The prompt is "Look up the elements associated with Southern Gothic fiction and write an analysis of the use of those elements. Support your assertions with evidence from the texts."I've already written all of the elements associated with Southern Gothic fiction so you guys don't have to look that up! I've also included a small summary of the story in the intro so no supplementary reading will be necessary. Please let me know how it is and how I can improve in terms of organization, better word usage and any other recommendation you may have.
Thanks!
Southern Gothic fiction is a literary style that uses the effect of macabre and ironic events to examine and often criticize the values of the American south. A great example of this genre is A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O' Conner. It is a gruesome tale about a family trip gone wrong, as an ignorant grandmother causes a family to be stranded after their car crashes into a ditch off the side of the road. They are relieved to see a car stop towards them, but their relief soon fades as they realize the driver of the car is an escaped convict named "The Misfit." The convict's accomplice's then take members of the family into the woods and murders them two at a time, while the grandmother begs for her life. The story ends as the Misfit ignores the pleas of the grandmother and shoots her at point blank range. O'Connor's work in A Good Man is Hard to Find employs all of the elements of the Southern Gothic Fiction to criticize what the writer saw as moral blindness as well as ignorance of the American South.
Another defining aspect of the Southern Gothic genre is the use of negative southern stereotypes. Most of these characters have disturbed personalities which provide damaged and delusional characters. In A Good Man is Hard to Find, the irksome grandmother is an archetype for the aging southern woman. She obsesses over matters such as vanity and manners going as far as to dress her best for the car ride so "In case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady." O'Connor also depicts the grandmother as a very selfish woman as the first thing the grandmother said to The Misfit was "You wouldn't shoot a lady, would you?" in order to save herself; the safety of her family does not even cross her mind. The grandmother never turns her critical eye on herself to inspect her own hypocrisy, dishonesty and selfishness, even though she lies and connives in order to have her way. O'Connor creates an unlikely
antihero in the form of the Misfit, who provides spiritual and moral awareness, even though he is a violent murderer. The Misfit has examined his life so closely that he realizes that he is not superior to anyone else, but not the worse: "Nome, I ain't a good man," The Misfit said after a second ah if he had considered her statement carefully, "but I ain't the worst in the world neither,"; unlike the grandmother who believes that she is better than everyone, even though her moral code falls apart when it is challenged. The Misfit's awareness of human moral guidance is evident after he kills the selfish and delusional grandmother and says "She would have been a good woman...if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life.", thereby recognizing her evil. O'Connor uses the archetype of the grandmother as a way to illuminate and criticize the values of the old American south; she also depicts The Misfit as a type of common man who is definitely not perfect, but is not ignorant which can be interpreted as a realistic version of the new American south.
The most distinct aspect of Southern Gothic writing is the use of macabre and grotesque events which shocks the reader. These events are easily identified in A Good Man is Hard to Find because much violence takes place nonchalantly. Right at the beginning of the story, the Grandmother attempts to persuade the family to visit east Tennessee rather than Florida by explaining to the family that a dangerous inmate named The Misfit had escaped and is headed to Florida: "The Misfit is aloose from the Federal Pen and headed toward Florida and you read here what it says he did to these people. Just you read it. I wouldn't take my children in any direction with a criminal like that aloose in it. I couldn't answer to my conscience if it did." O'Connor begins the story by creating a looming sense of darkness, suspense and foreboding which carries on throughout the entire story. As the story progresses, the violent and disturbing imagery increases. O'Connor exploits human's natural fascination with grotesque subjects as she writes ""But nobody's killed," June Star said with disappointment..." The shock value she creates is due to the young June Star's sick thought of being disappointed that none of her family members died in the crash. O'Connor's use of The Misfit is very interesting as well because of his awkward eloquence and evil. His arrival causes much shock as he is believed to be the savior of the family but turns out to be their demise. The family with the exception of the grandmother is senselessly murdered and vividly described as "There was a piercing scream from the woods, followed closely by a pistol report." O'Connor ends the story just as she began with a very grotesque image of violence to give the reader a lasting impression as The Misfit kills the grandmother himself: "The Misfit sprang back as if a snake had bitten him and shot her three times through the chest...looking down at the grandmother who half sat and half lay in a puddle of blood with her legs crossed under her like a child's and her face smiling up at the cloudless sky." O'Connor's detailed, shocking and extremely visual and grotesque violence creates a lasting and vivid impression to the reader which is essential to the genre of Southern Gothic fiction.
The final defining aspect of Southern Gothic writing is the use of irony. In A Good Man is Hard to Find, the grandmother is the biggest advocate for the family vacation, but wants the family to agree with her choice of Tennessee instead of Florida. She attempts to convince the family by telling them the story of the Misfit, saying "I wouldn't take my children in any direction with a criminal like that aloose in it. I couldn't answer to my conscience if I did." The irony occurs when the grandmother convinces her family to take a detour that actually leads them directly into being the victims of the Misfit. Another ironic twist occurs at the end when the grandmother realizes that the Misfit is going to kill her. She begs for her life attempting to convince him that he is not evil because he comes from a good family saying, "You've got good blood! I know you wouldn't shoot a lady! I know you come from nice people! Pray Jesus, you ought not to shoot a lady."; however, the Misfit kills her anyway showing that a person's social standing has no control of the persons fate. O'Connor's use of the irony in these situations show that one cannot escape their destiny no matter how hard they try, which is common in Southern Gothic fiction.
Flannery O'Connor's, A Good Man is Hard to Find examines and criticizes the moral values of the American south using common themes associated with Southern Gothic fiction such as the use of grotesque events, negative southern stereotypes and ironic twists. Her influence on the literature of the American south still heavily exists today. She provides the perfect examples of Southern Gothic fiction as she includes all of the elements associated with the genre in her works to paint a picture for the readers of the traditional American south.
