On Redemption Theme In Flannery O'Connor's Short Stories

Flannery O'Connor(1925-1964)is widely recognized as one of the most prominent writers in the history of post-war American literature,alongside the contemporaries like Eudora Welty and Carson McCullers,etc.In her short life,O'Connor publishes two novels:Wise Blood and The Violent Bear It Away,and thirty-one short sorties which have been considered as her finest works.She has won the prize of O'Henry Awards tree times(1957,1963,1964)and the National Book Award in 1972.Most of her stories are based on the South and often end with the death of the characters which usually results from the consequence of the violent acts.Besides,as a writer of religion,O'Connor tries to free the modern people who are still indulged in sins and make them return to God,which reveals the aim of her works:the redemption from God.Based on textual analysis of the four short stories,A Good Man Is Hard To Find,The River,The Life You Save May Be Your Own,and The Lame Shall Enter First,this thesis intends to conduct a comprehensive study of the redemption theme of Flannery O'Connor's short stories,revealing the writer's motive of such choice.The reasons for this choice are as follows:A Good Man Is Hard To Find and The Life You Save May Be Your Own are the representative stories of O'Connor,while The Lame Shall Enter First and The River are based on the theme of children,which reveal the cruel social reality at that time.The whole thesis is divided into seven parts:the Introduction generally introduces the life and works of Flannery O'Connor;Chapter one explores the recent study on the redemption theme;Chapter two mainly focuses on the sin in Christianity and in O'Connor's works;Chapter Three and Four cover the way and the manifestation of redemption in O'Connor's works respectively;and then Chapter Five explores the reasons why O'Connor choose the redemption as the theme of her works;Finally the Conclusion makes a brief summary of the study of Flannery O'Connor's works:redemption,as the theme of O'Connor's short stories comes out of her view of religion—only God can save people and the violence,death or suffering are necessary.Only from this comprehensive standpoint,can people understand her works and American culture better.