English Short Story Test 2 Review

Claud Turpin

"Claud was florid and bald and sturdy, somewhat shorter than Mrs. Turpin, but he sat down as if he were accustomed to doing what she told him to." "Claud lifted his foot onto the magazine table and rolled his trouser leg up to reveal a purple swelling on a plump marble-white calf." "Then above them were the home-owners, and above them the home-and-land owners, to which she and Claud belonged."

Revelation O' Connor

"Revelation" is a Southern Gothic short story by author Flannery O'Connor about the delivery and effect of a revelation to a sinfully proud, self-righteous, middle-aged, middle class, rural, white Southern woman that her confidence in her own Christian salvation is an error.

mr mallard (the story of an hour)

- "died" - returns home as soon as his wife dies

Themes of Story of an Hour

-marrigage is an oppressive institution for women -freedom is fleeting for women -marriage is unfulfilling and not emotionally satisfying -womens own story can only be told outside of the constraints of marriage

Kate Chopin (1850-1904)

1. Born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. 2. Moved with her husband to New Orleans, Louisiana, which she often used as a setting for her stories, then moved back to St. Louis when her husband died. 3. Just like her story "The Story of an Hour", she explored women's issues considered very controversial in her time. She often wrote about women feeling stifled by traditional roles in Victorian society. Her subject matter often brought negative reviews on her writing. She was never appreciated during her lifetime, but gained popularity during the Civil Rights movement, which also championed women's rights.

John Steinbeck died

1968

Mary Flannery O'Connor (1925-1964)

A Catholic American author who wrote in the "Southern Gothic" style. In her story "A Good Man Is Hard to Find," Bailey takes his family on a vacation; when they stop at a diner, "the grandmother" talks with the owner Red Sammy about The Misfit, an escaped murderer. After the cat Patty Sing causes the family's car to crash into a ditch, a group of men led by the Misfit murder the family, including the grandmother, who claims The Misfit is one of her own children before he shoots her three times. In "Good Country People," Hulga has her prosthetic leg taken by Manley Pointer, a nihilistic atheist Bible salesman. O'Connor also wrote "Everything That Rises Must Converge," in which Julian rides on a newly-integrated bus with his mother.

Richards (Story of an Hour)

A friend of Louise. Richards seems to represent the analyzing side

the Tinker

A tall, bearded man who makes his living repairing pots, pans, and other kitchen utensils. The tinker is a smart person and charming salesman. He is also down on his luck and not above pleading for work after Elisa initially turns him down. He may share her wanderlust, or she may only imagine that he does.

Louise Mallard

A woman whose husband is reportedly killed in a train accident. When Louise hears the news, she is secretly happy because she is now free. She is filled with a new lust for life, and although she usually loved her husband, she cherishes her newfound independence even more. She has a heart attack when her husband, alive after all, comes home.

Flannery O'Connor died on

August 3, 1964

The Mother of "A Good Man is Hard to Find"

Bailey's wife, who is never named, is described as having a face "as broad and innocent as a cabbage." She is John Wesley and June Star's mother, and the Grandmother's daughter-in-law. For most of the story, she goes along with whatever the rest of the family is doing. Like the rest of her family, she eventually is executed by the Misfit and his henchmen.

Henry Allen

Elisa's husband. Henry is a kind man, if slightly dimwitted. He loves his wife but doesn't really understand and appreciate her. Still, he is an adequate businessman who runs his ranch successfully and provides a comfortable life for his wife. He seems to love Elisa and tries his best to please her despite the fact that she mystifies him.

Josephine (Story of an Hour)

Louise sister. Josephine seems to represent one side of Mrs. Mallard: the emotional side

Brently Mallard (Story of an Hour)

Louise's husband, supposedly killed in a train accident. Although Louise remembers Brently as a kind and loving man, merely being married to him also made him an oppressive factor in her life. Brently arrives home unaware that there had been a train accident.

KATE CHOPIN- "The Story of an Hour"

Mrs. Mallard is overjoyed when she realizes that she has regained her freedom as the result of her husband's death; however, she dies from a heart attack when she learns that her newly-found freedom has vanished because the report of her husband's death was a mistake.

What awards did Flannery O'Connor receive

O' Henry and National Book Award

John Steinbeck awards

Pulitzer Prize- Grapes of Wrath, Nobel Prize for Literature

Themes of Revelation

Racism Judgement

June Star of of "A Good Man is Hard to Find"

Seven-year-old June Star (John Wesley's sister) is loudmouthed and critical. When Red Sam's wife teasingly asks her to come live with them, June Star says that she wouldn't live in their home in a million years. As adorable as adults seem to find her, she treats them meanly and without respect.

