A Few Good Men Human Traits

If you were to ask someone what their definition of a happy life would be, they would probably give you an answer like, “having fun.” This is completely untrue in Aristotle’s terms. According to Aristotle, for a man to lead a happy life he must learn each of the intellectual virtues, and practice each of the moral virtues throughout his life. These moral virtues are justice, courage, temperance, magnificence, magnanimity, liberality, gentleness, prudence, and wisdom. With so many virtues to constantly abide by, a man cannot know if he has led a happy life until his life is nearly finished. In the story “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” by Flannery O’ Connor, the question is

The motion picture A Few Good Men challenges the question of why Marines obey their superiors’ orders without hesitation. The film illustrates a story about two Marines, Lance Corporal Harold W. Dawson and Private First Class Louden Downey charged for the murder of Private First Class William T. Santiago. Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee, who is known to be lackadaisical and originally considers offering a plea bargain in order to curtail Dawson’s and Downey’s sentence, finds himself fighting for the freedom of the Marines; their argument: they simply followed the orders given for a “Code Red”. The question of why people follow any order given has attracted much speculation from the world of psychology. Stanley Milgram, a Yale psychologist,

The story I picked is from O’Connor “A Good Man is Hard to Find. I chose this story because of previous stories that O’Connor wrote were fascinating such as “Good Country People.” The titles she uses for her short stories just interest you to read them and figure out what is the meaning behind the title. When I first saw the title I assumed it to be a love story of a young woman looking for a good man to marry after many failed attempts to find him. After you read the story, you will be able to tell I was way off. The thesis to “A Good Man is Hard to Find” is based on selfish characters who believe their way of living or thought is right and could not be questioned but learned the hard way but while ending in violence.

In “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, Flannery O’Connor uses grotesque and flawed characters to reflect her own faith on the Roman Catholic Church. Set in the rural South during the 1950s, O’Connor takes readers on a journey from a satiric family comedy to a brutal cold blooded murder. An analysis of O’Connor’s use of religious symbolism and foreshadowing through characters and setting will be conducted in order to better understand her views and faith of the Catholic Church. This paper will also argue the belief that religious wisdom is the key for moral guidance.

Throughout the play A Few Good Men, there are multiple ethical issues taking place which involve different characters. Some of these ethical issues include, having a lazy work ethic and not caring how personal actions affect other people. In addition to this, other ethical issues include not thinking decisions through fully, and even choosing to follow a superior’s orders when following personal morals would be the better choice. Multiple characters in the play are involved in more than one of these ethical issues.

The short story, “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, by Flannery O’Connor is about betrayal and it reveals that you cannot fully trust someone. In “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” Flannery O’Connor applies situational, symbolic, setting and character archetypes. First off O’Connor utilizes the situational archetype of the fall to reveal the penalty for disobedience. In the short story the grandmother wanted to make a stop but she knew the parents wouldn’t want to then the children started to throw a temper tantrum in the car forcing the dad to stop. This resulted in the family being on a dirt road and getting into a car accident. Furthermore she uses the symbolic archetype, infinite wisdom versus educated stupidity. The Misfit, the criminal, used

Great men need not be good men. Greatness outweighs good qualities in an individual. It is defined as a state of superiority, a quality possessed by several individuals who stand out from the normal social construct. This quality places an individual under the admiration of the masses. It gives the individual a superior advantage over his fellow counterparts in a specific area of interest in which he has attained greatness. One is only regarded as a great when he has reached the pinnacle of success in his area of interest. On the other hand good is a quality possessed by a fairly larger amount of society in comparison to those who possess greatness. Good is a quality that requires an individual to uphold ethically sound qualities in

Each person has inside a basic decency and goodness. If he listens to it and acts on it, he is giving a great deal of what it is the world needs most. It is not complicated but it takes courage. It takes courage for a person to listen to his own goodness and act on it. Pablo Casals

Appearances to O’Connor How individuals are perceived based on their appearances, is just what Flannery O’Connor shows in A Good Man Is Hard to Find. Not just the “beauty” dimension of the appearance, but social judgements, interactions, and relationships held as well. O’Connor portrays this through the characters physical and mental appearance, which contrast with the other characters. Acceptable or not, people are judged on how they look, their altercations with others, and especially how they carry themselves.

The quote: “You can’t handle the truth” is both infamous quote and a theme that is asked within the movie: “A Few Good Men.” Though the movie revolves around the military court system instead of the regular American civil system, it is still relevant as Lance Cpl. Harold Dawson played by, Wolfgang Bodison and Pfc. Louden Downey, played by James Marshall is accused of murder and are up for trial against the Government.

“You’re The Misfit!” she said. “I recognized you at once!” “Yes’m,” the man said, smiling slightly as if he were pleased in spite of himself to be known, “but it would have been better for all of you, lady, if you hadn’t of reckernized me” (O’Connor 575). That is when the family’s road trip to Florida takes a turn for the worst.“A Good Man is Hard to Find” is a short story of a psychologically troubled young adult who seeks revenge on an innocent family. The Misfit is a character who has a great deal of psychological symbolism, who may have had childhood problems, and a character who has questionable moral truths.

A Good Man Is Hard To Find was a story that took place in Georgia, about a family of

“’Yes’m,’ the man said, smiling slightly as if he were pleased in spite of himself to be known, ‘but it would have been better for all of you, lady, if you hadn’t of reckernized me.’”(O’ Conner 8), declares The Misfit in Flannery O’Conner’s short story, “A Good Man is Hard to Find”. The Misfit, who is a very dangerous and psychotic criminal, creates a major problem for this stranded family. Similarly, there is an antagonist who cause major problems in two other short stories, “A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings” written by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and Sherman Alexie’s “Because My Father Always Said He Was The Only Indian Person Who Saw Jimi Hendrix Play ‘The Star Spangled Banner’ At Woodstock”.

Although, we subconsciously express fear daily, the director considered the subject of confrontation between good and evil. While people who recognize evil with their moral intellect, it takes moral courage to act correctly in the response. Political justice is understood as a matter of a degree, while the degree of justice depends on moral integrity, physical courage and political prudence. Unlike John Ford other films, the audience cannot identify with one of the characters in the film, and begin to criticize their actions in the movie. In Pearson’s article, he created a flashback where Doniphon was the “good Samaritan” when he finds Ransom and brings him back to Shinbone. Doniphon is the strongest man, while Appleyard, the representation of law and order is considered last. The weakest of the town law creates an uneasy peace, where Stoddard symbolizes civic peace with his blind eye to form rightful

As people grow old, they start to reflect on their lives. They evaluate what good things they have done and what they have achieved. One can only hope that, throughout their life, they have succeeded to reach all of their goals and attain excellence. No one wants to reflect back on their life and see that it is full of regrets and “what ifs”. By striving for perfection, making the most out of their lives, and taking all opportunities given to them, they will have completed a successful and fulfilling life.