Nihilism In Flannery O'Connor's Fictions

Flannery O'Connor is considered by some critics as one of the most talented and controversial writers of the American South since William Faulkner. She is an unswerving Catholic writer on whom the modern western philosophies have exerted a considerable influence. Therefore, her works are rich in religious colors and the tragic state of modern men is explored as well. As a native-born southerner, she spends most of her life there. The culture, history, customs and geography peculiar to that region furnish her works with abundant materials. Two of her novels Wise Blood, The Violent Bear It Away, and thirty-one short stories have left an indelible mark on American literature in her short writing career.The themes such as religious salvation, grotesque characters, and violence in O'Connor's works have been repeatedly discussed by literary critics at home and abroad, while other themes like the philosophy have been long overlooked. The reasons for choosing nihilism as the research subject in Flannery O'Connor's fictions are as follows: on one hand, the South as seen in O'Connor's works is undergoing a radical social transformation. In modern South, there exists the temptation to believe in nothing because of unexplained human sufferings, the disappointment to the old system and spiritual poverty. It is uneasy for people to suffer violent expressions of nihilism---the inevitable end-product of modernity, and its subsequently negative influence on our society. Meanwhile, the smelly nihilistic air is penetrating everywhere and making people morally and culturally choky. Therefore, the examination on nihilism not only functions as an effective warning but also implicates realistic meaning of importance. On the other hand, O'Connor offers her unique position to the phenomenon of nihilism as her firm belief in Catholicism. It is a better way to apprehend her religious belief profoundly through the studying of its adverse nihilism. In her works, she does not only express her worries about the spiritual waste...