Mary Flannery O’Connor Argumentative Essay Example For Students

Mary Flannery O’Connor Argumentative Essay Flannery OConnor tends to use similar themes in her short stories. There are three common themes in her short stories Everything That Rises Must Converge, Good Country People and Good Man is Hard to Find†. The transition between the old south and the new is present in each of Flannery OConnors three short stories discussed. Flannery OConnor also strongly emphasizes the mother-child relationship in her three short stories. Finally in Flannery OConnors work, there is a common theme where there is a form of evil that changes the lives of the main characters in her stories forever. Themes help a story flow and Flannery O Connor choose to use similar themes in each of her short stories. These interpretations fit into how O’Connor chose to write her pieces of work. The short story AEverything That Rises Must [emailprotected], by Flannery OConnor tells the story of Julian, the main character and his thoughts and feelings toward his mother. Julian is a college graduate who has a fair understanding of the world he lives in, and because of this finds difficulty dealing with his mother and her views of the world. The plot of the story revolves around a bus trip that Julian and his mother take. Once a week, Julians mother goes to the local Y for her â€Å"reducing† class. Julian accompanies her on the bus ride over and back because she is uncomfortable riding alone since the buses have been integrated. The ride is nothing more than a necessary evil to him; it is seen as a time in which he would be â€Å"sacrificed to her pleasure. † In Good Country People, by Flannery O Connor, Manley Pointer, a traveling Bible salesman, visits the Cedars, home to Mrs. Hopewell and her daughter Joy, who has renamed herself Hulga to spite her mother. Pointer s visit brings the arrogant, disdainful young woman to a climactic point in her life where she must acknowledge that she isn t as smart as she thought. A Good Man is Hard to Find is about a grandmother, her son and his wife, and their son and daughter arguing about their ultimate destination for a car trip. A brutal killer, the Misfit, is at large. As the result of a side trip urged by the grandmother and the cat she has smuggled along, the car crashes, and the family falls into the killer s hands. As each family member is executed, the killer talks about his history and philosophical and religious beliefs. The grandmother tries to convince the killer to believe in Jesus until she, too, is shot. The transition between the old south and the new is present in each of Flannery OConnors three short stories discussed. In â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† and â€Å"Good Country People,† a change from the old south to the new south is quite evident. O’Connor uses these stories to show the differences between the old and new south and to voice her disapproval as to what the south was becoming. What upset O’Connor about the new south can be shown by carefully examining and interpreting these stories. In the story â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find†, O’Connor uses many different characters as representatives of different generations in the same family and uses these generations as examples of the change from the old to the new south. O’Connor uses the main character of the grandmother to represent what the south once was. One of the characteristics of the old south that the grandmother displays, is the need to keep herself looking like a lady. For instance, O’Connor writes; Her collars and cuffs were white organdy trimmed with lace and at her neckline she had pinned a purple spray of cloth violets containing a sachet. In case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady. By giving the grandmother the great need to be dressed like a lady, O’Connor makes this character a throwback to a time of white gloves, flowered hats, and women always wearing dresses. Situations like this firmly place the grandmother in a very old south role. Contrary to the role of the grandmother, O’Connor uses the person she recognizes as the children’s mother to show what the south was becoming; Bailey didn’t look up from his reading so she wheeled around then and faced the children’s mother, a young woman in slacks, whose face was as broad and innocent as a cabbage and was tied around with a green head-kerchief that had two points on the top like rabbit’s ears. The main characteristics of the new south are shown in the dress of the children’s mother. A lady of the old south would never wear slacks and tie her hair up in a head-kerchief and go out in public. Under an old south mentality these actions would be considered very unlady like. O’Connor reveals her own dissatisfaction for this new south character in the way that she describes the children’s mother. First, O’Connor only refers to her as the children’s mother, by not giving this character a name O’Connor shows some amount of contempt for her. Second, O’Connor uses the description of a cabbage and a rabbit when describing the children’s mother. The use of such unflattering terms is another way that O’Connor shows contempt for the new south. Finally, the tone of the language that O’Connor uses when talking about the children’s mother must be examined. For example, the grandmother â€Å"wheeled† around to face the children’s mother. The use of the verb â€Å"wheeled† connotates a negative meaning in the way that the grandmother looked at the children’s mother. O’Connor makes it sound as if the grandmother could have killed the children’s mother just by turning to face her. The third generation in â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† is represented by the two children John Wesley and June Star. O’Connor basically characterizes these two children as nothing more than selfish brats. For example, O’Connor writes; When there was nothing else to do they played a game by choosing a cloud and making the other guess what shape it suggested. John Wesley took one the shape of a cow and June Star guessed a cow and John Wesley said, no, a automobile, and June Star said he didn’t play fair, and they began to slap each other over the grandmother. O’Connor’s characterization of the children as brats further reinforces her disapproval of the new south. O’Connor makes these characters so self destructive that it seems impossible for them to survive. This characterization also shows the lack of hope that O’Connor felt for the south. O’Connor gives the children no hope for the future, thus no future. In the story â€Å"Good Country People† O’Connor uses the roles of a mother and her daughter to represent the differences in the old and new south. The representative of the old south in this story is the mother Mrs. Hopewell. In order to portray the old south in Mrs. Hopewell, O’Connor writes; â€Å"Mrs. Hopewell could not