Synopsis
This book reconsiders Flannery O'Connor, known primarily for her Catholicism. By recovering the historical circumstances in which Flannery O'Connor wrote her fiction, Jon Lance Bacon reveals an artist concerned with the cultural effects of the conflict that dominated American political discourse after 1945: the Cold War. O'Connor resisted the consensus that demanded uncritical celebration of American life - including consumerism. Bacon relates her fiction to political texts, sociological studies, advertisements, movies, television programmes, paintings, editorial cartoons and comic books. This interdisciplinary approach transforms O'Connor from a regional writer, with a religious message that transcends social and political questions, into a national figure, with a secure place in literary histories that address such questions.
From the Back Cover
Flannery O'Connor and Cold War Culture offers a radically new reading of O'Connor, who is known primarily as the creator of "universal" religious dramas. By recovering the historical context in which O'Connor wrote her fiction, Jon Lance Bacon reveals an artist deeply concerned with the issues that engaged other producers of American culture from the 1940s to the 1960s: a national identity, political anxiety, and intellectual freedom. Bacon takes an interdisciplinary approach, relating the stories and novels to political texts and sociological studies, as well as films, television programs, paintings, advertisements, editorial cartoons, and comic books. At a time when national paranoia ran high, O'Connor joined in the public discussion regarding a way of life that seemed threatened from outside - the American way of life. The discussion tended toward celebration, but O'Connor raised doubts about the quality of life within the United States. Specifically, she attacked the consumerism that cold warriors cited as evidence of American cultural superiority. The role of dissenter appealed greatly to O'Connor, and her identity as a Southern, Catholic writer - the very identity that has discouraged critics from considering her as an American writer - furnished a position from which to criticize the Cold War consensus.
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