Compare And Contrast The Writing Style Of Flannery O Connor

Flannery O’Connor’s Style
With her experience with the southern point of view, social rankings, and Catholic beliefs, Flannery O’Connor shares her award winning yet haunting literature through her Southern Gothic writing genre. Through her cultivating allegories, O’Connor presents her pejorative writing style. Her compelling main characters are criticized for their cynical and hypocritical demeanors. While on the other hand, violent conclusions are used to reveal to the characters their immoral acts and personalities. Furthermore, the clever usage of literary devices reveals not only the theme but the characters’ misdemeanor. Overall, Flannery O’Connor’s pejorative infused grotesque style is distinguished by her alluring characters, shocking plot twists and exceptional use of literary devices.
The main characters are more than just the primary people in a piece of literature, they are vital to presenting not only the theme but what the author wants the reader to take away from his/her writing. O’Connor reflects her style by creating extraordinary main characters to

express her personal attitude towards certain individuals she disapproves of. For instance, the grandmother is an example of a religious hypocrite who stresses the importance of her modest, elegant appearance and good blood. The deceptive woman exemplifies the false representation of virtue and grace by preaching how “people are certainly not nice like they used to be” (“AGMIHTF”, 3). O’Connor utilizes the grandmother to display the racial bigotry, Christian hypocrisy, and prejudice beliefs that she despises. On the other hand, the cynical and condescending Hulga unveils an egotistical woman who views herself as superior to all. Even her mother identifies Hulga as “brilliant but [also] [says] she [does] [not] have a grain of sense” (“GCP”, 276). Due to the years of experience in education Hulga has accumulated, she begins to pride herself on her intellect while coming to the conclusion that she is better than those who surround her. Furthermore, the prejudice land owner, Ruby Turpin, is also a physical representation of a southern lady who criticises others before evaluating her own disposition. When Mrs. Turpin “think[s] [of] all [she] could… [be] besides [her]self… [she] just feel[s] like shouting, ‘Thank you, Jesus, for” (“Revelation”, 19) not making her “white trash or a nigger or ugly” (“Revelation”, 7). Mrs. Turpin is blinded by her own self-righteousness that she continuously judges others based predominantly on race, property and wealth, symbolizing racial biases and overall discrimination. Therefore, O’Connor presents her critical writing style through her immoral and cynical characters to stress their narrow minded beliefs and overall poisonous demeanor.
O’Connor is truly seen as a prominent author as a result of her use of violence to create unpredictable plot twists and character realizations. Not only does O’Connor criticise her immoral characters, she also uses grotesque scenarios to expose their inner flaws. For instance, the grandmother is unable to apprehend her flaws yet calls to the attention of others what they should or should not be doing. However, the only time she actually follows her own beliefs is when “somebody [is] there to shoot her” (“AGMIHTF”, 11). The egocentric grandmother identifies herself as the good Christian lady she wants others to become when she is face to face with a serial killer and all her transgression has been exposed. On the other hand, despite Hulga not facing an act of violence, she witnesses a surrealistic character that shatters her cynical point of view. Hulga encounters Manley Pointer who tells her “[she] [is] [not] so smart” (“GCP”, 291) and reveals to Hulga her true character. This contemptuous, deceiving con-artist is used by O’Connor to reveal to Hulga that her gift of high intellect does not mean she is an exceptional human or of higher quality than anyone else. Furthermore, the prejudice Ruby Turpin also witnesses an act of violence after one patient is struck by her ignorant, malicious judgements. Following Mary Grace’s attempt to suffocate Mrs. Turpin, Mary Grace whispers “go back to hell where you came from, you old wart hog” (“Revelation”, 21). Mary Grace wraps her hands around Mrs. Turpin’s neck to show case Mrs. Turpin’s own immoral acts and overall depravity to herself. This allows for an inner realization of Ruby Turpin’s own misdemeanor and subjective disposition. Overall, Flannery O’Connor is known to use brutal acts to emphasize her pejorative writing style while simultaneously revealing the character’s true disposition and atrocious personality.
Through her similar yet distinct stories, O’Connor uses an array of literary devices to emphasize her distinct writing style. For instance, the grandmother continuously mentions the words “good man” as a connotation to represent someone with the same beliefs as her. She discloses to the Misfit that she “knows [he] [is] a good man [and] [he] [does] [not] look a bit like [he] [has] common blood” (“AGMIHTF”, 7). The grandmother does not only view herself to be a good Christian lady, she also believes in the Southern pure blood concept in which people are considered good based on their ancestry. Alternatively, the conceited Hulga witnesses situational irony through her encounter with the fraudulent Manley Pointer and his deceitful plan. Before their encounter, Hulga “ imagine[s] that she seduce[s] him” (“GCP”, 284) when in reality she is the one that falls victim to his cynical mind. She is blinded by her own egotistical mindset that it takes this insidious bible salesman to reveal her true naïve, ignorant, and inferior demeanor. Moreover, O’Connor uses symbolism to convey to Mrs. Turpin’s that she is not superior to others simply based on the privileges she is born with. To Mrs. Turpin’s dismay, Mary Grace ironically “single[s] out [and calls her a warthog from hell], though there [is] trash in the room to whom it might justly be applied” (“Revelation”, 24). The conceited Ruby Turpin is confronted by her hypocrisy and evil by Mary Grace, who symbolizes a message from God to Mrs. Turpin revealing that due to her race and wealth, she is not saved. O’Connor views Mrs. Turpin’s hypocritical judgments and unethical actions as going against Christianity, whereas those who Mrs. Turpin calls niggers or white trashes are due to God’s love for all human beings. Through the use of literary terms, such as connotations, irony, and symbolism, Flannery O’Connor exposes the characters’ unethical behaviour to allow their character’s eyes to be opened.
In the end, O’Connor’s inventive way of using flawed characters, unanticipated plot twists combined with bloodshed and ingenious use of literary devices establishes her pejorative style of writing.

She expresses an underlying theme of character epiphanies, due to their exposure to their personal immoralities. Whether one is a Christian hypocrite, egotistical nihilist, or self-proclaimed aristocrat, O’Connor does not only criticise their demeanor however also uses distorted events to lead up to the characters’ revelation. Connotations, irony, and symbolism also portray an immense role in developing the character’s personality and bringing attention to the profound depravity in Southern culture. Amidst the dark plot, O’Connor uses her pejorative style to delineate moral controversies in the south as an attempt deliver the message of the theme in an unforeseen manner and leaves the audience

awestruck.