Race, Gender And Culture

Flannery O’Connor, a talented writer of the South Catholic church, is recognized as one of the America’s greatest novelist in the20th centery after Faulkner’s time. In40years of her life, the South is under aggressive social change:black people fight for their freedom; women pursue feminist movement for fair treatment as men; industrial civilization in north america is ravaging the south which is at its risk. In such a complex changing world, O’Connor, with a strong sense of responsibility of intellectuals, took record of her unique expression to the revolution. facing the huge chang of reality, herself as a intellectual with strong sense of responsibilty as well as a southern white, she did not put herself in situation of simply pro or against, rather more of a delemma. In topics like black-white ethnic relationship, men and women gender position, the instruction of the north culture, the author present her attitude of contradiction.The analysis is going to show the social democratic trend and movements emerging in the South America and changes in people’s lives which truly revealed Flannery O’Connor’s conceptions in ethnic and gender problems.This article is divided into four parts. The Introduction is a simple overview of the writer’s life and literary creation, research of O’Connor, both at home and abroad as well as the significance of the subject. The Paper explores the writer’s confusion on race position, gender awareness and culture and answers to give. In the first chapter, through the analysis of O’Connor’s works gives an insight into the South black. more details are given to understand the writer’s complex and conflicting race position, as a Catholics. O’ Connor’s delemma in creation comes from her white identity and childhood which lead to bias and discrimination of the black, but at the same time pity for them. Brought up in South with a strong Protestant atmosphere and by experience of religious territories across, she is racist, but also as a pious who believes in Christ of God has awareness of aregret and introspection.The chapter two starts from a feminist perspective, on theory of women’s movement, explores the delemma as female intellectual in the construction of new area. The Writers is a witness of the feminist who, even is not typical of feminist doctrine, will always maintain independent. On one hand she advocated female to reject old traditional thoughts, to jump out of the rigid role trap, to pursuit the equal right as men, on the other hand she is against female’s blind copy of the social structure and thoughts of men. She Descript grotesque female and men in order to pursuit ultimate harmony between the sexes. She is not a typical feminists and own the position of woman in the seemingly conflict.The chapter three analysis that O’Connor who was a heritor of South Manor cultural faced the change of southern society by geographical manifestations people of features through works. In O’ Connor’s art world, she is standing in the position of "old South people " thinking about change of South society after the social reform, and while as a progress intellectuals who was looking at "the old tradition in South ". With changes of social events, O’ Connor’ s cultural selection and identity positioning rendering out a clear difference from other South writers in dilemma choice:the first is the cultural selection in the dilemma:she was cherishing and advocating the "normalization" of South (love of South homeland), while she cannot stop its "abnormalization"(The rapid economic development in the south); She agreed with full of variety Culture and history in South,but on its said "reflection"(on South problem of self revealed and criticism); Derived from cultural selection dilemma to O’Connor Show writers in the specific work on the orientation of the identity dilemma. Express author for cultural tradition and social change in the South are holding fast to torn and keeping pace with the dilemma of choice, including the attitude towards the traditional culture of the South, is of relief and criticism and reflection, can be seen more than three chapters on O’Connor comprehensive thinking of race, gender, and culture of the South as well as confusion, ambivalence. The conclusion primarily literary dilemma O’Connor thought combining reality with the construction of a harmonious society, explores the dilemma in the O’Connor works study on connotation and modern significance of enlightenment.