On Modernistic Features In Flannery O’connor’s Short Fictions

Flannery O’Connor (1925-1964) is an influential fiction writer in America literature. Except for two novels (Wise Blood and The Violent Bear It Away), she is especially expert on short fictions. In her brief life, she has accomplished31short fictions. Small as it is, her achievement in short fictions constitutes an important role in her reputation.In the initial periods of20th century, various areas have shown their tendency of tremendously changing. Accordingly, the literary innovation is under the influence of social and cultural milieu and takes on a new sight. The modernistic literature is embedded with the malaise of modern life, which seems a predominant feature in modern fictions. Since she has a devout aspiration for the Catholic, we can not deny numerous religious issues are presented in O’Connor’s works. Much criticism focuses on her religious subject, grotesque features and violence.Instead of confining to the traditional perspectives, the thesis will mainly focus on her modernistic aspects in short fictions. The main point of view centers around the issues of modernity in order to gain modernistic themes underlying its literary implications. The short stories that will be explored in this thesis include stories of “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”,“The Geranium”,“The Enduring Chill”,“The Displaced Person”, and “Good Country People”.This thesis is analyzed in terms of three parts, namely, the introduction, main body, and conclusion. The main contents are listed as follows:The first part is the introduction, in which a brief introduction of O’Connor’s life, an account of literary studies both at home and abroad, and a general clue of the thesis along with its practical significance are given.The second part is the main body, which is made up of four chapters:Chapter one first gives a general sketch of modernism. Then an elaboration is made on the backgrounds of modernistic literary, its distinctive characteristics, and the relevant theories applied in this thesis. And at last, the relation between Flannery O’Connor and modernism is pointed out.Chapter two gives a detailed analysis of the modernistic embodiments in the themes of her short fictions. It is argued that the alienation, horror and the spiritual predicament are different forms in the crisis of modernity. From a modernistic perspective, the modern crisis is prominent in that it is an eternal problem related to each modern man. In opposition to the convenient contact, the loss of identity is an abstract reflection of alienation. And the crisis of modernity can be deemed as a spiritual crisis. An analysis of the traumatic malaise and spiritual predicament allows us to conclude that the modern men are en-strangled by the pervasion of Nothingness and the loss of faith. By concentrating on the inner world, O’Connor provides us a vent to the crisis by turning to God.Chapter three focuses on her Gothic style. At first, a general analysis is made of the South Gothic and her unique Gothic features in her short fiction. In her stories, many grotesque figures reveal a distorted living condition in a transitional period. These characters are usually helpless people living at the bottom of society. These grotesque behaviors and the loss of faith effectively constitute a scene of spiritual dessert. The horrible feelings extended by them shock us to realize the decay of human soul.Chapter four mainly centers around the application of symbolism. Miss O’Connor exquisitely shows her concern through allegorical symbols. It is very effective in displaying the meaningless life and the crisis in the modern society.The third part is conclusion, which demonstrates that the crisis of modernity exists in every protagonist’s mind and even in each modern man. And thus, it is a universal issue common to modern period. Undoubtedly, they suffer from different crisis，which encourages us to find a vent.