Southern Gothic Genre

Murder, horror, gore; these are just a few of the elements that fuel the Southern Gothic genre. Flannery O’Connor, a prominent 20th century author and writer of thirty-two short stories, was a well-known proponent of Southern Gothic literature. Her short stories not only highlight the macabre, but instill unease within readers, two purposes aided by the usage of irony, symbolism, and theme.

Irony constructs an atmosphere of suspense within O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find.” The story follows a family planning a road trip while a convicted killer, a man known as the “Misfit,” has escaped prison. Upon this discovery, the family altered their road trip’s destination to avoid the suspected path of the Misfit. However, as situational irony goes, the family
The protagonist, Enoch Emery, feels that the world is against him. In the beginning of the story, he borrowed an umbrella from an old lady, only to discover that it’s broken. For Enoch, the umbrella represented a means of protection against the negativity of his surroundings. Yet, much like most of the things in his life, the umbrella failed him. Enoch later meets the famous “Gonga the Gorilla”, or more accurately, a man in a gorilla costume. Enoch is plagued by his antisocial behavior and pessimism. Afflicted by the dreary conditions of his life, he set out to find his identity, only to discover it in stealing Gonga’s gorilla costume. When wearing the costume, he became someone else, feeling the happiest as no one could identify him as Enoch Emery. The gorilla costume symbolizes an escape from his troubles; however, even with his new identity, Enoch is ostracized. When he tried to shake the hands of a pair of strangers, similarly to the behavior of the famous Gonga, his attempt was met with screams. The story ends on this disturbing note, leaving the reader perplexed by the depressing state of the