A Good Man Is Hard to Find: We See Many Forms of Good Verses Evil
Gavan Evans
Mr.Hurt
English 112-70
8 February 2006
A Good Man Is Hard To Find On earth, we see many forms of good verses evil. It has been a matter of debate since the beginning of humankind. Flannery O ' Connor 's "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" deals directly with this conflict. Flannery O ' Conner uses the phrase "a good man is hard to find" to help define her view of the decline of kindness in her southern culture. She also uses this phrase to open up the debate to include Christianity and its over all effect on the issue, as well as to the question what really defines someone as being "a good man." A Good Man is Hard to Find symbolizes the Christian faith through symbolism, the theme, and the characters. Before the story begins, O 'Connor provides us with a quote. It says. "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" (St. Cyril of Jerusalem 644). This quote gives an overview of the story 's events. The Dragon relates to how the family sets out on a road trip to Florida and the Misfit and his accomplices consequently devour the family. The Misfit exemplifies the dragon with his appearance. He finds the family on the side of the road just like the quotes states, "The dragon is by the side of the road " Then he literally devours them, and finally delivers the grandmother to the father of souls. There is a lot of symbolism in this story that relates to Christianity. The fact that the family had strayed from the main path onto a side road symbolizes how people often stray from Jesus and follows the wrong path spiritually. The town 's name, Toombsboro is a symbol of death. This was the town that the grandmother thought the old farm was. This was also, where she became sidetracked, again like her faith in Jesus. In the car, John Wesley and June Star were playing a game by guessing the shape of the clouds in the sky. The
Mr.Hurt
English 112-70
8 February 2006
A Good Man Is Hard To Find On earth, we see many forms of good verses evil. It has been a matter of debate since the beginning of humankind. Flannery O ' Connor 's "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" deals directly with this conflict. Flannery O ' Conner uses the phrase "a good man is hard to find" to help define her view of the decline of kindness in her southern culture. She also uses this phrase to open up the debate to include Christianity and its over all effect on the issue, as well as to the question what really defines someone as being "a good man." A Good Man is Hard to Find symbolizes the Christian faith through symbolism, the theme, and the characters. Before the story begins, O 'Connor provides us with a quote. It says. "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" (St. Cyril of Jerusalem 644). This quote gives an overview of the story 's events. The Dragon relates to how the family sets out on a road trip to Florida and the Misfit and his accomplices consequently devour the family. The Misfit exemplifies the dragon with his appearance. He finds the family on the side of the road just like the quotes states, "The dragon is by the side of the road " Then he literally devours them, and finally delivers the grandmother to the father of souls. There is a lot of symbolism in this story that relates to Christianity. The fact that the family had strayed from the main path onto a side road symbolizes how people often stray from Jesus and follows the wrong path spiritually. The town 's name, Toombsboro is a symbol of death. This was the town that the grandmother thought the old farm was. This was also, where she became sidetracked, again like her faith in Jesus. In the car, John Wesley and June Star were playing a game by guessing the shape of the clouds in the sky. The
Cited: Schilb John, John Clifford. Making Arguments about Literature. Bedford/ St. Martin 's 2005 The Student Bible. New International Version. Zondervan 2002