The 20th century swept Western society with drastic changes in nearly every aspect of life. As World War I kicked off a new era, gone were the days of Victorianism and high society; cultural expectations and class lines were blurred, and people everywhere were forced to adjust to a new age of modernism. While this shift in lifestyle was virtually worldwide, however, fewer places encountered a brasher shove into reality than did the Deep South. It was into this turmoil that Mary Flannery O’Connor was born.