Flannery O Connor's A Matter Of Balance

In the short story "A Matter of Balance," the main character is shown to be very cautious, never taking risks unless he absolutely has to. An example of this would be where Harold, who is the main character, says, "there was no sense in taking more chances than necessary" (p. 234). This shows how even though he may seem overcautious, he knows what would be a better choice to make in order to survive. They way Harold considers whether or not to help the bikers is another example of how cautious he is. "If he drew them to safety, they would return to what they had been" (p.305). Here, Harold chooses not to take the risk of saving the two men only to have them turn on him. Being followed by those bikers appeared to represent how Harold is getting punished for how he could not save his wife when she needed him, but as the story comes to an end, he realizes that it is not punishment, but rather an opportunity to have revenge for how he was bullied at a young age and could not fight those bullies back.

In this short story, balance works on many levels.

One of the many types of balance is balance in the literal sense.. An example of this type would be when Harold was running away from the two bikers and made the decision to climb the mountain trail. Since the bikers had neither the skill nor the experience Harold has, they lost their balance, For Harold, staying physically balanced was crucial for many reasons. The most important reason is to make sure he does not fall. Harold realizes that he would certainly be falling to his death if he were to trip and as he said, "the greatest danger was that, for even a split second, he would allow himself to be distracted" (p. 238). This means that no matter what happens, Harold had to stay focused and balance his thoughts, which would take a lot of willpower on his

part.
It was rather clear from the beginning of the story that Harold feels guilty for some of the things that have happened to him. This is evident in the way that he recalls his memories and past experiences to make a decision. For instance, when Harold says, "they reminded him of kids from is public school days who used to block the sidewalk" (p. 232). In the quote, Harold is making a connection of the boys who bullied him when he was young and the two men who he suspects are about to follow and try to harm him. From being bullied at a very young age to his wife dying Harold has had many misfortunes in his life. Both those misfortunes were factors in him deciding to not save the bikers. An example of this would be when he decides to not aid the bikers and says, "help never comes when it is needed most" (p. 243). This could possibly mean two things. Firstly, how the bikers begged him for help and he chose to only save himself instead, and lso, how he was not there to help his wife when she needed him, which proves how he is still guilty and blames himself over what has happened to her.