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WORLD UNBALANCED: THE THEME OF DISORDER IN THE SHORT STORIES OF FLANNERY O'CONNOR

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Date Issued:
1974
Summary:
Flannery O'Connor's short stories often involve a moment of recognition/reversal in which an offering of grace is accompanied by a toppling of the protagonist's sense of social order. The protagonist, who considers himself in some way superior, may be "leveled" into a chaotic equality with all sinners, or he may find the tables turned on him: one who was "first" may become "last." Or both these things may happen to the same protagonist. Such protagonists may be Strong Women, who need to believe in an ordered world to maintain their security and status, or Intellectuals, who isolate themselves from the real world, or Displaced Persons, who experience disorder through displacement, or Dwellers in the Past or the Future, who attempt to escape disorder through a retreat into different time periods. Various devices in the stories, such as the double, irony, and symbols, heighten the sense of disorder.
Title: THE WORLD UNBALANCED: THE THEME OF DISORDER IN THE SHORT STORIES OF FLANNERY O'CONNOR.
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Name(s): WERSHOVEN, CAROL JEAN.
Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor
Pearce, Howard D., Thesis advisor
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Issuance: monographic
Date Issued: 1974
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 62 p.
Language(s): English
Summary: Flannery O'Connor's short stories often involve a moment of recognition/reversal in which an offering of grace is accompanied by a toppling of the protagonist's sense of social order. The protagonist, who considers himself in some way superior, may be "leveled" into a chaotic equality with all sinners, or he may find the tables turned on him: one who was "first" may become "last." Or both these things may happen to the same protagonist. Such protagonists may be Strong Women, who need to believe in an ordered world to maintain their security and status, or Intellectuals, who isolate themselves from the real world, or Displaced Persons, who experience disorder through displacement, or Dwellers in the Past or the Future, who attempt to escape disorder through a retreat into different time periods. Various devices in the stories, such as the double, irony, and symbols, heighten the sense of disorder.
Identifier: 13619 (digitool), FADT13619 (IID), fau:10459 (fedora)
Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
Note(s): Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters
Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 1974.
Subject(s): O'Connor, Flannery--Criticism and interpretation
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/13619
Sublocation: Digital Library
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author, with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Use and Reproduction: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Host Institution: FAU
Is Part of Series: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections.