4. Find Literature Criticism

Once you've narrowed your topic and thought about keywords, try searching the databases below for literary criticism.

Remember there will not be secondary library criticism available on “Submission."

Basic Search: a good first search is just the name of the short story in quotation marks, followed by the word 'and' and the author's last name.

"The River" and O'connor

This general search will show you everything we have on a certain short story (sometimes there is more than others). If there are only 5 articles, you can browse through them. If there are more than 200, you may want to narrow your search a bit by using keywords from your topic.

Narrowed Search: "The River" and O'connor and religion [Remember to search many times with different keywords!]

Remember, though, not to count on keywords too much. If your keywords aren't working, ask a librarian for help!

Search Help: If you are having trouble finding sources, follow some of the tips here.

Literary Databases / Articles

These first 4 databases are the best place to start when looking for literary criticism.

Gale Literature
Gale Literature allows you to search all of Gale’s literary databases and literature eBook titles in one database.
Bloom's Literature
Writings of Harold Bloom as well as other critics. Features author biographies, overviews, synopses, analyses and literary criticism of thousands of works from novels to poetry to plays, video segments, in-depth full-text entries on literary topics and themes and a literary timeline. Proxy Bypass
EBSCO Literature Databases
Search 2 EBSCO literary databases at once: Literary Reference Source and Academic Search Premier. Proxy Bypass

Historical Databases

Historical Sources

If you are looking for sources focused on the historical context of your literary work, try the below databases:

You would want to search terms:in quotation marks "elephant hanging" and erwin or "elephant hanging" and tennessee (location of the hanging) or "Murderous Mary" and elephant or killing and circus elephant and tennessee

Newsbank: Access World News
Includes current and archived news content from more than 12,700 sources spanning 200+ countries and territories including SC Newspapers of Herald -Journal (Spartanburg), The State (Columbia), and The Post and Courier (Charleston).
Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers
Search America's historic newspaper pages from 1789-1963 or use the U.S. Newspaper Directory to find information about American newspapers published between 1690-present. Chronicling America is sponsored jointly by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress.

Page images from selected historic newspapers of 25 states and the District of Columbia, published from 1836-1922. Includes 34 historic South Carolina newspapers published in Anderson, Anderson Court House, Bennettsville, Charleston, Columbia, Edgefield, Georgetown, Laurens, Orangeburg, Orangeburg Court House, Pickens Court House, Rock Hill, Sumter, and Sumterville. Searchable by date and keyword. Viewing options include PDF images, downloadable images, text only, and persistent links for sharing. Includes a searchable and browsable directory of U.S. newspapers from 1690-present.
Gale in Context: U.S. History
Great database for U.S. history; particularly strong reference information.

Other Recommended Resources

Southern Gothic Literature by Jay Ellis (Editor)
ISBN: 9781429838238

Publication Date: 2013-05-30

Available online and at the Giles Campus. This collection will also consider the geographical significance of the genre within the broader field Southern literature.
The Companion to Southern Literature : Themes, Genres, Places, People, Movements, and Motifs by Joseph M. Flora (Editor)
Call Number: Giles Campus Reference PS261 .C55 2001

ISBN: 0807126926

Publication Date: 2001-11-01

The Companion to Southern Literature spans the genres, languages, ideologies, events, culture, literary history, works, and writers that comprise the literature of the South. From incest to grits, topics are wide-ranging and eclectic.
A Companion to the Literature and Culture of the American South by Richard Gray (Editor); Owen Robinson (Editor); Richard Gray (Editor)
ISBN: 9780631224044

Publication Date: 2004-06-18

Available online and at the Giles Campus.
Introduces readers to the variously rich and strange aspects of Southern writing and culture and shows how intimately both are, and always have been, involved in the past and present of the region.
An Introduction to Religion and Literature by Mark Knight
Call Number: E-Book

ISBN: 1441117873

Publication Date: 2009-01-15

Literature also plays an important role in religious writing, as twentieth-century work on narrative theology has acknowledged.
A Dictionary of Literary Symbols by Michael Ferber
Call Number: E-Book

ISBN: 0511481470

Publication Date: 2014-06-10

This is the first dictionary of symbols to be based on literature, rather than 'universal' psychological archetypes or myths. It explains and illustrates the literary symbols that we all frequently encounter (such as swan, rose, moon, gold), and gives hundreds of cross-references and quotations.
The Watkins Dictionary of Symbols by Tresidder, Jack
Call Number: E-Book

ISBN: 978178083579

Publication Date: 2008

A dictionary which traces the meanings of more than 1000 symbols across many cultures.

Attracted to the Dark: a Conversation with Emily W. Pease [Interview]
Interview with author about her work, religion and the setting.
Take Me Home, Country Roads: Let Me Out Here: Stories by Emily W. Pease by Sticca [Review]
Review of the book including information about "Submission."