Flannery O'Connor; "A Good Man is Hard to Find"

Short story about a southern family driving through Georgia on the way to Florida. In the title story a grandmother, her son Bailey and daughter-in-law and their three children, June Starr, John Wesley, and a baby, are on a car journey. They encounter an escaped criminal called the Misfit and his two killers, Hiram and Bobby Lee. The family is casually wiped out by them when the grandmother recognizes the Misfit from his ''Wanted'' poster. The hallucinating grandmother murmurs: "Why you're one of my babies. You're one of my own children!" The Misfit shoots her and says: "She would of been a good woman if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life."

Steinbeck attended which university?

Stanford University But he never finished there. 1919-1925

John Wesley (A Good Man is Hard to Find)

Stocky brat child with glasses

What was Flannery O'Connor's first short story; novel

The Geranium, published 1946; Wise Blood, published in 1952.

The Grandmother (a good man is hard to find)

The Grandmother is an elderly Southern lady, and Bailey's mother. She is a naïve woman, despite her age, and seems to only think of herself. Against her son's wishes, she brings her cat along in the car, ultimately causing the wreck that leads to the family's deaths. While the rest of the family dresses casually, the Grandmother puts on her best clothing for the trip, including a fancy hat that she believes will ensure she is identified as a proper lady if they get in a car accident and are killed—showing how concerned she is with the appearance of respectability. When speaking with Red Sam Butts, she recites clichés about how much better and simpler things used to be, but when faced with the threat of death by the Misfit she is completely unprepared to face her own mortality. Unable to believe that the Misfit might actually be as amoral as he seems to be, the Grandmother repeatedly insists that he must be good at heart, even as the rest of her family is taken into the woods and executed. At no point does she seem to realize that these are her last seconds alive until she reaches out for the Misfit, in a brief moment of connection, claiming that he too is her son.

Steinbeck's best work was

The Grapes of Wrath and Mice and Men

Theme of The chrysanthemums

The Inequality of Gender: Elisa is unable to fulfill her dream of freedom when she sees her flowers on the side of the driveway

The Misfit (a good man is hard to find)

The Misfit remains largely a mystery throughout the story. The Grandmother first reads about him in the newspaper—he is an escaped convict and murderer, and is thought to be headed to Florida (like the family). When he comes across the family after their car accident, The Misfit seems to actually just want to get their car fixed and send them on their way. But when the Grandmother shouts out that she knows he is The Misfit, his plans change, and he has each member of the family killed. While the others are being shot, the Misfit carries on a largely philosophical conversation with The Grandmother. He explains that he doesn't view actions in terms of right or wrong—if he does something that other people consider wrong, he gets punished, and that's it. He acknowledges that praying to Jesus might save him, but he claims that he doesn't need that kind of help. The Misfit's attitude, in general, is apathetic toward any notion of morality—he simply does what he wills. When the Grandmother makes her final grand gesture, reaching out to The Misfit as if he were her son, he shoots and kills her. With the story's final line, however, the Misfit chastises his henchman for taking pleasure in the killings, and we get the sense that something about the encounter might have changed him.

Hiram and Bobby Lee

The Misfit's sidekicks

Describe Red Sammy (A Good Man is Hard to Find)

The owner of the Tower restaurant. He is a old man according to the grandmother. He says "a good man is hard to find"

Bailey (A Good Man is Hard to Find)

The patriarch of the story's central family, Bailey is the Grandmother's son and June Star and John Wesley's father. Despite the constant distractions from his mother and children, he simply wants to go on a trip to Florida as planned. He is reluctant to take a detour to visit the house that the Grandmother remembers, and only gives in to stop being harassed by his children. Bailey seems to be a weary and irritable figure, worn down by the constant conflict in his family—particularly his mother's self-righteous nagging and his children's insolence.

Elisa Allen

The protagonist. A robust thirty-five-year-old woman, Elisa lives with her husband, Henry, on a ranch in the Salinas Valley. Even though Elisa is associated with fertility and sexuality, the couple has no children. She is a hard worker, her house sparkles, and her flowers grow tremendous blooms. Nevertheless, Elisa feels trapped, underappreciated, and frustrated with life.

Flannery O'Connor attended

University of Iowa

Mrs Turpin

large in size, very racist, gets a book thrown at her

Mary Grace

reading in the summer, was in college, had an acne problem, called Mrs. Turpin a hog, throws a book at Mrs. Turpin, 18- 19 years old

Theme of a good man is hard to find

the elusive definition of a good man

John Steinbeck (1902-1968)

• A prolific writer with 16 novels, five compilations of short stories, and numerous books of non-fiction. His style is diverse: from sometimes comical novels like Cannery Row (1945), epic novels like East of Eden (1952), novellas, such as Of Mice and Men (1937), and his masterpiece, The Grapes of Wrath (1939). • A lot of Steinbeck's narratives takes place in the Salinas Valley in California (where he is from), which makes him a regionalist. • His themes are social justice, the human condition, connection to the land, comradeship, marginality, etc. • Steinbeck is also a writer of literary naturalism: his characters have dreams, but find it difficult to rise above their condition in a disinterested universe (local and existential).