Writing Against God : Language as Message in the Literature of Flannery O'Connor [Paperback]

Joann Halleran McMullen (Author), Joanne Halleran McMullen (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Readers approach Flannery O'Connor's work without knowledge of her Catholicism may find little evidence of it in her fiction. Yet readers who come to O'Connor's work with a prior awareness of her faith believe that her Catholicism suffuses every sentence of her fictional canon. Writing Against God: Language As Message In The Literature Of Flannery O'connor by Joanne McMullen explores the difficulty of reconciling O'Connor's private and public insistence on the importance of Catholicism in her work with the fiction her readers encounter on the printed page. O'Connor wrote voraciously about her adherence to, and support of, Catholic doctrine. Her linguistic choices, however, often move her fiction out of her control producing a message in conflict with the one she says she intended. Through a detailed examination of O'Connor's language in her two novels and in various short stories that span her career, Writing Against God exposes a pervasive spiritual environment often in opposition with the Roman Catholic tenets O'Connor professed. Blending a reader-response approach with linguistic analysis, Writing Against God offers explanations for the mysteries surrounding and the mysteries with O'Connor's fiction. Writing Against God is a superb literary treatise! -- Midwest Book Review --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 179 pages
• Publisher: Mercer University Press; 1st edition (November 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0865546207
• ISBN-13: 978-0865546202
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,232,373 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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5.0 out of 5 stars An interesting collection of essays, August 13, 2011

By 

Dick Marti (Georgia, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Writing Against God : Language as Message in the Literature of Flannery O'Connor (Paperback)

This is a collection of six essays on the subject of the religious symbolism in the works of Flannery O'Connor. The authors point out the meanings of the various symbols O'Connor used in her works. O'Connor was a Catholic and evidently attempted to weave various Christian, specifically Catholic, themes into her stories. The authors demonstrate inconsistencies in O'Connors works that apparently run counter to her stated intentions. Well-written, interesting, and useful for those interested in O'Connor studies.