We just finished reading some stories by Flannery O'Connor. Holy guacamole is she ever depressing. Life sucks, then someone shoots your whole family.
*Bonus points if you know what movie that's from.
Through My Glasses, Dorkily
13 years ago
10 comments:
It's from The Princess Bride!
*much bouncing up and down of Bears*
The Princess Bride is a Bears approved four-paws movie!
OK Bye
Blinky
The Bears got it!
much bouncing up and down of liz
You win some caaaaandy.
I remember reading that story in high school. Yikes.
One of my college professors *swore* by Flannery O'Connor. I HATED having to do the reading for that class. I now refuse to re-read any of those texts from that class. Why'd they have to go and muck everything up with O'Connor?
Princess Bride is one of my faves, but can't recall that line:(
What class are you reading O'Connor for? You read "Good Man," yes? What a cool story. How was the discussion of it in class?
"Life is pain, Highness. Anyone who says otherwise is selling something." :)
Oh, yeah, depressing as hell, that's Flannery O'Connor. Let's imagine how she would've written The Princess Bride . . .
Scriv - we read "Good Man", "The Life You Save", "The Artificial...I just can't say it", and "Good Country People".
Good discussion, but I can't get over the feeling (that my classmates heartily disagreed with) that Flannery didn't like her characters very much. She's so snide about them. It was like listening to a nosy neighbor carping at a party.
They were very well written, and the people were very real and the stories were compelling, but I couldn't shake that feeling. And her not liking them very much made what happens to them more depressing for me.
We are now reading "The Color Purple" which I read years ago and forgot how good it is.
I agree with you, Liz! I never felt like Flannery liked her characters.
Hmmm. I'll have to think about that question some more, but my first instinct is to say that there's a real love-hate thing going on there. (And I don't just say that to be all academic and difficult!) She seems to so disapprove of the grandmother in "Good Man" right up until she's murdered, but then to be so enthralled by her ability to be open to revelation. And both the bible salesman and Hulga have a certain kind of appeal for her, as I remember it.
She certainly disapproves of cliche, and so much of so many of her characters' lives are cliche.
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