Effect of Violence

Flannery O’Connor believed that violence was the key to not only return characters to reality and have them accept their grace, but revealed the essence of humanity itself. Of course to consider the truth of such a statement one has to look at what exactly violence is. Upon hearing the word violence, the mind jumps to the physical implications of abuse or harm. The type of violence that is found in O’Connor’s short story “A Good Man is Hard to Find” however in “Good Country People” another one of O’Connor’s short stories there is a different definition of violence used. That definition of violence is an unjust use of power to intimidate.
Those are two very different ideas of violence, so how it is the key to return characters to reality much less reveal the essence of humanity? The first part of that question could easily be agreed upon wholeheartedly for the most part as nothing seems to bring a person back to reality faster than a violent event. Something that is fairly obvious in O’Connor’s stories due to their levels of realism. This only leaves the question of what is the essence of humanity that violence brings out. Certainly, a weighted question that cannot be answered with one or two words, however, it can be answered with two emotions that bleed through in times of violence. Those two emotions are fear and helplessness.
Beginning with “A Good Man is Hard to Find” fear is present from the very beginning. The grandmother does not want to go to Florida and while part of this is due to her desire to visit friends in Tennessee the other part falls to the fact that an escaped criminal known as The Misfit is making his way to Florida. The grandmother claims that she would not even want to take her children in the same dire...

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...eme situations really seem to reveal the essence of not only characters but also, humanity as a whole. It also reveals that no matter what degree or form of violence the essence of humanity bleeds through. However for one to say that humankind’s essence being nothing more than fear and helplessness would be partially incorrect. For even though in both stories the two women were frightened and helpless in the face of violence they still held on to the idea of hope. They held onto the idea that they might be able to reason with the person who had backed them into a corner with no way out.
In conclusion when humankind is forced to face violence of any kind, it boils down to being helpless and full of fear, but also hopeful that there is still good left in people. This is shown in Flannery O’Connor’s short stories “A Good Man is Hard to Find” and “Good Country People”.