Violence and the Grotesque

I'm leaning toward writing my paper on O'Connor's use of the grotesque in her writing, in particular the use of excessive violence and her discussion of the "dragon" on the side of the road.

I have found some interesting sources on this topic, including the book "Nightmares and Visions: Flannery O'Connor and the Catholic Grotesque" by Gilbert H. Muller. The book may be a little dated, but is interesting nonetheless.

In a chapter on "Violence and the Grotesque," Muller defends O'Connor's use of excessive violence. It is not gratuitous, he writes, or "used to exploit current tastes." It is a "strategy... to show precisely how the destructive impulse brings the horror of man's grotesque state home to him."

The violence within her stories is typically brought on by the behaviors of the characters themselves, he argues, and the violence serves a "revelatory" purpose: "... violence crystalizes the circumstances surrounding their damnation and reveals the extent of their defective natures. The violence inflicted against these travelers forces them to confront the terror of the human condition without God."

As O'Connor is a Christian writer, Muller goes on to tie this into O'Connor's way to force people to confront evil. I would argue that this shows how the violence in her work is not gratuitous, but rather necessary, as it forces the characters, and her readers, spiritual or secular, to face down the dragon.