Fences
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The Southern Gothic literary tradition captures a region haunted by a legacy of civil strife. The genre has become not just a hallmark of American literature but also a tradition which explores human nature as a whole. Author Flannery O’Connor is especially representative of the Southern Gothic. Her work portrays a post-Reconstruction South haunted by race conflict, class tensions, and evangelical piety. Using a grotesque lens, O’Connor explores mortality, race, and religion in an engaging and meaningful manner. In order to write my own Southern Gothic novel as part of this creative thesis, I have read and analyzed some short stories by Flannery O’Connor, as well as her book Mystery and Manners, which details her writing process and style. In a review of Flannery O’Connor’s writing, I will explore how O’Connor created her rich Southern Gothic writing world through her use of setting, characters, and style. Through a creative thesis inspired in part by this tradition, I hope to find my voice as a young aspiring fiction writer from the very southernmost tip of Texas.