A Good Man Is Hard To Find Short Stories

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

Flannery O’Connor was an American author who often wrote about characters who face violent situations. These situations force the characters into a moment of crisis that awakens or alters their fate. Her short stories reflect her Roman Catholic faith and frequently discuss questions of morality and ethics. O’Connor’s Catholic upbringing influenced most of her short stories, often accumulating criticism because of her harsh portrayal of religion. O’Connor incorporates the experience of a moment of grace in her short stories to contribute to the meaning of her works and to represent her faith.

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.

Although he knew what Walt had done to Marcia and still had two children with Billie it was unforgivable. He had that feeling of guilt and he was not to let Walt acknowledge the newly information Chris had discovered in California. Instead he was to rebel and to slowly disclude himself from the family that he felt ashamed of. Truth is what young McCandless was greatly affected of the news that his father had given him about Walt’s first wife. In a way it seemed that Mr. McCandless had lost himself and that is what influenced the ideas of his pursuit of happiness was only capable in the wild where you come to the truth. It’s like a test it shows you the true meaning of surviving this dog eat dog world, it is where it tests your faith, your strength (physically and mentally), and your will to have an open mind. That is what Mr. McCandless craved the purity of the bonds between individuals but he was disgusted of the wrong his father’s doing. That is what caused his reactions of the need of finding some type or form of purity and true beauty. Yes Mr. McCandless had the money, had the education, and had his future set, but to him none of that mattered, that credibility of loyalty played a major factor on the decision he made to have no further communications with his parents, the truth is the purpose of all Mr. McCandless’s choices and

After all McCandless has been through, he probably never did figure himself out. In my opinion, I believe that he did his extravagant, dangerous, and also stupid adventure to truly find himself and to get away from the judgmental society of back in the day. His death may not be at an all lose due to the fact that he found out what it really meant to live without the knowledge

His curiosity and adventurous spirit started from a young age when at 2 years old he was to walking into the neighbor’s house in the middle of the night looking for some candy. In high school he was a runner. If one looked for a deeper meaning in this you could say he was already running from his father at that time. He found a sense of spirituality in running that he found no other place. Being captain of his cross county squad showed he had leadership abilities. McCandless had a social conscience at a young age when most boys are thinking about girls. I found it very interesting that McCandless had a lot of jobs as a child and was a great salesman. He didn’t care about money but like the fact it was easy for him to make.

I believe that McCandless compassion is the most enigmatic part of his story. It is clearly central to his personality for his whole life he spends in weeknights in high school bringing burgers to homeless people and yet he shows almost no compassion in dealing with his parents once he is in college. He willingly and intentionally leaves them in a state of unhappiness while he travels, and his disregard for his own safety and wellbeing.

When McCandless found out about his father’s second family is when he lost all respect for his father and was never able to forgive him. Many people believe that his relationship with his father is what initially drove him away. However, it was both parents who tried to control every aspect in his life which set him off. After graduating college, just

McCandless can be described as a Caterpillar breaking through the unbreakable cocoon and spreading his wings to fly. He loved the life he lived and for him it went from all negative to positive by leaving home. The reasons why McCandless left home were exceptionally justified. McCandless became tired of being around self centered rich people whom only cared about their possessions in life. He grew tired of being around people who were not connected to nature and the real world. This is evident when Billie says, “Chris started

Nor could anyone in his family have foreseen that a chance discovery during this initial journey would ultimately turn him inward and away, drawing Chris and those who loved him into a morass of anger, misunderstanding, and sorrow.” (116) Instead of trying to work out issues with his family, McCandless turns the other way and leaves his problems behind. He leaves his parents feeling remorseful about not spending enough time with him when he was younger. It is undeserved for a parent to have to live everyday feeling regretful due to their son’s faint-hearted negligence. His decision to completely leave his family without a word is not right, hence him being a coward.

Flannery O’Connor’s devout Catholicism and childhood in rural Milledgeville, Georgia, along with her Lupus diagnosis influence the tone and topic of “A Good Man is Hard to Find.” While O’Connor stated that she did not intend to have her Lupus influence her writing, her efforts were unsuccessful. Even though she never mentions the disease by name, O’Conner’s personal battle with the debilitating medical condition is addressed in her writing. In contrast, O’Connor intended to have her Catholicism shine through in her literary works, and she was able to succeed in doing so as she is often called “the Christian writer.” Both her Catholicism and Lupus go hand-in-hand with

A good man really is hard to find. But what is the real definition of a real man? Maybe it is not just the prince charming you see in fairy tales or the perfect guy walking down Sixth Ave. that you pass by everyday to work. Maybe a good guy is simply someone that is good what they do. In this case the relationship between the grandmother and the misfit is just that. The only thing is if the reader sees it as clearly as the author would like them too or simply as she does.

Even though McCandless and his father did not have the best relationship, this relationship still served its purpose of shaping McCandless into the person he became.

Throughout the short story, “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” a grandmother goes on vacation in Florida with her son and his family. She is wary of an escaped criminal who may possibly be there, but no one takes her worry into consideration. The family eventually comes face to face with the criminal and lose their lives because of it. In “A Worn Path,” an elderly woman begins a long and tiresome journey in an effort to reach a town to acquire medicine for her sick grandson. The stories “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” written by Flannery O’Connor, and “A Worn Path,” by Eudora Welty, have distinctly different writing styles that impact the story and how they utilize certain literary devices throughout them. The setting, point of view and imagery

Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find’ tells of a seemingly normal family with a bit of dysfunction. Throughout this tale, the author fabricates a number of characters, some inconsiderable, others full of depth and history that present themselves wildly open to interpretation. Looking into O’Connor’s past, it is clear to see her relationship with a number of these fictional minds and pull from these the meaning behind her hidden pain and anguish. We are therefore presented with a mother and sons family who are prisoners in a manipulative, destructive relationship.