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A good man is hard to find character analysis
Literary criticism a good man is hard to find
Analyse connie character in where are you going
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A superiority complex is an attitude of superiority that often conceals actual feelings of inferiority and failure. The majority of people who suffer from a superiority complex feel inadequate somewhere deep inside themselves and as a result, treat others as lesser. They consider themselves to be superior to those surrounding them and are often condescending, quick to judge, and observant of the flaws of others. Yet they somehow manage to always overlook their own imperfections. Both Connie, a teenage girl with an inclination towards independence who is enamored with herself, and Grandmother, a self proclaimed lady who is stuck in the past and has no qualms about manipulating others in order to obtain what she desires, have superiority complexes that do not shatter until they are in the face of peril. They each have their respective sudden realizations only moments before they are violently ripped out of their worlds, Grandmother through death, and Connie through abduction. As a result they never get the opportunity to utilize this newfound self awareness. Connie from Joyce Carol Oates's "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been" and Grandmother from Flannery O'Conner's "A Good Man is Hard to Find" are both flawed characters who believe themselves to be superior to others until they reach an epiphany that arrives too late.
Connie, who is incredibly shallow, regards others as beneath her; however, in reality she strives for the attention of strangers because she feels insufficient. Connie feels bad about herself because she feels that her "mother [keeps] picking on her." She makes up for this insecurity by fabricating a false sense of superiority. She is so desperate to eradicate these flaws in herself, which she ref...
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... immediately before it is too late to make any difference in the outcome of their undesirable situation.
It is commonly expressed that bullies are cruel to others because they feel lesser. This belief is linked to the idea of the superiority complex. Similar to Connie, a bully is quick to notice the flaws of others, and, comparable to Grandmother, is readily willing to exploit them. In general, people with superiority complexes do not go out of their way to treat other people kindly, or may even appear to be spiteful, because the majority of the time they are utterly absorbed with themselves. As a result, they will ultimately suffer the consequences, either on a large scale like Connie and Grandmother, or on a smaller scale, like loss of friends or the eventual realization of the flaws that they had previously deemed inexistent.
Works Cited
Short Stories book
Most bullies share certain characteristics. Usually, a bully is bigger than the person he is aggravating. Also, he tends to think highly of himself, normally because he feels inadequate. Thirdly, a bully picks on a person who is different or thinks differently than him. In “Rowing the Bus”, Paul showcases the characteristics of a bully.
Connie is a pretty girl to into her own attractiveness that eventually gets her into trouble with a guy named Arnold. In the beginning of the story Oates say that she had a “habit of craning her neck to glance into mirrors or checking other people's faces to make sure her own was all right” (Oates). In the world that we live in, this desperation exploits a sense of immaturity because she believes everything revolves around whether or not someone is beautiful. Additionally, Connie obsession with herself is so great that “she knew she was pretty and that was everything” which makes Connie look immature (Oa...
Since Connie is a teenager, she relies on her parents to take care of her and provide for her. Even though she fights against her family, they are still the foundation of the only life Connie knows. Her constant need of approval from men becomes a habit for Connie because she doesn’t get approval at home, instead she gets disapproval. “Why don’t you keep your room clean like your sister? How’ve you got your hair fixed-- what the hell stinks? Hair spray? You don’t see your sister using that junk.” Because of this criticism, she isolates herself from her parents. For her, her only way of getting approval is to be independent from her parents and those who are trying to protect her. Connie’s search for independence only comes to her but only in a harsh
Though this story is very dark and painful to read, Connie's actions are realistic enough to connect some readers to the protagonist, thus helping the reader understand the story better. In the short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been”, through juxtaposition and imagery, Joyce Carol Oates makes us believe that Connie fits the character archetype of the typical teenage girl, and creates a connection between the character and the
In addition to demonstrating the value of tolerance, the Grandmother is the first character who serves as a caveat for the public in “A Good Man is Hard to Find”. Throughout the story, the Grandmother attempts to present herself as the archetypical “good”, spiritual old woman. Ironically, she is a particularly repugnant human being. She is set in her archaic mentalities, pretentious, and selfish. In the beginning, her egotism becomes evident when she rejects her family’s desires to go to Florida and insists on traveling to Tennessee, where she could, “visit some of her connections” (O’ Connor 61). Irving Malin, professor and literary critic, also notes that the Grandmother is an unpleasant because she, “…forces her family to obey her… [and] she sees them as an extension of herself…” (Bloom 21). Although she processes a blatant disregard for others, she still considers herself highly. Furthermore, the Grandmother is als...
