Date of Award
1991
Document Type
Thesis
Publication Status
Version of Record
Submission Date
October 2026
Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]
Pearce, Howard D.
Abstract
O'Connor reveals glimpses of innocence in her child characters before they are brought to a point of being confronted by the discrepancies of this world, when they must distinguish and choose between the good and evil forces of nature. The child who accepts spiritual values is the child of grace and the child of quest is the one who chooses worldly temptations, instead. The dilemma of O'Connor's adult sinners is illuminated by recognizing their origins in these two child types. This parallel is exemplified by a comparison of child and adult characters in The Violent Bear It Away and "The River." By taking a closer look at the first temptations of evil and the offerings of grace in O'Connor's children, we can recognize the mistakes of her adult sinners more clearly.
Extent
67 p.
Recommended Citation
Wolff, Gay H., "children of Flannery O'Connor: Child of quest and child of grace" (1991). Electronic Theses and Dissertations 1990 - 1999. 150.
https://digitalcommons.fau.edu/etd_general_4/150
Identifier
FADT14696
Comments
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters|FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection|Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 1991.|Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters