In this paper the author looks at the works of Flannery O'Conner and notes that they are works of
fiction generally populated
by
misfits and freaks. The author moves on to closely examine the character of Hulga in 'Good Country People', Misfit in, 'A Good Man is Hard to Find', and Julian and Mrs. Chestney in, 'Everything that Rises Must Converge'. From the paper: "In all these stories, O'Connor uses violence and ugliness to shock her characters into reality, and prepare them for their
moment of truth and grace. Often that grace is shocking, in fact, devastating to their self-image and their self-constructed world. And often that moment only comes just before death, and even so, does not save them from death."