Flannery O'Connor

O boy, Flannery O'Connor. Everyone who knows me and talks to me about books knows my sad story of Flannery O'Connor. I love to read and when I went to Calvin I thought I would major in English. My first English class, though, was taught by a professor who ONLY had us read Flannery O'Connor, the whole semester. I was so sick of the grotesque.

And then on top of that, I could not get an A in that class, no matter how hard I tried. In high school I was basically an A student with little difficulty, even taking honor courses. But in this class, I couldn't get above a B+ on my papers. I even met with the prof and asked what could I do to this paper to make it an A- instead of a B+. He couldn't give me an answer except that it wasn't A material.

So, stupidly, I told myself I shouldn't major in English if I couldn't get an A. How dumb. I majored in Elementary Education but you also chose a subject major. I chose Psychology and History. I didn't even like History. How stupid was that?

Anyway, to get back to Flannery O'Connor, the group decided to read some of her short stories because they are classics. Dan, one of our members, taught high school English and included a unit on Flannery O'Connor. He brought along his materials. We had a really good discussion. If I'd have kept up on my blogging I could have written more about it. One thing I remember is he said that her stories point out the need for grace. And I guess that is certainly true. I, though, like the stories to actually include grace, and hers really do not.

So, I liked our discussion of these stories and I'm glad we read her. But I don't plan to read her again unless it's some similar situation as this. I was talking to my mom and dad about it and said I didn't enjoy her stories at all. My mom said, "Do you have to enjoy what you read?" And I think my answer is yes, if not have to, I want to.