{"id":{"repo_id":"uiuc","oai_identifier":"oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/77306"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/uiuc/oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/77306","repository":{"repo_id":"uiuc","name":"University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign","base_url":"https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh"},"display":{"title":"Controlled Distance: Internal Character Presentation in Flannery O'Connor's Short Stories","abstract":"This dissertation explores the nature and function of narrative distance in Flannery O'Connor's short stories. Narrative distance, in its most general sense, involves the position from which readers view fictional characters and the worlds they inhabit. In stories like O'Connor's, third-person structures which rely heavily on internal character presentation, the study of narrative distance focuses on techniques used to take the reader inside the consciousnesses of characters. O'Connor's stories were chosen as the subject of this study because they share a consistency of design and purpose rarely found in modern fiction. Her exclusive use of third-person narration, her preference for single-character focus, and, perhaps most significantly, the overwhelmingly consistent rhetorical thrust of her stories make them appropriate candidates for a study of narrative distance.","abstract_html":"This dissertation explores the nature and function of narrative distance in Flannery O'Connor's short stories. Narrative distance, in its most general sense, involves the position from which readers view fictional characters and the worlds they inhabit. In stories like O'Connor's, third-person structures which rely heavily on internal character presentation, the study of narrative distance focuses on techniques used to take the reader inside the consciousnesses of characters. O'Connor's stories were chosen as the subject of this study because they share a consistency of design and purpose rarely found in modern fiction. Her exclusive use of third-person narration, her preference for single-character focus, and, perhaps most significantly, the overwhelmingly consistent rhetorical thrust of her stories make them appropriate candidates for a study of narrative distance.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Ludwig, Dale Leslie"],"institution":"University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign","degree_name":"Ph.D.","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Speech Communication","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Maclay, Joanna H."],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2015,"date_issued":"2015-05-13T15:38:36Z","date_published":"2015-05-13T15:38:36Z","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:26:10Z","subjects":["Literature, Modern","Speech Communication","Literature, American"],"languages":["eng"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["(UMI)AAI8908758"],"render_values":[{"text":"(UMI)AAI8908758","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/2142/77306","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Maclay, Joanna H."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Ludwig, Dale Leslie"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2015-05-13T15:38:36Z","10000-01-01","1988"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["text"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Speech Communication"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Ph.D."]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Literature, Modern","Speech Communication","Literature, American"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["eng"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/2142/77306","(UMI)AAI8908758"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["This dissertation explores the nature and function of narrative distance in Flannery O'Connor's short stories. Narrative distance, in its most general sense, involves the position from which readers view fictional characters and the worlds they inhabit. In stories like O'Connor's, third-person structures which rely heavily on internal character presentation, the study of narrative distance focuses on techniques used to take the reader inside the consciousnesses of characters. O'Connor's stories were chosen as the subject of this study because they share a consistency of design and purpose rarely found in modern fiction. Her exclusive use of third-person narration, her preference for single-character focus, and, perhaps most significantly, the overwhelmingly consistent rhetorical thrust of her stories make them appropriate candidates for a study of narrative distance.","O'Connor seeks a uniquely spiritual reaction to her work, achieved through a combination of emotional and intellectual responses within her readers. This study argues that through a combination of "opposing" narrative techniques, that is fairly "pure" applications of figural and authorial modes of presentation, O'Connor holds several tensions in balance, effectively harnessing the power of both modes of presentation within a single structure. It is this combination of techniques and responses that creates within the reader the complex experience upon which many O'Connor stories depend.","The issues raised in this dissertation were sparked by an interest in how narrative fiction can be critically explored through oral performance. The field of oral interpretation, out of which this dissertation grows, assumes that the process of bringing a literary text to performance both requires and generates critical insight. Although actual performances are not discussed in this study, the critical issues raised by the consideration of a text's potential performance focus this discussion. In short, this dissertation applies recent research in narrative theory (relying most heavily on the work of Franz Stanzel and Dorrit Cohn) to a rhetorical analysis of O'Connor's stories.","Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-13T15:38:36Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license.txt: 4848 bytes, checksum: 96035ab3f5e1c23cc7138a224ce498bd (MD5) 8908758.PDF: 17126293 bytes, checksum: 0947c0592ab71dd5761d19800cbc478b (MD5) Previous issue date: 1988","Embargo set by: Seth Robbins for item 78517 Lift date: Forever Reason: Restricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETDs","Restricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETDs","U of I Only","419 p.","Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1988."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Controlled Distance: Internal Character Presentation in Flannery O'Connor's Short Stories"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Maclay, Joanna H."],"dc:creator":["Ludwig, Dale Leslie"],"dc:date":["2015-05-13T15:38:36Z","10000-01-01","1988"],"dc:description":["This dissertation explores the nature and function of narrative distance in Flannery O'Connor's short stories. Narrative distance, in its most general sense, involves the position from which readers view fictional characters and the worlds they inhabit. In stories like O'Connor's, third-person structures which rely heavily on internal character presentation, the study of narrative distance focuses on techniques used to take the reader inside the consciousnesses of characters. O'Connor's stories were chosen as the subject of this study because they share a consistency of design and purpose rarely found in modern fiction. Her exclusive use of third-person narration, her preference for single-character focus, and, perhaps most significantly, the overwhelmingly consistent rhetorical thrust of her stories make them appropriate candidates for a study of narrative distance.","O'Connor seeks a uniquely spiritual reaction to her work, achieved through a combination of emotional and intellectual responses within her readers. This study argues that through a combination of "opposing" narrative techniques, that is fairly "pure" applications of figural and authorial modes of presentation, O'Connor holds several tensions in balance, effectively harnessing the power of both modes of presentation within a single structure. It is this combination of techniques and responses that creates within the reader the complex experience upon which many O'Connor stories depend.","The issues raised in this dissertation were sparked by an interest in how narrative fiction can be critically explored through oral performance. The field of oral interpretation, out of which this dissertation grows, assumes that the process of bringing a literary text to performance both requires and generates critical insight. Although actual performances are not discussed in this study, the critical issues raised by the consideration of a text's potential performance focus this discussion. In short, this dissertation applies recent research in narrative theory (relying most heavily on the work of Franz Stanzel and Dorrit Cohn) to a rhetorical analysis of O'Connor's stories.","Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-13T15:38:36Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license.txt: 4848 bytes, checksum: 96035ab3f5e1c23cc7138a224ce498bd (MD5) 8908758.PDF: 17126293 bytes, checksum: 0947c0592ab71dd5761d19800cbc478b (MD5) Previous issue date: 1988","Embargo set by: Seth Robbins for item 78517 Lift date: Forever Reason: Restricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETDs","Restricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETDs","U of I Only","419 p.","Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1988."],"dc:identifier":["http://hdl.handle.net/2142/77306","(UMI)AAI8908758"],"dc:language":["eng"],"dc:subject":["Literature, Modern","Speech Communication","Literature, American"],"dc:title":["Controlled Distance: Internal Character Presentation in Flannery O'Connor's Short Stories"],"dc:type":["text"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Speech Communication"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Ph.D."],"thesis:institution_name":["University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:26:10Z"}