As a Southern writer, Flannery O'Connery vividly describes in her short
fiction the plight of alienated modern men. According to O'Connoer.
modern men with their pride in intellect and self-sufficiency have
confined themselves to self-delusion andtherefore fail to recognize fhtir
identities and God. As Catholic. O'connor points out that only by giving
up their pride and realizing their ignorance and self-sufficiency can the
alienated charcaters recognize reality and perceive God's grace.
This thematic study of O'Connor's short fiction is intended to demonstrate
howthe modern men struggle from alienation to communion.
In the first chapter, attempts are made to show that tje comminion process
falls into three stages: alienation, recognition, and communion.
The second chapter discusses the eleven short stories dealing with the
sense of alienation.
The third chapter analyzes other fourteen stories in which the alienated
Protagonist are shocked into an awareness of their own ignorance and
blindess and into recognition of their identities and God's grace.
In the fourth chapter, the focus is on the last six sotries which reveal
the protagonists' experience of communion with God.
The final chapter concludes the present study by summing up O'Connor's
thematic concerns and literary artistry as reflected in her short
fiction. Under the influence of Hawthorne, Southern Literary background,
and her faith in Catholicism, O'Connor has shown valuable insights into
the predicament of alienated modern men.