The Interpretation Of Flannery O'Connor's Short Stories From The Perspective Of Archetypal Criticism

Flannery O'Connor is considered as one of the foremost Southern writers after William Faulkner for the serious themes and unique artistic styles in her works.Her premature death is thought of as "the most significant loss in the American literary world since the death of Scott Fitzgerald." O'Connor,as a pious Catholic writer,has been profoundly influenced by the Bible in her course of creation.Her short stories have shaped many distinct images of the ordinary people in the Southern America,containing rich archetypal images,eonveying the writer's keen religious salvation consciousness and humanistic concern.This thesis,based on the Canadian literary critic Northrop Frye's theory of archetypal criticism,probes into the refection of archetypes to the creation of short stories in three of O,Connor's short stories "The River","The Life You Save May Be Your Own" and "The Displaced People".Firstly,from the perspective of Frye's theory of displacement,the archetypal plots and characters are dissected to reveal the archetypal plots of baptism and the Tower of Babel that was displaced and transformed in modem life and present the archetypal images of three representative characters Harry,Lucynell and Mr.Shortley.Secondly,from the aspect of Frye's theory of archetypal imagery,implied biblical images in the fiction are explored including apocalyptic imagery such as rivers and peacocks;demonic imagery like woods and death,as well as analogical imagery like the wasteland.In the end,the themes of the fictions—death and redemption as well as quest theme,which are constant themes of the Biblical literature,are excavated to reflect the religious color and artistic charm in O'Connor's works.This thesis aims to reveal the O'Connor's irony and anxiety about the faith of "God is dead" by the in-depth exploration into the abundant archetypes in O'Connor's short stories combined with the specific social and cultural background,and thus understanding the writer's salvation attitudes that one can only be saved and conserved when he frees himself from the traditional morality and value through violence and death.