A Good Man Is Hard To Find Literary Analysis

The stories “A good man is hard to find” by Flannery O’ Connor and “Hills like white elephants” by Ernest Hemingway appear to be different to the reader but when looking beneath the surface the reader can see mutual elements and symbols. The parallel theme are gender roles in society and confronting the inevitable future. For example, The American man in Hemmingway’s story the man insists to his girlfriend nicknamed “Jig” that things can go back to the way they were. In this same occurrence in O’ Connor’s story the grandmother clings to the past and the way things used to be. Also, both main characters in the story have trouble confronting a new identity and are blinded by their perception. This alienates themselves from the people around them. Both main characters are greedy and selfish. In
The American man says certain things such as “It’s really an awfully simple operation, Jig. It’s really not anything. It’s just to let the air in, and “I won’t worry about that because it is perfectly simple.” However, the man is speaking about an operation that he personally will never experience and it is not perfectly simple. He is greedy and selfish for only considering his own feelings instead of his girlfriend’s. The American also fills her head with lies and unrealistic events to further manipulate and persuade her. If she chooses to have the operation one could agree that it will not go back to way things were. There is a struggle confronting a new identity as parents and the past. The characters appear to avoid the topics instead of facing the future. The American man’s selfishness corresponds to the