Views Of American Culture Through The Eyes Of Flannery O Connor And Kurt Andersen

Madison Gunby
Mark Ristroph
English 2130
29 January 2023
Views of American Culture Through The Eyes of Flannery O'Connor and Kurt Andersen Postmodernism is characterized as a rejection of modern everyday or normal society. This characteristic is seen in the works of both Flannery O’Connor’s short story “Good Country People” and Kurt Andersen’s article ‘How America Lost Its Mind.” Both writings depict the ideas of understanding the mindset of those depicted based on understanding the actions that are often not spoken but revealed by those in writing. The idea of going beyond the fantasy that some have regarding the American dream is why the writings and ideas of O’Connor and Andersen’s works are great examples of exposing the ugliness behind

O’Connor does this with the character of Manley Pointer, who is seen as a simple person but shows his wittiness when he manipulates Hulga into giving him her leg and disappearing with it. Pointer states, “You ain’t so smart. I been believing in nothing ever since I was born!” (O’Connor 1380). Andersen provides a similar view of darkness through humor when he writes, "Americans have given ourselves over to all kinds of magical thinking, anything-goes relativism...And most of us haven’t realized how far-reaching our strange new normal has become.” His lighthearted view of Americanized historical events provides the reader with the truth that what America has become is a society that makes up its reality regardless of whether it is true. The usage of dark humor allowed both authors to expose the wickedness in the actions humor, both at all of this to expose the wickedness in the actions without making the person see the stubbornness of their thought and

America is seen as a Fantasyland by some. However, the reality can be rooted in the ugliness and stubborn behavior of those who believe they are better than others, only to fall victim to their limitations and biases. The rejection of tradition allows Andersen to write about the change in American reality and the ideal of fake news as the standard to debunk anything that does not fit the narrative of America in the shining light. O’Connor did this through her writing of characters where no one is exempt from having a negative side because, as humans, the duality of a person's behavior is that of good and good intentions. Both authors let the readers see the actual image of American culture and, possibly, remove the blindness associated with fantasy and