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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. Who is the new person to whom Flannery writes in 1962?

2. What is the title of Flannery's second novel?

3. What has Flannery's illness forced her to do?

4. Flannery writes that one of her women friends is going to ___________ in spite of not having won a Fulbright.

5. What is the title of this section?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Sally Fitzgerald's perspective on how Flannery dealt with her illness?

2. What does Flannery write about conversion to her friend, "A?"

3. Which are the main topics Flannery consistently addresses in her letters?

4. How does Flannery use humor in the incident involving the discovery of body parts?

5. How does Flannery integrate formal and regional writing in her letters?

6. What is Flannery's perspective on helping other writers?

7. What is known about the last letter Flannery ever wrote?

8. How does Flannery say she reacted when seeing the scope of the changes on her manuscript?

9. What does Flannery share with "A" about seeing her novel in print?

10. What information does Flannery share about the god, Thor, in one of her letters to John Hawkes?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Flannery O'Connor had a delicious sense of humor and used it liberally. Note two examples of humor which appeal to you in her letters and state why you find them especially humorous.

Essay Topic 2

From what you can glean from Flannery's letters, create a brief character study of Flannery's mother. What does she look like? What are her positive personality traits? What are some of her negative characteristics? What are her hopes and fears? What motivates her in her daily life? What hopes does she have for her daughter?

Essay Topic 3

Prejudice and discrimination against Negroes is a common thread in O'Connor's stories. Given what you know about Flannery, what do you think is her personal opinion on racism? Why would she choose this topic to include in her stories? Is it because it is very much a part of her everyday life in mid-20th century rural Georgia? Explain.

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