Flannery O" Connor is thought by many to be in a league of her own. O"Connor, a Georgia native, went on to pursue a higher education at the Georgia State College for Women in Milledgeville soon after her father's death (Charters, 1116). Not long after her college days, some time in the late 50's, Flannery was diagnosed with Lupus (Charters, 1116). While she was in Milledgeville to undergo treatment, Flannery began to write (Charters, 1116).
To become a story, a literary piece must have eight elements of fiction: Plot, Setting, Point of View, Characterization, Style/Tone, Theme, Conflict, and Symbols. One element that O"Connor stressed in A good man is hard to find and Good country people, is setting. Setting is defined as: "The place and time in which a story's action takes place; also, in a broader sense, the culture and the ways of life of the characters and the shared beliefs and assumptions that guide their lives" (Charters, 1781).
Flannery O"Connor stated "There are two qualities that make fiction: One is the sense of mystery and the other is the sense of manners. You get the manners from the texture of experience that surrounds you and the sense of mystery is the authors own"(Milder, 1). In both stories a major part of the setting is the country that surrounded her, the south. One should assume that O"Connor would write about what she knows. O"Connor was no stranger to the country for the reason that she did grow up in the south and on a 500 acre dairy farm (Charters, 1116). .
Upon examining the two stories one will discover the South is a major contributor to the setting. For example the Bailey family in" A Good Man Is Hard to Find", are Atlanta, Georgia natives. They are a middle class family, who has a grandmother that believes in herself as a true Christian. In "Good Country People", the three southern females find themselves contradicting their southern morals and beliefs of their selves and others.
