Flannery O Connor Greenleaf Analysis

How will she support herself? There is no way she can handle that farm on her own. Mrs. May made it well known that no whispering comments like these would be made about her. “Greenleaf” by Flannery O’Connor follows a distinct tone from the view of a very critical and complex character. O’Connor creates a harsh tone that can be explained through her own life. The tone in this story will be defined through the interactions, explained by the characters, and be incorporated in the author’s life. In the short story “Greenleaf”, Mrs. May lives on the farm with her two sons and nearby to the Greenleaf family. The Greenleaf family has invaded the thoughts of Mrs. May, and she comes off as being very critical of them. She describes many accounts of the issues …show more content…
O’Connor grew up with strong women leaders which would explain why Mrs. May would be written as one. Author John Desmond wrote “Her mother, Regina Cline O’Connor, was a strong-willed, overprotective woman of fierce Southern propriety whom Flannery would both love and contend against for the rest of her life” (151). She attended Georgia State College for Women and focused more on school than social activities and dating (Desmond 151). She has learned to survive her life by being an independent woman much like Mrs. May, and many of her accomplishments mentioned describe how she worked hard to make it in her field. She found it important to not have to rely on men and it came out through her writing. While evaluating Flannery O’Connor and Nathanael West, author John Hawkes writes “Both writers are demolishing ‘man’s image of himself as a rational creature’” (397). Flannery O’Connor lost her father at age 15, therefore she can relate to the struggles of a family trying to survive without the man of the house (Desmond 151). These experiences greatly transformed her life and therefore shaped the tone in her short