Good And Evil In A Good Man Is Hard To Find

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A Good Man is Hard to Find

Many people struggle with the idea of what it means to be a “good” person and what it means to be a “bad” person. We all want to be good, but it's not easy. Everyone has their own opinion about certain issues, and they depend on their values, judgment, and beliefs to see them through their difficulties. In the short story "A Good Man is Hard to Find," Flannery O’ Connor illustrates her argument of good and evil through a grandmother who struggles with her own sense of goodness, and the Misfit who represents evil. In the story a character who views herself as good comes to realize that this goodness that she believes she has cannot protect against the works of evil. …show more content…

O’Connor’s connection between good and evil now becomes relevant between the grandmother and the Misfit. The symbolism of evil appears when they witness a change in the light. “‘Ain’t a cloud in the sky,’ he remarked. ‘Don’t see no sun but don’t see no cloud neither’” (O’Connor 208). This suggests that the "bad" criminal has finally met the "good" grandmother. She quickly points out to him that he "wouldn’t shoot a lady" (O’Connor 208). She sets aside the family’s safety to benefit hers. She tries to convince the Misfit that he is in the same category of people with her. "I know you’re a good man. You don’t look a bit like you have common blood. I know you must come from nice people" (O’Connor 208). In this situation O’Connor is basically explaining that people do anything in life that they believe are good even if their actions turn out to be bad. A true “good” person would be willing to give up their life to be “good,” and there can be no goal in living life other than being good. The grandmother’s use of religion shows her attempt to persuade the Misfit to ask for God’s forgiveness. The grandmother thinks that God will stand by her side because she “thinks” she is a good person, and nothing shall stand against her. The Misfit refuses to listen and believes that God is to blame for all his evil doings. O’Connor states, "Jesus thrown everything off balance" (O’Connor 211). he …show more content…

Truly, Flannery O'Connor’s connection between these two contrasting themes shows the true meaning that somewhere deep inside each and every individual lies the necessity to be good. However, as noted earlier, the spark of true goodness from the Misfit shows clearly near the end of the story. Talking about the Grandmother the Misfit says, "She would of been a good woman if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life" (O’Connor 212). He meant that in the circumstance the grandmother would have made better decisions in life if she were faced with evil every day of her

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