Imagery In Flannery O Connor's Short Stories

The literary world contains a vast collection of works, each employing diverse techniques in writing. One technique commonly found in literature is the use of images and symbols. Symbols are sometimes complex and contain both literal and figurative significance. Symbolism in literature is commonly used to bind the attributes of an object with various segments of a story to provide the reader with a deeper understanding and sometimes hidden meaning. In the short story, “A Rose for Emily” William Faulkner utilizes a vast collection of symbols, as a means to enhance the reader’s visual perceptions but also prompts consideration into theories of motive surrounding the murder of Homer Barron.

The main recurring theme in Flannery O’Connor’s stories is the use of violence towards characters in order to give them an eye-opening moment in which they finally realize their true self in relation to the rest of society and openly accept insight into how they should act or think. This theme of violence can clearly be seen in three works by Flannery O’Connor: A Good Man is Hard to Find, Good Country People, and Everything That Rises Must Converge.

in "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" Flannery O' Connor uses symbolism to give more meaning to her short story. O'Connor writes a story of a Grandmother versus a Misfit, or good versus evil. This short story is about a family going to Florida, who takes a turn down a dirt road, which only causes them to get in an accident, and be found by the Misfit. This encounter prevented them from ever arriving Florida, because the Misfit ends their lives. Using symbolism, O'Connor creates a story with much meaning to the Grandmother, nature, sky, woods, their surroundings, roads, and cars to portray the constant battle between good and evil.

Cameron Spangler 1-4-18 College Composition - 112 Symbolism in Short Stories Symbolism is used all throughout literature. Symbolism exists whenever we use something like an object, person, or situation to represent something else. It’s a figure of speech used when authors want to create a certain mood throughout their work. Symbolism can be found in several different forms of literature, including short stories. Two of which being “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien, and “Battle Royal” by Ralph Ellison.

Short stories have fully developed themes but appear significantly shorter and less elaborate than novels. A similar theme found in short stories “Winter Dreams” written by Scott F. Fitzgerald and “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner included the social and environmental influences that encouraged and controlled the character’s life and decisions. In “Winter Dreams”, the main protagonist-- Dexter-- fell into a fixation over a young, whimsical blueblood, Judy Jones. His obsession led him to believe that Judy Jones reciprocated his feelings for her, leaving him bare and mortal-- despite prior beliefs. Following her father’s death, Miss Emily fell into a dark obscurity due to the pressure and compulsion of having to carry on the honorable family name. While using a unique point of view (first person peripheral), “A Rose for Emily” followed a mysterious and desirable woman named Miss Emily as her hometown tried to understand her peculiar ways and began to find her disgraceful. By comparing and contrasting these two literary pieces, a similar organization-- including the writers’ purpose and themes-- should become clear. By using literary devices-- such as point of view, dramatic irony, detail, and figurative language-- Scott F. Fitzgerald and William Faulkner conducted two short stories similar in aim and reasoning, probable for contrasting and comparing elements within the parallel writings.

“A Rose for Emily,” “A Worn Path,” and “The Lottery” by William Faulkner, Eudora Welty, and Shirley Jackson all have similar writing styles in their literature. In these three short stories the authors all use contrasting nature within their literature to predict the outcome and to learn for the upcoming events in the readings. The authors take subliminal phrases and subliminal symbolic text to have the reader become more attached and understand more of what the characters, setting and theme of the story has to offer. Using these three stories the reader of this essay will understand and grasp the symbolic meanings in text of each these short stories.

Throughout the years, literary devices have been utilized by many authors when writing their stories. Authors have used allegories, symbolism, tone and other devices in their writings to emphasize the theme or lesson they want to share to readers around the world. In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been”, by Joyce Carol Oates and “Young Goodman Brown”, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the authors used many devices to get their point across. One of the many devices was symbolism. In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been”, Connie is put through an ordeal and has to chose the right decision for herself and her family.

The short stories “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner and “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O'Conner are mind-blowing and a little scary. One of the stories is about an old grandmother and her family being murdered, and the other is about a lady who decided to kill her lover and then sleep next to his cold dead body. William Faulkner and Flannery O’Conner both decided to make the main character a southern woman and use interesting items in the story to symbolize what going to happen at the end.

“The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it.”- Flannery O’Connor. After reading a few of O’Connor’s stories, it is apparent that she creates very grotesque characters with very shocking conclusions. Without knowing of her style before hand, finishing one of her stories can be alarming and disturbing, but there is always a purpose and meaning to extend upon her themes. When talking about what people thought of this, O’Connor said, “when I see these stories described as horror stories I am always amused because the reviewer always has hold of the wrong horror.” For example, in A Good Man Is Hard to Find many people would see the misfit as the most disturbing when in actuality, O’Connor uses the Grandmother so make the biggest comment morals.

The twist and turns of “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” leave the reader perplexed and riveted, relaying that the utmost thought went into the outline of the story. The author leaves the readers waiting for good to prevail over evil but never lets them have their intended ending as most stories do which is what gives this story it 's intriguing draw. In “A Good Man is Hard to Find” Flannery O’Connor uses literary techniques such as conflicts, foreshadowing, imagery, simile, and irony to create eccentric characters and a twisted plot.

With his violent killing, the Misfit seems an unlikely source to look to for guidance, but he demonstrates a deep conviction that the other characters lack. Unlike the grandmother, who simply assumes that she is morally superior to everyone else, the Misfit seriously questions the meaning of life and his role in it. He has carefully considered his actions in life and examined his experiences to find lessons within them. He has even renamed himself because of one of these lessons, believing that his punishment didn’t fit the crime. He reveals a self-awareness that the grandmother lacked and questions it. He knows he is not a great man, but he also knows that there are others worse than him. He forms rudimentary philosophies, such as “no pleasure but meanness” and “the crime don’t matter.” The Misfit’s philosophies may be morally corrupt, but they are consistent. Unlike the grandmother, whose moral code falls apart the moment it’s challenged, the Misfit has a steady view of life and acts according to what he believes is right. His beliefs and actions

Authors use many elements to establish a great story line. In A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O’Connor and The Storm by Kate Chopin, the main element that was used throughout the stories was symbolism. In A Good Man is Hard to Find, there are two characters in the story with contrasting symbols. The grandmother represents all that is good in the world and the Misfit represents all that is evil in the world. It is a contrast between Christianity and evil. In The Storm, the main symbol is the storm. The storm represents a powerful affair between two characters during the storm. Symbolism is a very successful way to endure the attention of the reader. It causes the reader to use more thought while reading to decipher the symbols in the story.

The Misfit is a complex character created by Flannery O’Connor. He is talked about first when the Grandmother reads his criminal background at the breakfast table. Right when the Misfit meets the family the Grandmother starts questioning his faith and past, and through the Grandmother’s persistent behavior that you find out the truth behind the Misfits hard exterior. The reader understands that the Misfit was brought up by parents who were the “finest people in the world” (O’Connor 1312). With this type of background, how can one expect the Misfit to be such a cold blooded killer? Because of his kind nature in the beginning of the story, it’s almost impossible to understand how he could just kill. Through deeper analysis one can

Symbolism in literature is using an object to portray a different, deeper meaning in a story. Symbols represent ideas or qualities that the author has maneuvered into his or her story that has meaning. There can be multiple symbols in a story or just one. It is up to the reader to interpret the meaning of the symbols and their significance to the story. While reading a story, symbols may not become clear until the very end, once the climax is over, and the falling action is covered. In William Faulkner’s, “A Rose for Emily,” there are multiple examples of symbolism that occur throughout the story.

The use of imagery in a short story has a great deal of effect on the impact of the story. A story with effective imagery will give the reader a clear mental picture of what is happening and enhance what the writer is trying to convey to the reader. William Faulkner exhibits excellent imagery that portrays vivid illustrations in ones mind that enhances, “A Rose for Emily”. The following paragraphs will demonstrate how Faulkner uses imagery to illustrate descriptive pictures of people, places and things that allow Faulkner to titillate the senses.