IB English 11 Mrs. Harder

 She states that the subject of her work is "the action of grace in territory held largely by the devil" ( Mystery and Manners 118). She tries to portray in each story "an action that is totally unexpected, yet totally believable" (118), often an act of violence, violence being "the extreme situation that best reveals what we are essentially" (113).

THEMES self-righteousness, zealotry alienation anti-materialism (“progress in the world is retrogression in the spirit”) death and rebirth transformation, enlightenment the perverse mother ROMAN CATHOLICISM: allusions, parodies, BUT not indoctrination her version of Christianity (not necessarily Christian orthodoxy)

BACKGROUND Savannah & Milledgeville, Georgia LUPAS rare, incurable blood disease disseminated, like her father relieved by shots of cortisone derivative Which weakened her bones from (30) she needed aluminum crutches to get around wrote, traveled, lectured until 1964 when lupus reactivated & killed her at 39

CHRISTIAN THEMES : evil within attack on self-righteousness & self-sufficiency “violent grace” enlightening through force

Mostly short stories Traditional, no experimentation (like James Joyce) PLOT : storytelling, telling a detailed story to its conclusion characters = 2-dimensional, no inner lives characterization = usually 2nd to plot CHARACTERIZATION: ordinary, real people no racial stereotypes Alice Walker : “ white folks without magnolia […] black folks without melons or superior racial patience ”

BLACK (dark) HUMOR: grim Gothic humor, the folly of the self-righteous, self- sufficient (self-alienation) related to her religion/faith *fascination with HUMAN SPEECH, with people talking clichés about life, death, universe vivid rendering of character through speech mocked characters = forced, through violence, from cliché, rote, ritual

GROTESQUE (or realistic, depending on reader's POV) Southern Gothic tradition *VIOLENT CONCLUSIONS: all stories move in the same direction: towards a conclusion with a violent awakening/realization ends = violent: in which a character (usually a woman) must confront a situation that cannot be handled with her usual traditional responses & clichés; characters = forced, by violence, from cliché, rote, ritual “Revelation” “Good Country People” “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” violence = necessary to force them from the ruts of their lives beyond clichés & habits REGIONALIST speech patterns gestures humor speech-clichés

" violence is strangely capable of returning my characters to reality and preparing them to accept their moment of grace. Their heads are so hard that almost nothing else will do the work. This idea, that reality is something to which we must be returned at considered cost, is one which is seldom understood by the casual reader, but it is one which is implicit in the Christian view of the world "

Southern Gothic Literature Sub-genre of the GOTHIC style –Popular in Europe in 1800s Frankenstein by Mary Shelley Dracula by Bram Stoker SOUTHERN GOTHIC: Unique to American literature –relies on supernatural, ironic or unusual events to guide the plot –uses these to explore social issues and reveal the cultural character of the American South. –Focused on character, social, and moral shortcomings in the American South; it reached its height between

Defining Features of Southern Gothic Literature Cast of off-kilter characters –Broken bodies, minds or souls Used to symbolize problems created by the established pattern Used to question established pattern’s morality and ethical justification –The “Innocent” is a common character, who may or may not be “broken,” but who often acts as a redeemer for others

Freakishness In most southern gothic stories, there is an important character who is set apart from the world by in a negative way by a disability or an odd, and often negative way of seeing the world.

Outsider Southern novels are filled with characters who are set a part from the established cultural pattern, but who end up being heroes because their difference allows them to see new ways of doing things that ultimately help to bring people out of the “dark.” Who would this be in “GCP”?

Imprisonment This is often both literal and figurative. –Many southern gothic tales include an incident where a character is sent to jail or locked up. –There are also Southern gothic characters that live in fate's prison.

Violence Racial, social and class difference often create underlying tension in Southern gothic novels that threatens, and usually does, erupt in violent ways

Sense of Place You can’t read a Southern Gothic novel without understanding what a Southern town “feels” like: – old small towns Houses have front porches with rocking chairs Old downtown with stately but worn-down buildings

Often comments on society’s negatives or weaknesses to point out truths of America’s Southern culture Often disturbing but realistic Grotesque characters or situations– deeply flawed characters, decayed (often rural) settings, evil or Disturbing events (often linked to racism, poverty, violence, moral corruption) Examples: A character’s negatives/undesirable characteristics allow the author to show/comment on unpleasant aspects of Southern culture. - racial bigotry, crushing poverty, violence, moral corruption or ambiguity Something physical in the setting is unusual and often broken