Mary Flannery O’Connor is considered one of the earliest short story writer in American literature. Born in 1925, the author who is known for her prowess in writing of novels and short stories developed themes of morality and ethics in her various works. This can be attributed to her Roman Catholic faith. Some of the works she is known for and that shaped her career as a writer include “A Good Man is Hard to Find and Other Stories” and “Everything That Rises Must Converge” among others.
Criticism against her works
Most of O’Connor’s works were developed from a religious point of view, being a Roman Catholic most of her writings were based on this faith. This act of basing her works from a religious point of view and specifically the beliefs and values of the Roman Catholic faith was one of the setbacks that critics used to pin down her works. The author did not consider that some of her readers do not believe in the same faith as she does. Critics find O’Connor to be the Orthodox Christian which she adamantly declares in most of his works. Her use of local color and regional dialect in most of her works also attracts avenues for criticism with most of the critics viewing her works as a depiction of her own experiences which made her labeled as an existentialist and an atheist (Evans 2).
The ending of O’Connor’s works has also attracted a lot of criticism. It’s clear that in all of O’Connor’s books, religion is what stands out. In her books she does not assure the readers of a happy ending but wants the people to be aware of the reality that there is suffering. She has used characters to portray God’s feature so that the others can embrace the same thou in many cases they face opposition and rejection. Most of the characters have a tragic ending as seen in one of her prominent works “A Good Man is Hard to Find” where Grandmother ends up being shot by Misfit after the entire family had had accident. Though the author engaged in both the writing of novels, short stories and essays, she is famous for her writing of short stories and in fact, most of her works were short stories with a total of thirty-two short stories in her name. She is famous for the short stories more than any other genre she had written.
Reception
During her life and her period in writing, O’Connor’s works were being received quite well. However, critics else well were present to try and tarnish her works, from her first collection, she attracted serious and widespread critical attention. Some of her work received hostile reviews and some of the critics even labeled her an atheist. The public was however positive about her works. Most of the readers who appreciated and liked her works were attracted by her style of writing, she employed the use of humor, Imagery and symbols which appealed to the reader’s attention as well as their senses. Being one of earliest authors in American literature, O’Connor was well known during her time and this contributed to the prominence that some of her works received (O'Connor and Ellsberg 13).
Reputation
Despite her earlier criticism and the numerous negative reviews, she received in some of her works, O’Connor has received remarkably positive reputation since her death in 1964. She became more respected than before and recognized as one of the shapers of American literature especially in the role she played in creating an avenue for women in American literature and indeed proving that women could indeed write and write well. From her first collection of works, she had received serious and widespread critical attention and her death even made the attention more remarkable, this was reflected in the hundreds of essays and positive reviews as well as numerous studies with regards to her work.
Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find”
A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O’Connor was published following O’Connor’s move to Andalusia. The story was established to be a depiction of her mother’s diary. Though regarded as O’Connor’s most successful short story, the book attracted quite a number of criticism. Some of the criticism were based on the gothic nature of this story and the religious exploitation as depicted by characters such as Grandmother and Misfit. One of the major points of criticism is the portrayal of the character, The Misfit who critics argue the author had borrowed this character and fabricated it from a local newspaper account of two criminals who had terrorized the Atlanta area in the early 1950’s. The character of the pathological killer, The Misfit therefore lacks originality and hence a point of criticism. One other critic argues that Red Sammy Butts, another character in the story may have been based from a local “good ole boy” he had made himself good and returned to his homeland Milledgeville each year to attend a banquet in his honor that is organized by the local merchants in the area. Some of the dominant themes in the story include themes of grace, violence, hypocrisy among others (O’Connor 15).
Reception
First published in 1955 in England as “The artificial Nigger and Other Tales”, the story was considered O’Connor’s most successful stories. Critics however disliked the book’s gothic nature and some of them even went ahead to review it negatively. However, the reception from the public was positive and most of them had been attracted by the author’s style of employing literary techniques such as symbolism, irony and humor in its presentation. During the period that the author lived and published, there were few women authors who had written works of literature and their books published as part of American literature therefore her story was received well by the public. The story was then popular and well known.
Reputation
After its initial publication and the death of the author in 1964, the story became even more popular and received numerous positive reviews. Essays regarding the book were published by many of her readers and scholars who liked and appreciated her work. The story gained more respected than it did when it was published, this can be attributed to the thematic concerns and the issues that the story portrays which few of the authors especially female authors could dare to write about. More readers therefore became more interested with her work. Up to date the story is still famous and well known.
Works Cited
Evans, Robert C. Short Fiction of Flannery O'connor. Salem P, 2016. Available at: http://faculty.bmcc.cuny.edu/faculty/upload/Critical%20Insights%20-%20Odom.pdf
O'Connor, Flannery. A Good Man Is Hard to Find, and Other Stories. Barnes and Noble, 2013.
O'Connor, Flannery, and Robert Ellsberg. Flannery O'connor: Spiritual Writings. Orbis Books, 2008. Available at: www.orbisbooks.com/index.php?dispatch=attachments.getfile"attachment_id=2
