The use of religion in Good Country People and A Simple Heart

Introduction

According to an American Sociologist Robert Bella, Religion is defined as “a set of symbolic acts and forms that relate man to the ultimate conditions of his existence”. Religion is the belief that influences human lives. From the various definitions, the author sees religion as the belief in the existence and worship of a supreme power that controls our acts (Robert, 13). In this paper I am going to compare and contrast use of religion in two books (Oconner's Good Country People and Flaubert's A Simple Heart). The purpose of this paper is to let the reader know about the importance of religion in people, through this paper readers will have guidance related to religion and they will get to know about the difference in people's perception religion and mainly affects of religion on people's personality and daily living.

Author's Introduction

Mary Flannery O'Connor

“Good Country people” is written by Mary Flannery O'Connor, She was undoubtedly one of the most remarkable talents of American tale. She was born in1925 at Savannah, Georgia (USA). She attended the Georgia State College for Women and the University of Iowa. She lived most of his life in Milledgeville (also in Georgia). Her work reflects features of the southern United States and is based primarily on two novels and two volumes of short stories, sabi Blood (1952) and The Prophets (1960). Her story collections bear the title of a good man easy to find (1955), which ends today the magnificent story "good country people" and the pleasures of home (1965). She died on August 3, 1964 as a result of lupus disease he endured during the last ten years of his life. She used religious themes in her writings, theology of orthodox Christianity is the common theme used by her in her writings (Stephen, 1). The religious fixation in the work of O'Connor is not surprising as she was a Roman Catholic by birth and had strong belief in her religion. Similarly in “Good Country People”, she has used religious theme.

Gustave Flaubert

Gustave Flaubert was born on December 12, 1821, in Rouen, Normandy, and died on May 8, 1880, in Croisset, a country house near Rouen, where he lived with his family, most of his life, for he had to lead a quiet life because of health problems. He was a French novelist. The most important work of its production, "Madame Bovary - provincial customs," was written in 1857. From a literary standpoint, Gustave Flaubert is a writer who is deeply pessimistic at the turn of romanticism and realism. Gustave Flaubert introduced religion into his novels as one of the components of society deserves consideration in its analysis of satirical ridicule, abuse and prejudices of his time. Opposed to the dogmas and idols, freethinker, even anticlerical, it appears however not completely hostile to the religion in which he sees a factor of order (ww.encyclopedia.com).Book Summaries

Oconner's Good Country People

“Good country people” was first published in Harper's Bazaar in ...