There are plenty of on this earth who are egocentric. They feel that as if every decision they make is important and feel as if they are more important than everyone else. Flannery O 'Connor explores this type of mindset in her short story A Good Man is Hard to Find. The story focuses on a family of six who are going on a trip from Georgia to Tennessee after the Grandmother reads an article about a serial killer heading to Florida. After stopping to eat, the Grandmother convinces her son Bailey to take a detour; the car crashes, afterwards; they encounter the serial killer and then he kills the entire family. Throughout the story, the Grandmother exemplifies that she may be egocentric, so O 'Connor 's character of the Grandmother feels that
In the story, Oates presents the main character, Connie, as a somewhat bratty teenager that does not have a close relationship with her mother or sister. Her mother shows envy towards her daughter making comments to her such as, “ Stop gawking at
Initially, Oates portrays Connie as an extremely conceded young woman. "She was fifteen and she had a quick nervous habit of craning her neck to glance into mirrors or checking other people's faces to make sure her own was all right." Oates set the tone for Connie's character by that statement alone. It was obvious that Connie was a pretty girl but what was more obvious is that Connie knew it. Connie's conceded quality was first revealed as she "gawked" at herself in a mirror to the point where it angered her mother. I imagine Connie's mother was probably talking to her and realized she was not paying attention to anything she said, fascinated by the reflection.
One of the main characters of the story by Joyce Carol Oates is a fifteen year old girl Connie. She has a conflict with her mother and tries to ignore all comments about her personality. The girl likes to look in a mirror at her face and think that she is pretty. Despite the opinion of her mother, she is really cute. Connie has a long dark blond hair, which is always stacked into a nice hairstyle, and a lovely smile that attract the attention of everyone on the street. The girl was looked like her mother, on the photos where she was young and beautiful. The girl may seem imperceptive and immature because she cannot opposes anything to the reproachful speeches of her mother.
Being sexualized by the boys around her, Connie is self-conscious and finds her worth in beauty. The story even states, “She knew she was pretty and that was everything” (Oates 422). She is concerned about her appearance and what others think of her because she has been taught that she lacks any value outside of physical beauty norms. Arnold Friend, even tells Connie, “...be sweet like you can because what else is there for a girl like you but to be sweet and pretty and give in?” (Oates 432). Between this coaxing and the consistent message about the importance of beauty, Connie is nearly forced to conform to this mentality, which displays the lack of respect for young females as human beings. This in turn leads women to self-degradation as they are consistently viewed as sexual
Bullies like to interact with people who have the same issues as them, because they don’t have to deal with competition. Bullies can be independent, but mostly bullies like to have admirers encouraging their ruthless behavior. When adult cliques bully other people, they usually focus on people who are possible rivals. They do not like to see people’s full potential, because bullies can tell that it can outshine their position in their workplace (“Sanctuary for the Abused”). Troubled adults and children have problems within themselves that they cannot fix, so they tend to take their anger out on people (“Bullying: Characteristics and Interventions”). They like to damage people’s confidence, because they know they do not have good self-esteem. Also, dictators are very reliant on others, because they want people to do their dirty work. When two dictators come together, they can possibly go to war as allies together and make horrific changes in their
“A Good Man Is Hard To Find” by Flannery O’Connor explores the complexity of human nature. The unnamed grandmother is a perfect example of how contradictory a person’s beliefs and standards can be. She is indirectly manipulative, yet she holds herself to a higher, purer standard than the other characters. Not to mention, the grandmother is not as she first appear, and she is stuck on the views of the past and how they apply to her as a lady, whether the views are correct or not.
"Her name was Connie. She was fifteen and she had a quick, nervous giggling habit of craning her neck to glance into mirrors or checking other people's faces to make sure her own was all right" (1). This quote shows the reader an astonishing truth about Connie. It shows her true insecurity that is rarely demonstrated to the outside world. Although she does not necessarily show this to the average bystander, by taking a closer look at her premature idea of acceptance, it also shows her constant yearn for approval from others to help boost her ego. At only the young age of fifteen, she is already attempting to prove her maturity and show that she can be independent. She does this by showing off her sexuality and strutting around. By showing off her
Personality is a unique characteristic each one has. Throughout "Where are you going, Where have you been", and "Good men are hard to find" depicts various individuality throughout. Connie and the grandmother, the victims, display similar trait, struggling between reality and fantasy, but differ to some extent. Connie was a dreamer who got herself deep into the fairytale of romance, and movies that left her in a situation in reality she was not prepared for, when Arnold Friend, representing evil came up to her driveway. On the other hand, the Grandmother lived her life relating to the way she used to do things in the past, picturing how good life was back then, and children were well-mannered before. On contrary, the victims experience with
A person’s self-esteem or self-image can be extremely effected by bullying. Bullying may seem like a fun at the time but the consequences can be very damaging to the way a person sees himself or how others see him. Bullying has a negative effect on a person’s self-esteem and can make him depressed in life, but this is not just limited to the person who is bullied but also the person being the bully. (Seals, D., & Young, J. 2003.) When a person is bullied he start to believe the comments that are made about him and he can start to think less highly of himself. If a person has low self-esteem it came make him care less about himself or others. If having a low self-esteem makes him give up on others he may become withdrawn from people that he once cared for dearly, which can make him become lonely and self-kept. If he would start to care about himself less it can make him stop thinking he is important and of value, which in return can make him stop trying in life and give up on his dreams or goals. Something that effects a person’s self-esteem also effects the way ...