Religion In Flannery O Connor's Short Stories

Flannery O’Connor has used religion extensively in her work. She is described as a devout Catholic in her biography at Georgia College & State University website . In American Public Media, Speaking of Faith Podcast Paul Ellie a catholic author talks about Flannery O’Connor and other prominent catholic fiction writers . The others are Dorothy Day, Thomas Merton, and Walker Percy. He says among them only O’connor was born Catholic. Although they never met they used to correspond with each other.
“Flannery O'Connor had a breakthrough as a young writer of fiction when she realized the stories of the Old Testament threw a special light on the rural South where she was living.” Ellie says
In O’Connor’s The Complete stories Robert Giruox,her
Among these are A Good Man Is Hard To Find, The River, and Parker’s Back . References to religion are made through various ways, from vivid narration of religious activities , naming of her characters , constance mentioning of God and even other not so openly religious such as the use of colors attached to various meanings in the Church. According to catholic.org violet is for penance and melancholy ,it is described as a violent color . There is a fair measure of violence in O’Connor’s stories. In a Good Man Is Hard To Find the grandmother is wearing a shirt with purple spray of violets. Later in the story there a lot of violence resulting in the death of the whole
The protagonist in this story is a disillusion ex-military man O.E Parker. His name is a matter of joy to his extremely religious girlfriend later wife. Obadiah Elihu Parker while driving his trying to fix his vehicle he hurts his finger and starts yelling “ Jesus Christ Goddamn it, Jesus Christ God” this infuriates Sarah Parker who lives by, she is so angry that she starts beating up this stranger, something that puzzles Parker that he starts apologizing and offering excuses for his language. In the story it is emphasized how Parker does not acknowledge God. Sarah Ruth whose name is from two prominent women in the bible is very fanatic about her religion. She describes much that has to do with appearance as idolatry. When they finally get married Sarah refuses to have a wedding in the church since its also idolatrous . Parker on the other side after getting a tattoo everywhere save for his back is planning on getting one that will stun his religious wife , one that she’ll like . At last he settles on one that he thinks is God. Sarah or O’Connor through Sarah says ‘God don’t look, he is felt’.It still in this story that O’connor shows that even the very religious are not necessarily correct , Sarah misquotes the bible where it says that the word become god by adding her own