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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A paper which looks at the way in which the character of the grandmother is presented in Flannery O'Connor's A Good Man is Hard to Find, with particular reference to the concept of the "lady" in Southern culture, and the influence of religion on O'Connor's works. Bibliography lists 4 sources
Page Count:
6 pages (~225 words per page)
File: JL5_JLoconn.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
Hard to Find" is a narrative which skilfully interweaves a number of thematic elements, including Southern cultural ideology, the place of religion and God in everyday life, and the differences
between the solid and the superficial, in terms of human character. Central to the narrative is the figure of the grandmother, about whom the reader gradually learns a great deal;
these revelations give us a changing perspective on her personality and behaviour, as she herself changes in response to different circumstances.
At the beginning of the story, it is evident that the grandmother sees herself as the archetypal
Southern lady, and this is the way that she expects to be treated by others. However, in comparison to the genuine grandes dames of the South, she is superficial: a
shallow imitation of the real thing. If one compares her to, for example, Faulkners autocratic and unassailable Miss Emily in A Rose for Emily, it is apparent that she is
the model to whom the grandmother can only aspire. For the nineteenth-century audience, the concept of the Southern lady is something which is so strongly rooted in the collective consciousness
that respect for a lady takes precedence over legality, common sense and ethical values. It is the sheer weight of her social status and her imperious bearing which allows Emily
to get away with reneging on her economic responsibility to the community and, ultimately, with murder. For the townspeople, it is more socially unacceptable to insult a "real lady" than
it is to investigate a serious crime.
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