understand deliberate rudeness, although she lived with it, and she felt she had always to overflow with hospitality to make up for Joy’s lack of courtesy. † Mrs. Hopewell’s intense display of politeness is another way that O’Connor instills her character with a very old south mentality. A much different role is played by the daughter Hulga . Several traits of Hulga’s show how O’Connor instills her with ideas of the new south. A Recipe For Murder EssayHer saying was just that, a saying. The quote acts as foreshadowing for what her attitude towards life will be. We later find out that she is right, but that she does not live by her credo. Mrs. Hopewell, as the name bears, always hopes for the best but bears a weak heart when it comes to those suffering from deadly diseases. Manley Pointer, who in some regards can be considered a devil-like character, exploits her weakness in order to receive a free meal and an invitation to return to the house. Manley Pointer’s name refers to the power that he contains over, not only Mrs. Hopewell, but over Joy-Hulga. The name can also refer to the pointy tail and horns of the devil, a creature who takes advantage of one’s weaknesses for evil purposes. At the end of the story, Mrs. Hopewell considers Manley Pointer â€Å"simple. Her ignorance towards the underlying evil in the world turns out to be her greatest fault. As soon as she admits to loving Manley Pointer, the power changes hands. Before Joy-Hulga even knows it, her glasses are off and Manley has removed her leg. Physically she is broken down, but the real damage is done mentally. She knows that all control of the situation is out of her hands, and she once again feels the discomfort felt during her childhood days. â€Å"Her face was almost purple† when she discovered the true evil behind the means of Manley Pointer. In Everything That Rises Must Converge racism is the key point of conflict between the two characters. Julian detests his mothers prejudice, which he is why the bus ride is such a burden to him. When they both board the bus, Julian hopes that an African American will be on it because he knows how uncomfortable his or her presence would make his mother. He is disappointed when the only other people on the bus are white. When an African American does get on the bus, Julian deliberately finds an excuse to start a conversation with him in order to upset his mother. After his attempt to continue the dialogue fails, Julian thinks over other ways to force his mother to come into contact with an African American so he could â€Å"teach her a lesson. Another chance arrives soon when a large black woman, wearing a hat almost identical to the one that Julians mother has, and her young son get on the bus. The woman seats herself next to Julian, and the young boy takes the seat next to Julians mother. This development disappoints Julian because he knows his mother likes all children, no matter what the color of their skin. The only solace he has is the fact that the two women are wearing the matching hats, but his mothers fondness for the child wipes away the smugness that he feels. When the bus comes to a stop, both sets of mothers and sons get up to depart. Julians mother begins to sort through her purse in order to find a nickel to give to the child and panic overtakes her son. She can only find a penny, and despite Julians protests, she offers it to the small boy. Angered by the shallow gesture, the woman shouts at Julians mother, strikes her with her purse, and storms off. This incident shocks Julians mother, and she demands to go home. Julian decides that this is the perfect moment to deliver the stern lecture that his mother needs so she can fully learn her lesson. Before the two of them get very far, Julians mother collapses. Thinking that this is just another example of her immaturity, Julian continues to lecture. When she starts talking about people who are no longer alive, Julian then realizes that his mother has had a stroke that has most probably killed her. The evil in this story is the that lack of communication between Julian and his mother and her racism towards the outside world. These problems were eventually the cause of her death. The setting of the story, A Good Man is Hard to Find, shows us how much tragedy can change a person. The grandmothers attitude changes completely when the family s car flips over on the way to the house with the six white columns. First, she is afraid to tell her son that she was mistaken because of her fear of his anger, and later, because they are under the mercy of the Misfit who finds them. The Grandmother s soul fills with fear when she finds out who the Misfit really is, and that their situation is worsening by the minute. She is now worried about her family. All of the racist comments, all comparisons, and the idea of being better than the less fortunate become fear of death. I agree that any human being would do and say the same things she did to try and save her family, but in her case the change significant. As the Misfit orders his friend to kill her family, the Grandmother realizes how powerless and insignificant she is. The world is inherently evil, and whether one knows it or not there is no such thing as a faultless person. Everyone contains a weakness of some sort. The world is not a simple place, and humans are not simple creatures. Personally I thought the mother-child relationship was the most interesting of the three themes discussed. Flannery O Connor really has a way of expressing her feelings on this subject. I think there might have been a problem with her and her mother while she was growing up and writing about it in her stories is a way for her to express herself and let loose. I feel that she is trying to show readers her life, by portraying it in her stories and by this she also comes to peace with her problems. Flannery O Connor definitely has a way with writing. She is able to capture a readers mind in such a short amount of time. The way she writes actually allows readers to put themselves into the shoes of the main characters and live out their lives throughout the story. I feel that is the most amazing fact about Flannery O Connor. These stories all had common themes between them. The transition between the old south and the new is present in each of Flannery OConnors three short stories discussed. Flannery OConnor also strongly emphasizes the mother-child relationship in her three short stories. Finally in Flannery OConnors work, there is a common theme where there is a form of evil that changes the lives of the main characters in her stories forever. The fiction of Flannery O’Connor reflects a Christian perspective on human behavior, as she often uses violence to portray evil and to emphasize the need for redemption. O’Connor’s characters are odd and unsympathetic, but they tend to evoke an uncomfortable acknowledgment of the reader’s own imperfections.