Flannery OConner Biography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Flannery OConner Biography - Essay Example Flannery’s life as a writer was very eventful and comprised of numerous literary works that earned her fame. Her 1952 novel, Wise Blood, established her as one of America’s budding writers. The New York Times positively reviewed Flannery’s novel and this paved the way for later success. Awards and fellowships supported her writing career. She received the Kenyon Review fellowship shortly after she published the Wise Blood. She went on to win the O. Henry Prize in 1955; this award was the first of three she received for her literary works. A Good Man is Hard to Find is the story that earned her the most fame. Although described as terrifying by her readers, the story depicts the creative genius of Flannery O’Conner. She continued to write stories based on characters that she described as â€Å"freaks and folks†. In 1959, she published her second novel The Violent Bear It Away inspired by the Bible. Christianity inspired all of her work and this novel but many of her readers contested this claim. The grotesque nature of her work disputed Christianity as her source of inspiration. Her writing is often compared to those of Carson McCullers, a fellow Southern Gothic writer She fervently refused this comparison because she had a different view of her work. O’Conner compared her work to Nathaniel Hawthorne due to their similarity in worldviews. Twice Told Tales by Hawthorne was among the work she admired the most. Her illness did not kill her passion for writing and in 1963, she was awarded her second O. Henry Prize.