Southern Gothic Writing Style

Southern Gothic literature, which is a sub-genre of the Gothic writing style, is unique to the American South. Southern Gothic literature has many of the same aspects as Gothic literature; it focuses on topics such as death, madness, and the super natural as well has having many mystical, bizarre, violent, and grotesque aspects. These tools are used "to explore social issues and reveal the cultural character of the American South (Wikipedia)."

“A Good Man Is Hard To Find” and “Good Country People” are two short stories written by Flannery O’Connor during her short lived writing career. Despite the literary achievements of O’Connor’s works, she is often criticized for the grotesqueness of her characters and endings of her short stories and novels. Her writings have been described as “understated, orderly, unexperimental fiction, with a Southern backdrop and a Roman Catholic vision, in defiance, it would seem, of those restless innovators who preceded her and who came into prominence after her death”(Friedman 4). “A Good Man Is Hard To Find” and “Good Country People” are both set in the South, and O’Connor explores the tension between the old and new South. The stories are tow

The character grandmother in O’Connor’s story has grounds the reality of the events and drives the family into tragedy. She is a central character in O’Connor’s story and is depicted to be a dynamic character stuck in the old ways. Through her actions and the idea of being stuck in the old ways of thinking, she leads her family into tragedy. Being the main character in the story, Grandmother significantly adds to the development of the plot. The author manages to win the attention of the reader from this character owing to the manner in which she shapes the storyline. Grandmother’s reminiscing of the old ways claims a distinctive curiosity from the reader and helps in

Southern gothic is a type of literature that focuses on the harsh conflicts of violence and racism, which is observed in the perspective of black and white individuals. Some of the most familiar southern authors are William Faulkner, Flannery O’Connor, and Cormac McCarthy. One author in particular, Flannery O’Connor, is a remarkable author, who directly reflects upon southern grotesque within her two short stories, “A Good Man is Hard to Find” and “Revelation.” These two short stories are very similar to each other, which is why I believe that O’Connor often writes with violent characters to expose real violence in the world while tying them in with a particular spiritual insight.

The southern gothic sub-genre is a rather simple topic. Mostly the topic is straight to the point, and does not require lots of consideration to identify the genre. Southern gothic books and stories usually follow one guideline loosely. Some examples of stories that relate to the southern gothic sub-genre are “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, and “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe. Gothic stories are full of doom and gloom for a reason, that will later be explained. What makes a southern gothic different from a gothic is the setting, As the name implies, a southern gothic takes place in the south, whereas a gothic can take place anywhere, making southern gothic a sub-genre.

Southern gothic literature underscores the unpleasant aspects of southern culture. These issues are exposed through grotesque characters, including those who are physically deformed, mentally deficient, or deeply flawed. Many of the characters struggle to make sense of the surrounding world and find a place in society. Southern gothic authors are iconoclasts, criticizing southern culture and revealing the anti-social idiosyncrasies of humanity, especially in the face of difficulty. Among these authors is William Faulkner, who is often recognized for his exceptional southern gothic style.

Southern Gothic literature is a sub-genre of the Gothic writing style. It is unique to Southern America. Southern gothic style is a style of writing that engages very ugly and ironic events to study the value of the American south and its people. In this essay, I’m going to go over each story and give some details about the authors and their backgrounds. On one page, I will be comparing and contrasting all three stories. I will show how they’re similar through tone, plot, and scene in the story. And at the end, I am going to describe the three stories; “A Rose for Emilycomma inside quotes”, “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, and “Sanctuary”. Period inside quotes All of these short stories are good examples of southern gothic writing, because

After riding along a little further, the family is involved in a car accident. The main reason that the family is involved in the car accident is due to the grandmother. The grandmother remembers a mansion that she visits as a young girl. She is eager to go, because she wants the children to see how she grew up. This further states how the grandmother social class, because she lived in a mansion. During the time of the grandmother’s life, only plantation owners and their family lived in mansions. This also stressed the social class of the grandmother, because you can tell from this that the

“Good Country People” is a short story written by Flannery O’Connor in the mid 50’s. The story takes place on farm in Georgia that Mrs. Hopewell owns. Flannery O’Connor uses the characters names and personalities to symbolize that they aren’t really who they think they are. The protagonist Joy-Hulga has a heart condition which and a peg leg. Her heat condition and disability reflects that she is a broken and weak person on the inside. Mrs. Hopewell is Joy-Hulga’s mother, she is very hopeful that her daughter would be something in life but Joy has other visions for herself. Mrs. Freeman works on the farm and her name symbolizes that she is more of a free spirit she tends to live in reality and she is able to see exactly who Joy-Hulga and

O'Connor's typical use of violence and humor in her literary work broadens the characterization of the grandmother and the misfit throughout her story. She uses these elements in an effort to establish the characterization of her two main characters through the many

Throughout the course of history, literature has gone through considerable changes. Dating back to its humble beginnings in folklore, fables, and storytelling all the way up to the scientific books and dramatic novels of today. Literature is arguably the centerpiece of all mankind. It is useful for record keeping, education, and bringing cultures and societies together. It has allowed us to expand our minds by painting a picture of the beautiful places this world has to offer outside of our corners of the earth. One genre of literature I find especially intriguing is Southern Gothic Literature. It is a subclass of gothic fiction, specifically set

The subgenre of Southern Gothic literature is one that explores all kinds of hard and gritty themes that can often leave the reader chilled; one such theme that are explored in this particular piece of Southern

In Flannery O'Connor's A Good Man is Hard To Find, one is struck by the unexpected violence at the end of the story. However, if you re-read the story a second time, you will see definite signs that foreshadow the grotesque ending. The story begins with the typical nuclear family being challenged by the grandmother who doesn't want to take the vacation to Florida. She has read about a crazed killer by the name of the Misfit who is on the run heading for Florida. Unfortunately, she is ignored by every member of the family except for the little girl, June Star, who can read the grandmother like an open book. The fact that she admonishes Bailey, her son, of this Misfit

William Faulkner was said to be one of the best Southern Gothic writers and the Southern Gothicism was brought about by Edgar Allen Poe in 1839. His novels and short stories such as Absalom! Absalom! (1936), The Sound and the Fury (1929), and “A Rose for Emily” (1930) were of the Southern Gothic genre. This paper will discuss what Southern Gothic is and its characteristics, along with William Faulkner and how Faulkner’s work conforms to the Southern Gothic genre.

In each of Flannery O’Connor’s works she inhabits a Christian aspect or theme. In O’Connor’s short story Good Country People, a 32-year-old atheist woman named Joy is faced with the representation of evil in our society. The protagonist Joy believes that her name doesn’t fit who she is. Because of this opinion she decides to legally change her name to Hulga. When Hulga was 10 years old she was in a hunting accident, which caused her to end up needing an artificial leg for the rest of her life. She also has a “weak heart”, the doctors have told her she probably will not make it to 42-years-old. As her life has gone by Hulga has become angry and bitter. But one day, a man named Manley Pointer, a bible salesman shows up to her house. When he comes into the house he charms the 3 women in the house. By the end of the visit, he has made a plan to meet Hulga at the gate at 10 o’ clock the next day. The first thing Manley asks about is her artificial leg. He could tell that, that wasn’t a comfortable subject for her so he dropped it. That day Hulga receives her first kiss; she wasn’t practically impressed. As the day goes by you can see Hulga’s plan to seduce him starts to unfold. They end up going to a barn and start kissing, Suddenly Manley says he loves her and demands she say it back. Soon he convinces her to show him how to take her leg off and put it on. This to Hulga made her