Flannery O Connor Analysis

The Dazzle of Literary Logic
"Of the modes of persuasion...there are three kinds. The first...personal character of the speaker; the second on putting the audience into a certain frame of mind; the third on the proof"-Aristotle. People have always been using multiple tactics to persuade their fellow humans. They set up an image, explain a truth, or put their audience in a state of mind to achieve their goals. They may want to entertain, convince, or show an audience meaning. It is the same for authors. Although authors can't speak their words have power to dazzle the mind! They can put their readers in a their desired state of mind, using structure and logic to achieve their purpose.
We will learn how the Flannery O'Connor and Amy Tan use

structure and logic to change the state of the reader in "A Good Man Is Hard To Find" and "Mother Tongue". In "A Good Man is hard to find" the story flow's logic is simple, but it’s meaning is complex and vague. The reader follows a clear storyline with very little sharp twists that shouldn't confuse the reader. Here you see how simply and easily Flannery unfolds the story; “When the children finished all the comic books they had brought, they opened the lunch and ate it”. The story unfolds as simple as those words. All of the many events are described vividly and simply. Transitions to different parts of the story are done slowly and descriptively. The most complicated piece to following the story line is simply remembering the short list characters and roles. This slow story encourages the reader to progress casually, not laboriously, not over thinking the intentions or meaning, but to enjoy a simple story unfold. The story is so simple that the reader continues to read calmly, but at some point there will be hints of alarm to the reader, which will slowly or quickly turn the read into a more concerned/excited experience. When and how this happens depends on whether the reader caught some of the subtle hints before the drastic reveal. But the logic in finding the meanings behind “Good Man” is much more complex.
Meaning is something important to the Flannery, and it shows up in many different ways.

Throughout the story there are subtle, but important meanings that are shown as important through repetition of relating themes; Death being a very prominent one. For example we see an old lover of Grandma, Mr. Teagarden, dies; Grandma wears feminine clothes so that “anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady."; “Jesus was the only One that ever raised the dead,” the Misfit Said; the Misfits father’s death, Grandma pointing out the graveyard in the cotton field. Here we see importance in death through inconspicuous repetition. But what about finding the meaning behind a single occurrence? “"Why you're one of my babies. You're one of my own children!" She reached out and touched him on the shoulder. The Misfit sprang back as if a snake had bitten him and shot her three times through the chest.” Or “"She would of been a good woman," The Misfit said, "if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life." These dark important meanings, subtle or prominent, are very important to the author but have no absolute meaning to the reader. We know the author wishes to entertain the reader, but what are the meanings behind these important occurrences, and themes? Maybe they are personal feelings Flannery doesn't want to reveal, maybe she wants the reader to labor for the meanings, maybe she want to find meaning relative to the person. This is a

guiding structure in "A Good Man Is Hard To Find", but how does Amy change this in “Mother Tongue”.
The flow of the story in “Mother Tongue”(MT) is largely different from “A Good Man is Hard To Find”(GM), in that it is not a story. "Mother Tongue" is a piece persuasive literature, that tells a personal story. The state of mind is different in MT compared to GM. The order of importance is swapped. This results in two very different structures. GM being a narrative, and MT being a personal persuasive essay.
In MT a story is told, like GM, but it’s parts are carefully structured to place the audience in a correct state of mind to follow Amy's logic.

For example: A large story is told, but broken up into smaller disjointed parts; vivid examples are given, but to show a truth through personal story. Reading Amy's story is more complex than GM because to read the story you need to follow her meanings. To assist this MT asks questions like, "Why are there few Asian Americans enrolled in creative writing programs? Why do so many Chinese students go into engineering?". She will place dilemmas like "I've heard other terms used, "limited English," for example. But they seem just as bad, as if everything is limited, including people's perceptions of the limited English speaker." And thoughts that encourage like minded thinking, "I think my mother's English almost had an effect on limiting my possibilities in life as well." Nothing similar is found in "A Good Man Is Hard To Find". The purpose is different, so the structure and logic is

different.
MT and GM tell a story; they share meaning, but use different structures to accomplish their goals. Some goals are obvious, like captivating the reader, and anti-prejudice against simple English speakers, but others are abstract, though powerful, like "Why you're one of my babies. You're one of my own children!". The same powers of persuasive speech is found in persuasive literature, and even non persuasive literature. The dazzling effect of literature through structure and logic is amazing.