Flannery O’Conner

1. Flannery O’Conner Author Study ENGL 102

2. Student Learning Objectives • Demonstrate an ability to read and analyze, both orally and in writing, texts from the four major literary genres - fiction, poetry, drama, and creative non-fiction. • Demonstrate knowledge of the cultural or historical context of major literary texts. • Demonstrate an understanding of the characteristics of the linguistic system and the historic development of language. • Demonstrate a mastery of advanced reading, writing, analytical and interpretive techniques suitable for a variety of academic, creative, and professional settings.

3. Biography • American Novelist and Essayist • March 25, 1925 – August 3, 1964 • Born in Savannah, GA • Devout Catholic • Southern Gothic style

4. Work 2 • ___ novels: • Wise Blood, 1952 • The Violent Bear It Away, 1960 • ___ short stories • Repository: http://mediaspecialist.org/books.html 32

5. Style • Southern fiction • Grotesque • Racial Issues • Sarcasm • Sardonic sense of humor

6. On Writing “All my stories are about the action of grace on a character who is not very willing to support it, but most people think of these stories as hard, hopeless and brutal.” “I am a writer because writing is the thing I do best.” “I am not afraid that the book will be controversial, I'm afraid it will not be controversial.”

7. Additional Resources • http://www.flanneryoconnor.net/ • http://www.gcsu.edu/library/sc/collections/index.htm • http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/episodes/november-20-2009/flannery-oconnor/5043/