Proposal

My inspiration for this Southern Journey across the "Bible Belt" was inspired by my new favorite southern writer Flannery O'Connor. I am a sophomore at the University of Texas at Austin that has recently taken an American South Literature course. Before I enrolled in the class, my only thought was, "I've lived in the southernmost tip of Texas for my entire life, this should be simple." Little did I know that my view of the South was not correct at all. On the first day of class, my classmates and I had to go around the classroom and consider what themes we thought characterized the region. Religion was one that was a unanimous characteristic, and one that I have researched throughout the course. Because of this fascination with religion in the South, Flannery O'Connor is an obvious figure to fall in love with. At first I didn't know what to make of her work. Her short stories seemed cold and dispassionate, always ending in either horrendous, freak fatalities or a character's emotional devastation. However, in reality her writing is full of meaning and symbolism. "O'Connor is considered by many to be one, if not the only great Christian writer this nation has produced"(Ralph Wood). She is successful in achieving what few Christian writers ever have; a style of writing that delves into both literary and religious grounds, and succeeds in doing justice to both. "Not the cotton Belt, not the tobacco belt, but the ugly word, the Bible belt, and for O'Connor that was the glory of her region"(Wood). Coming from a small Southern community that is deeply rooted in its Catholic background, I found myself able to relate with many of the values that O'Connor had. My main objective for this journey is to travel to Milledgeville, Georgia to see the house that helped inspire some of O'Connor's works and housed her until the end of her short life. Along the way, I will visit Cathedrals, gospel recording studios, and hidden religious gems that I hope will paint a vivid picture of the religous life that is still strongly present in the American South. This journey is one that is intended so that I can witness the environment in which O'Connor set her writing in, while also rejoicing in the word of God with other Catholics across the South.