In her essay "Writing Short Stories" Flannery O'Connor says this about characterization: "You can't cut characters off from their society and say much about them as individuals." "You can't say anything meaningful about the mystery of personality unless you put that personality in a believable and significant social context." Consider the quotations above. Then pick a story from Semester A and evaluate how the social context and the characters work together not only to provide a vivid setting, but also to help explain and develop the characters' thoughts, words, and actions.

Question

lockejames · Answer

O'Connor's quote is troublesome as it doesn't account for the Purple Elephant Theory in literature that states, "Characters can exist in a vacuum, void of social and societal interaction as long as the author makes use of introverted characterization." This is exemplified in "The Sisters of Vocational Rehabilitation" by Felony McMasters where the protagonist, Generica, is isolated and still has appropriate characterization.