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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which is one of the first publications to pay Flannery for her writing?

2. What distinction does the author say Flannery had?

3. With whom had Flannery lived at the beginning of her career?

4. What medicine does Flannery suggest Cecil Dawson take?

5. What type of parades does Flannery mention in this section?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who are some of the people to whom Flannery writes during this section?

2. What is Flannery's lifestyle after she leaves Yaddo?

3. Why does Flannery say that Catharine Carver's decision to leave Harcourt Brace impacts her life?

4. Where did Flannery go after graduating college in 1945?

5. In addition to the Fitzgeralds, Flannery and William Sessions have another friend in common--how does this friend make Flannery feel?

6. What is the nature of the illness from which Flannery suffers?

7. Who are some of Flannery's earliest contacts?

8. In what slang style does Flannery sometimes slip into in her letters?

9. What is the name of Flannery's home and how does she describe it?

10. What is the purpose of the Editorial Note?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explain the role of women in the rural South in the mid-twentieth century. What precedents do they feel compelled to follow? What restrictions do they have? What freedoms did they have that 21st century women do not have? Why would Flannery both have fit in in rural Georgia while at the same time distinguishing herself there? Explain.

Essay Topic 2

Sadness takes on an almost human persona in these letters. Why did O'Connor's letters have a hint of sadness? What is this literary technique called? Cite examples that support this position.

Essay Topic 3

Ancestry and Celtic heritage take on an almost human persona in the letters. What is the foundation of Flannery's placing such an emphasis on heritage? Is this a typical Southern trait? Or is this a writer's quirk? Or is this simply Flannery's appreciation of the people who had come before her? Explain your opinion.

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