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Flannery's "Daunting Grace": O'Connor's Nuanced Portrayals Of Disability, Joanna Horton

English Class Publications

Throughout O'Connor's fiction, we see characters who are marked by suffering or disability. It is tempting to analyze those disabled characters purely as symbols. However, if we understand O'Connors conception of suffering as an experience which prepares us for grace, we may discern which characters receive grace through suffering and which refuse to recognize their need.