As a Southerner, a Christian, and a woman, Flannery O’Connor often viewed life from a depth that is more increased from that of the rest of society. Many people have considered O’Connor’s works controversial from the time she first started writing; To this day, O’Connor’s work causes strong emotion among its readers, however, much like other writers advocating for something or against something during O’Connor’s time, she has had to fight in order to make people care. O’Connor blatantly expressed her religious views in her stories and consistently critiqued controversial themes and real-world issues in her writing, such as racism, Catholic doctrine, finding meaning in life, and possessing world-influenced, consumeristic views about how life should be. As a result, she experienced harsh criticism from the majority of people who read her work. This essay will give examples of the ways Flannery O’Connor’s used two of her short stories to provided commentary and challenge and change the thinking of American readers in order to prevent their apathy. …show more content…
Throughout the story, Julian is rude to his mother and constantly snaps at her, however his frustration with her evaporates when he realizes that his mother needs help. He has wanted her to learn her lesson throughout the story, however he does not see his mother’s breakdown as her learning a lesson. At the end of the story when Julian’s mother becomes confused and begins to limp and slur her words, he forgets why he was angry with her, because that is unimportant in the midst of her distress. This also brings some of O’Connor’s religious beliefs into the story, because the love that Julian shows for his mother allows him to look past her ignorance and sin in order to make sure that she has what she needs in the same way that the Bible depicts Jesus dying for people despite their sin and persecution of