Question

Can someone please help me with this essay?
Respond in a well-organized essay. Answer is written in complete sentences. 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 you read in 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.

Answer 1

I'm not sure how much I can help with the essay itself, having not read the stories you've read during your semester. I can try to break down the question a bit.
So the two statements by O'Conner, as I interpret them, say that we can only understand a character if we understand the (social) situation they are in; likewise, even a very interesting character will only be able to capture a reader if they are put given the right situation.
So, if you agree with my spin on that, and you might not, I would start by thinking of a character or several characters that stood out to you, then try and tease out what made them stand out, particularly what about their situations made you care about them?