Questions
1. .Why is Flannery O’Connor important for American Literature?
2. How you would define the “grotesque” ?
3. Why is Flannery O’Connor’s grotesque different from the other modern writers?
4. Can you define at least one feature for each character that makes them grotesque?
5. What is nihilism? Can you give an example of a representative philosopher?
6. How is nihilism illustrated in this short story?
7. The wooden leg is a symbol in this short story. What is its meaning?
8. Is this a story of atheism vs. Christianity? Why?
9. How we can explain the end? It is a victory of the nihilism? Why?
10. Has this story a moral meaning? Why?
Nihilism and Grotesque in Flannery O’Connor’s short story “Good Country People”
Flannery …show more content…
They have used the grotesque to emphasize the ugly, absurd, bizarre. On the other hand, Flannery O’Connor insists on paradox, double vision and marginal characters .Her movement was Southern Gothic, Hulga was brilliant, with Ph.D. in philosophy, but marginal because of her wooden leg. She lost her leg in a hunting when she was only ten. Mrs. Freeman is a grotesque character because she behaves more like a machine ( she wore a neutral expression when was alone and had two others for all human issues-her moves are odd, similarly to a robot ) and has a bizarre interest in pain and suffering. In my opinion, this is the moment when we realize that Flannery O’Connor’s grotesque is different: she is focused on the darkly aspects of the human being because the author wanted to shock the reader in order to raise an awareness.( to see the ordinary in a new light). She takes us into the world of grotesque to make us see the reality again. For example, Joy is nothing more than a piece of dead wood, reducing herself to the level of caricature. Another example is the change of names (Joy/Hulga, Mainly Pointer was just a fake identity, Glynese- Glycerin, Carramae- Caramel) and oppositions ( good country people vs trash ; Christianity vs
1. .Why is Flannery O’Connor important for American Literature?
2. How you would define the “grotesque” ?
3. Why is Flannery O’Connor’s grotesque different from the other modern writers?
4. Can you define at least one feature for each character that makes them grotesque?
5. What is nihilism? Can you give an example of a representative philosopher?
6. How is nihilism illustrated in this short story?
7. The wooden leg is a symbol in this short story. What is its meaning?
8. Is this a story of atheism vs. Christianity? Why?
9. How we can explain the end? It is a victory of the nihilism? Why?
10. Has this story a moral meaning? Why?
Nihilism and Grotesque in Flannery O’Connor’s short story “Good Country People”
Flannery …show more content…
They have used the grotesque to emphasize the ugly, absurd, bizarre. On the other hand, Flannery O’Connor insists on paradox, double vision and marginal characters .Her movement was Southern Gothic, Hulga was brilliant, with Ph.D. in philosophy, but marginal because of her wooden leg. She lost her leg in a hunting when she was only ten. Mrs. Freeman is a grotesque character because she behaves more like a machine ( she wore a neutral expression when was alone and had two others for all human issues-her moves are odd, similarly to a robot ) and has a bizarre interest in pain and suffering. In my opinion, this is the moment when we realize that Flannery O’Connor’s grotesque is different: she is focused on the darkly aspects of the human being because the author wanted to shock the reader in order to raise an awareness.( to see the ordinary in a new light). She takes us into the world of grotesque to make us see the reality again. For example, Joy is nothing more than a piece of dead wood, reducing herself to the level of caricature. Another example is the change of names (Joy/Hulga, Mainly Pointer was just a fake identity, Glynese- Glycerin, Carramae- Caramel) and oppositions ( good country people vs trash ; Christianity vs