Final answer:
Based on A) Flannery O'Connor's education in the literary field and her Southern Gothic style, it is possible she might have been indirectly influenced by Edgar Allan Poe's work. However, there is no direct evidence to support a claim of immense influence; hence, Poe's influence on O'Connor could be considered negligible.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question refers to the influence of Edgar Allan Poe on Flannery O'Connor, a mid-twentieth century writer known for her Southern Gothic literature. Although there is no specific record of O'Connor discussing Poe's influence on her, we can infer the extent of his impact on her writing.
Given O'Connor's deep involvement with literary circles at the Iowa Writer's Workshop and her Southerner background, which had an inherent appreciation for Gothic elements, it is reasonable to believe that Poe's work could have had an indirect influence on O'Connor's themes.
Nevertheless, we do not have direct evidence that O'Connor was significantly influenced by Poe to claim that his influence was immense.
Therefore, the most plausible answer based on available records would be that Poe's influence was negligible (Answer A); this does not necessarily mean that she had no knowledge of his work or intentionally avoided his influence.