Critical Analysis on "A Good Man Is Hard to Find"
Religious Symbolism in "A Good Man Is Hard To Find"
This paper will present a rhetorical context for the use of violence in the short story, "A Good Man Is Hard to Find," as she presented in her essay "The Element of Suspense." The form of classical tragedy in this story will also be analyzed from the critical theories of Aristotle and Longinus. Tolstoy will be used to examine the use Christian symbolism. Nietzsche will provide a more well-rounded universal conclusion to the uses of tragedy and spiritual elements in this classic story.
Flannery O'Connor gave a talk about "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" in 1963 at Hollins College, Virginia, which was published as the essay, "The Element of Suspense In A Good Man Is Hard to Find.'" In this essay, O'Connor defined the reasons for using violence in her stories. To establish a basis of reason within the story, O'Connor stated "Much of my fiction takes its character from a reasonable use of the unreasonable, though the reasonableness may not always be apparent. The assumptions that underlie . . . are those of the central Christian mysteries" ("Suspense" 803). O'Connor placed her characters in seemingly unreasonable situations as a means of creating a sublime experience. Her beliefs were strongly evident in the collected body of her fiction. She commented that, "Belief, in my own case, is the engine that makes perception operate" ("Suspense" 803). Perhaps the strongest influence on her writing was her illness with lupus. O'Connor's struggles with being ill and facing death certainly affected the creation of the characters who awaited a moment of grace.
To justify the use of violence in her fiction, O'Connor stated "in my own stories I have found that violence is strangely capable of returning my characters to reality and preparing them to accept their moment of grace" ("Suspense" 804). Her characters were closed-minded and self-centered. "Their heads are so hard that nothing else will for the work," was her justification
This paper will present a rhetorical context for the use of violence in the short story, "A Good Man Is Hard to Find," as she presented in her essay "The Element of Suspense." The form of classical tragedy in this story will also be analyzed from the critical theories of Aristotle and Longinus. Tolstoy will be used to examine the use Christian symbolism. Nietzsche will provide a more well-rounded universal conclusion to the uses of tragedy and spiritual elements in this classic story.
Flannery O'Connor gave a talk about "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" in 1963 at Hollins College, Virginia, which was published as the essay, "The Element of Suspense In A Good Man Is Hard to Find.'" In this essay, O'Connor defined the reasons for using violence in her stories. To establish a basis of reason within the story, O'Connor stated "Much of my fiction takes its character from a reasonable use of the unreasonable, though the reasonableness may not always be apparent. The assumptions that underlie . . . are those of the central Christian mysteries" ("Suspense" 803). O'Connor placed her characters in seemingly unreasonable situations as a means of creating a sublime experience. Her beliefs were strongly evident in the collected body of her fiction. She commented that, "Belief, in my own case, is the engine that makes perception operate" ("Suspense" 803). Perhaps the strongest influence on her writing was her illness with lupus. O'Connor's struggles with being ill and facing death certainly affected the creation of the characters who awaited a moment of grace.
To justify the use of violence in her fiction, O'Connor stated "in my own stories I have found that violence is strangely capable of returning my characters to reality and preparing them to accept their moment of grace" ("Suspense" 804). Her characters were closed-minded and self-centered. "Their heads are so hard that nothing else will for the work," was her justification