The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter

Flannery O'Connor is one of the leading figures of American literature in the twentieth century and has decisively influenced the course of southern literature in the latter half of the century. Her introduction of Catholicism and existentialism into Southern literature is indicative of a significant change in the orientation and motivation of southern writing.Born and brought up in a devout Catholic family, O'Connor is steeped in her own faith of Christian orthodoxy. Unlike William Faulker, the guru of southern literature, the American South under her pen is by no means idealized as a paradise or a homeland filled with sweet memories, but rather a wasteland rife with consumerism and individualism that become widespread in the South after World War II. Deprived of any faith or initiative, O'Connor's fellow countrymen under her pen are soulless creatures afflicted with an overweening pride and an overdue self-assurance. Through the delicate description of those faithless "grotesques," O'Connor radically critiques both the decaying southern traditions and the triumphant American culture that is replacing them in the wake of World War II.Traditionally speaking, researches on Flannery O'Connor are usually centered on her religiosity, exploring the huge impacts of orthodox Catholicism on both her personal life and literary creation. In addition, quite a few scholars have made extremely meticulous researches on certain representative short stories of hers, such as A Good Man is Hard to Find, The Artificial Nigger, Good Country People, Revelation, etc.What makes my dissertation stand out is the fact that, through a thorough reading and interpretation of Flannery O'Connor's most prestigious short story collections---A Good Man is Hard to Find and Everything That Rises Must Converge, I have summed up a salient theme, that is, the radical criticism of the "overweening pride," which, in O'Connor's eye, is nothing but the deadliest flaw of humanity and the very root of countless social ailments. Her oeuvre of short fiction is unparalleled inasmuch as nearly every story in these two collections contains pride as a salient theme. After my profound exploration of the "overweening pride" and the various forms it takes, I really wish that all the readers of Flannery O'Connor could have a better understanding of her works and, at the same time, it is my sincere hope that this thesis could inspire more people to pay due respect, or at least more attention to this unique and outstanding southern lady—Flannery O'Connor.