Second Reading of "He" and "Good Country People"

Hi! I'm going to go ahead and post on "He" and "Good Country People," tying them into what I am working on with family structures, but I will also post after the discussion questions are posted.

My essay is going to focus on what influences the family structures in Flannery O'Connor's stories. Something that I have been exploring while writing my essay is how the diseases and illnesses affect how the family treats each other in her stories. I first thought of this idea after reading an abstract for an article (I haven't been able to get to the full article) that said that O'Connor's own battle with lupus, "makes makes its way into her fiction not only literally -- through images of blood, disease, death, and twisted parent-child relationships -- but figuratively as well.” I was not able to read this article, and I have not found any other critical resources that make this same kind of connection. Also, I did not want to just say that O'Connor's stuggle with lupus is what caused her to write how and what she did. So, I started to do my own research on how disabilities can affect families. One thing that I am having a hard time with though, is finding recent information on the psychology about having a child with disabilities and then feeling bad applying it to a story that was written before this information may have been common knowledge.

Without putting my whole paper in here, I think some of what I have been finding could be applied to these two stories, especially "He." One thing that I found very interesting and that I think that I could apply to this story, "He," is the five steps that families go through in crises. The first step is impact, then there is denial, grief, focusing outward (seeking information), and then finally closure. I think we can see how these play out in "He." Even though this story does not take place immediately following He's diagnoses, I think these steps are still appropriate with this story, because we can still see how his family reacts to what is going on with him. After the Whipples hear the doctor's recommendation to put Him in the hospital, they hear the information, they say they won't let him out of their sight which is sort of like denial, there is grief, then they talk with each other, which is sort of like reaching out, and then they finally send him to the hospital, but I don't think that they feel closure. I am not sure what this means. I also think it is interesting to consider when noticing how they do not really feel that connected.