Thematic Analysis of Flannery O'Connor's Short Stories
Thematic Analysis of Flannery O'Connor's Short Stories
When people encounter realties that are too harsh, they often try to escape to a fantasy world that is more comforting. In stories, children are always escaping, whether it is to “a secret garden” or down a rabbit hole to Alice’s Wonderland. In Flannery O’Connor’s triad of short stories, “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” “Good Country People,” and “Everything that Rises Must Converge,” she uses characterization, setting, and ironic tone, to help the reader understand that fleeing from life’s consequences can lead to dangerous outcomes, both psychologically and physically.
In one way or another all of the protagonists think that they are superior to others. This trait impedes any real engagement with reality. Hulga, in the short story “Good Country People,” believes that she is intellectually superior to her mother, housekeeper and the townspeople. Although, she has a Ph.D in Philosophy, her philosophy on life is rather pathetic. “She believes in nothing but her own belief in nothing.” Although she thought, “she could smell the stupidity of young men” and was “face to face with real innocence,” she is the one who ends up being taken advantage of. In “Everything that Rises Must Converge,” Julian’s mother refuses to believe that her grandfather’s plantation with 200 slaves does not have any social significance in the next generation. She feels that blacks “were better off when they were slaves, they should rise, yes, but on their own side of the fence.” Amusingly, she claims Julian, “doesn’t know a thing about life, he hasn’t even entered the real world.” Simply because she is an older woman and has white skin his mother seems to think that she is God’s gift to the world and should give everyone below her “a bright new penny.” The grandmother in “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” is superficial and manipulative. She thinks that, because she is old and loves her family, she can get what she wants in life. When the Misfit begins his shooting rampage, she says “you’ve got good blood, I know you’re a good man,” as if her reassurance will change his mind.
Another trait that all of the main characters share is their fearfulness. Hulga is scared of happiness. By changing her name to Hulga, “the ugliest name that she...