Flannery O’Connor was a southern Catholic writer known for her sharp explorations of religious themes and southern racial issues through extraordinary short stories and novels featuring bizarre situations and grotesque southern characters. Her stories have had positive influences on the lives of her readers. O’Connor’s themes of the decaying south, racial relations, and the possibility of religion and spirituality after WWII have all been accepted by the literary and religious worlds. Flannery …showed first 75 words of 1299 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1299 total…short stories and novels. She belonged to the southern gothic tradition that focused on the decaying south and search for a fuller truth in God. Her grotesque characters serve as an example of Christ-like figures. By the time of her death at the age of 39, Flannery O’Connor was recognized as one of the most gifted and original fiction writers of the 20th century. “The fiction writer represents mystery through manners, grace through nature” (Fitzgerald 53).