A Good Man Is Hard To Find And The Displaced Person

St. Cyril of Jerusalem once said, “The dragon is by the side of the road, watching those who pass. Beware lest he devour you. We go to the father of souls, but it is necessary to pass by the dragon.” In this quote, St. Cyril is warning his listeners to resist temptation, which is represented by the dragon, and in turn, encouraging them to seek deliverance from their personal weaknesses. This quote is vastly applicable to many of Flannery O’Connor’s stories, which tend to feature flawed characters who struggle with temptation and find, or fail to find, redemption. Three of O’Connor’s stories that relate to this concept are “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” “The Life You Save May Be Your Own,” and “The Displaced Person.” In these stories, the
For example, when she accidentally leads the family down the wrong road because she confused her states, she “decided that she would not mention that the house was in Tennessee” (12). Due to her extreme pride, she refuses to admit her mistakes. She also remains prideful throughout most of her conversation with the Misfit. In her pride, she believes she can handle the situation herself by attempting to bribe him, convert him, and appeal to his better nature (18). However, she is not able to move his heart until she overcomes her temptation, discards her pride, and accepts him as a fellow human being as a part the family of humanity. Although she dies, she is able to provoke thought in the Misfit and also achieve her own salvation
Shiftlet, both Mrs. McIntyre and Mr. Shortley from “The Displaced Person” are also tempted by selfish desires. Instead of greed, however, their vice is believing in their own self-importance and supremacy over others. Although at first Mrs. McIntyre is satisfied with the Displaced Person and his work ethic, she later grows extremely upset with him when he tries to bring his cousin over from Poland to marry one of Mrs. McIntyre’s black workers (247). Even though the Displaced Person does not understand American social standards, Mrs. McIntyre is furious that he has the audacity to go over her head and potentially ruin the present circumstances of her domain, adamantly asserting that, “this is [her] place… [She] say[s] who will come here and who won’t,” and that “[he] should be grateful to be here” (248). Mr. Shortley, although he has no authority on the farm, is similar to Mrs. McIntyre in that he believes that he is above the Displaced Person in terms of status. He feels that because he is white and has “fought and bled and died in the service of his native land,” he should not have been dismissed, and holds resentment towards the Displaced Person for taking his place (255). After ultimately having a hand in the Displaced Person’s death, Mr. Shortley again abandons the farm, never attaining salvation, and Mrs. McIntyre falls into a meaningless and dreary state of life (264). Her melancholy existence is only broken by the unsolicited, yet frequent