stories, she uses the same style in the majority of her works. More
specifically, O'Connor uses a lot of foreshadowing and irony, leading up to the
catastrophe. Also, her subject matter is somewhat controversial since the settings of the
two stories are in the South, she uses southern dialect and religion, and most of all,
they have the strangest endings. Perhaps the greatest story she has to tell is not her
forte, the short story, at all but maybe it's her own story. 
Bibliography
Works Cited
O'Connor, Flannery. "A Good Man Is Hard to Find." Flannery O'Connor: 
Collected Works. New York, NY: The Library of America, 1988. 
137-153.
"Good Country People." Flannery O'Connor: Collected Works. New 
York, NY: The Library of America, 198. 263-284.
3. Walters, Dorthy. Flannery O'Connor. Boston: Twayne Publishers, Inc. 
1973.