Flannery O Connor

The author of two novels and multiple classic short stories, Flannery O’Connor is widely regarded as one of the greatest fiction writers in American literature. However, as a Southern and devoutly Christian author in the 1950s, O’Connor was often criticized for the religious content and “grotesque” characters often incorporated into her works. They were considered too “brutal”, too “sarcastic.” (The Habit of Being: Letters of Flannery O 'Connor). O’Connor begged to differ.

The expressions of the characters, caused by their surrounding, is also a factor that can alter the psychological traits in a character. The Man states “He does not trust his dreams, believing that they are "the call of languor and of death” (McCarthy 15).The man has a vivid

“Soldier’s Home” by Ernest Hemingway and “Speaking of Courage” by Tim O’Brien both address the difficulties faced by veterans returning from war. Krebs and Norman Bowker both have endured trauma, and have many similarities in their experiences once they’ve returned to their hometowns. Both have a dissociated view of their own lives, as well as the lives of those around them, lack an outlet, and have endured trauma in their time at war. However, the two also have some differences. Krebs lacks any sort of emotion, whereas Bowker has too much bottled inside.

Identity is something each person uniquely has. As a person matures and experiences new parts of life, their identity also grows and develops along with them. However, a person’s identity is comprised of all of their experiences. The way someone views themselves may also be very different than the way others view them as well. In dramatic literature, the way a character’s identity is portrayed is essential to the events in the play. Four characters in three works of drama convey how vastly different each person’s identity can be from others as well as how their own sense of identity differs from others views about them. These characters include the Duke in My Last Duchess by Robert Browning, Big Eight in Rodeo by Jane Martin, and Benjamin Wong

In Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried, we see a distinct correlation between two chapters, Speaking Of Courage and Notes. In these two chapters, we see the story of Norman Bowker, a man O’Brien served with in the Vietnam War. O’Brien shows how Bowker still looks back on the events that happened with his friend Kiowa downing in the shit of the mucky sewage field and how he did not save him. We see that Norman Bowker feels like shit, does not like life as he has it, and wants out. The direct correlation between the two chapters is that we see the same story told from different points of view. Speaking of Courage presents Bowker’s tale in third person, while Notes relates O’Brien’s memory of Bowker in first person.

Known for her unique collection of short stories, Flannery O’Connor had a major impact on the writing industry during the 20th century. She is still to this day considered one of the most famous American authors. She very well shows that your life really impacts your writing technique, and tone of writing.

In philosophy, the issue of personal identity concerns the conditions under which a person at one time is the same person at another time. An analysis of personal identity

False identity can become so inherent to a person’s character, they can begin to forget where it stops and their true self begins. In Tobias Wolff’s novel Old School, the narrator and the literary review the Troubadour both are hiding behind a persona that is placed onto them by themselves or others. An aspirational vision of the characters is the basis of their personas. Wanting to be more then they already are, the characters end up believing in the lies told to persuade others of their importance. Placing the personas on themselves is a way to divert people from the true nature of their identity, which might not live up to their expectations. The identities taken on by the narrator and the Troubadour convey that what they are and what they want to be are not yet the same.

There comes a time in one’s life where they are forced to change who they are as a person, either for better or for worse. When one exceeds their own expectations, they often evolve their personality and views on the world, helping them become an individual they never expected they could become. For some, they change into the hero they have always dreamed of, but for others, they lose grip on reality and turn into the villain feared by their old self. Several works of literature describe this changing of persona perfectly, and they include, Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card, Macbeth written by William Shakespeare, and “The Indisputable Weight of the Ocean” by Darryl Berger. Fundamentally, Characters in all three stories show the reader that when one exceeds their own expectations, their personality evolves and they change as a human being.

As the plot progresses and the character is exposed to the conflict, they have an epiphany that ultimately changes his perspectives and persona.

There are three main things that influence a character. They are the environment the character is in, the people the character interacts with, and the experiences that the character goes through. The identity of a person or a character is never complete. The identity will just continue to grow as you grow as a person. The experiences, people, and environment will continue to change your identity as you go through life. Even if a character in a book is deceased their identity can still be growing because the other characters may find things that change their perspective on a person. Someone will always grow as a person which will change their identity. Authors can reveal identity in many different ways. An author can tell you all about that person in the beginning of the book. A person can go from a happy person to a depressed person because of experience, or the environment they're exposed to. Another way that an author can reveal a character's identity is through objects that they have or things that they wrote on. An author can also reveal a character in a book =through the actions that they make or even the people that they are friends with or interact with on a daily basis. My own identity is quite similar and different to Johnny Cade in the book The Outsiders.

In Grier English classes, we have discussed about the change of identity in many different books, for example, Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka. Sometimes, the mental activities experienced by the characters that are facing great transformations resonate with our life. Within all of these books we read and suffered through with countless tests and projects, I find a very important lesson in Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte.

Identity is who a person is or how they see themselves, but is this something they are born with or is it something they learn over time? Can this identity be changed? Or is it permanent once set? Identity is a major theme in Toni Morrison’s Sula. Scholars discuss the different identities that the characters possess, but tend to fail to mention character development or lack of character development. Character development or lack thereof is usually an important literary move in most writing. This development provides a deeper understanding of characters in addition to a deeper understanding of themes throughout the literature. Sula focuses mainly on the lives of Sula and Nel, which makes tracking their character development easier to track and observe their identity and sense of self. Identity is a major, yet easily overlooked theme in Sula.

Identity is what evolves us, it is what makes us think the way we do, and act the way we act, in essence, a person’s identity is their everything. Identity separates us from everyone else, and while one may be very similar to another, there is no one who is exactly like you; someone who has experienced exactly what you have, feels the way you do about subjects, and reacts the same to the events and experiences you have had. This became prevalent to me as I read through many books, that everyone goes through the process of finding who they are. A prevalent theme throughout literature is the idea that over time one develops their identity through life over time, in contrast to being born with one identity and having the same

    The literary technique of characterization is often used to create and delineate a human character in a work of literature. When forming a character, writers can use many different methods of characterization. However, there is one method of characterization that speaks volumes about the character and requires no more than a single word - the character's personal name. In many cases, a personal name describes the character by associating him with a certain type of people or with a well known historical figure. Therefore, since the reader learns the character's name first, a personal name is a primary method of characterization; it