Coming of Age by Valerie Bodden
Call Number: E-Book

ISBN: 1629695882

Publication Date: 2015-08-01

t features four analysis papers that consider the coming of age theme, each using different critical lenses, writing techniques, or aspects of the theme.
Bloom's Literary Themes: Death and Dying by Harold Bloom; Blake Hobby (Editor)
Call Number: E-Book

ISBN: 9780791097991

Publication Date: 2009-04-30

Literary theme of Death

Sources for "Good Country People" and "The River"

Flannery O'Connor : a Proper Scaring by Jill Pelaez Baumgaertner
Call Number: Giles Campus Stacks PS3565 .C57 Z584 1988

ISBN: 9780877882725

Publication Date: 1988-03-01

This study on O'Connor offers a keen insight into O'Connor's "theology." Baumgaertner provides lucid backgrounds for studying a Roman Catholic author writing about Protestant Fundamentalists of the South. Chapter on "The River" and "Good Country People."
Flannery O'Connor and the Mystery of Love by Richard Giannone
Call Number: E-Book

ISBN: 0585195293

Publication Date: 1999-01-01

Chapter on "The River" and "Good Country People."
Flannery O'Connor by May, Charles E.
Call Number: E-Book

ISBN: 9786613665812

Publication Date: 2012

Includes literary criticism on the author's short stories

Sources for "Araby"

The Handy Literature Answer Book : an Engaging Guide to Unraveling Symbols, Signs and Meanings in Great Works by Daniel S. Burt; Deborah G. Felder
Call Number: E-Book

ISBN: 1578596351

Publication Date: 2018-07-01

How to read different kiinds of literature including short shorts and poetry, Has chapter on Araby
Suspicious Readings of Joyce's Dubliners by Margot Norris
Call Number: E-Book

ISBN: 0812237390

Publication Date: 2003-09-22
Bloom's Literary Themes: Sin and Redemption
Call Number: E-Book

ISBN: 9781604134469

Publication Date: 2010-05-30

This has a chapter on Flannery O'connor's short stories that may be useful.

General Resources

Andrew Siegrist Rides the Winding River of the Human Spirit in We Imagined It Was Rain by Lauren Turner [Article]
Short article about the book and mentions the story.
Grief and Illusion in “We Imagined It Was Rain” by Lacey Lyons [Interview]
Interview with the writer, does not mention Mary but talks overall about his writing.

Sources for "How to Hang a Circus Elephant"

The Day They Hanged an Elephant in East Tennessee by Joan Vannorsdall Schroeder [Article]
An article about incidence.
A Town Comes to Peace: The Elephant in the Train Yard by Joan Vannorsdall [Article]
Article about the town who hung the elephant and the legacy of it.

The Day They Hung the Elephant by Charles Edwin Price; Randy Hodge (Illustrator); Anne LeCroy (Foreword by)
Call Number: Reserves for ENG 102

ISBN: 0932807755

Publication Date: 1992-01-01

The story of "Murderous Mary", the elephant hanged for murder in Erwin, Tennessee, 1916.
Bloom's Literary Themes: The Grotesque
Call Number: E-Book

Publication Date: 2020

The grotesque, often defined as something fantastically distorted that attracts and repels, is a concept that has various meanings in literature.

Sources for "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?"

Literary Contexts in Short Stories : Joyce Carol Oates's 'Where Are you Going, Where Have You Been?'
An exploration of the short story

Joyce Carol Oates by Greg Johnson
Call Number: Giles Stacks PS3565 .A8 Z69 1994

ISBN: 9780805708578

Publication Date: 1994-03-01

Contains analysis of the author's use of Gothic, female narration, allusion, and more

Sources for "Shooting an Elephant"

Bloom's How to Write about George Orwell by Kim E. Becnel
Call Number: E-Book

ISBN: 9781438175942

Publication Date: 2017-02-01

There is a chapter on "Shooting an Elephant."
Orwell and Empire by Douglas Kerr
Call Number: E-Book

ISBN: 9780192864093

Publication Date: 2022-10-14

It pays particular attention to work that derives directly from his Burmese years, including the well-known narratives 'A Hanging' and 'Shooting an Elephant' and his first novel, Burmese Days.

Sources for "Hills Like White Elephants"

Readings on "Ernest Hemingway" by Katie De Koster (Editor)
Call Number: Giles Stacks PS3515 .E37 Z75455 1997

ISBN: 1565104633

Publication Date: 1996-08-01

Criticisms focus on themes in Hemingway's stories
The Hemingway Short Story by George Monteiro
Call Number: E-Book

ISBN: 1476629188

Publication Date: 2017-05-19

Includes discussion of Hemingway's use of narration
New Essays on Hemingway's Short Fiction by Paul Smith (Contribution by, Editor); Nancy Comley (Contribution by); Robert Scholes (Contribution by); James Phelan (Contribution by); Susan F. Beegel (Contribution by); Debra A. Moddelmog (Contribution by)
Call Number: Giles Stacks PS3515 .E37 Z7467 1998

ISBN: 0521553822

Publication Date: 1998-05-28

Search for Books & eBooks

Use the search box below to search the SCC Library Catalog for physical books (in one of our library locations) and eBooks. You can also open the Library Catalog or use the Advanced Search for more search options.