Compare and Contrast
Brittany Adams
English 102-C01
Short Story Essay
November 26, 2011 A book can’t be judge by its cover, just like a character. Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find” begins with an innocent family vacation ending in a tragic deaths after taking a detour. “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates features a typical teenage girl who begs for attention from males and meets her match at the end. The Misfit and Arnold Friend’s characteristics make them frightening in many ways.
The appearance of a character says a lot about who they are. The way the Misfit is introduce in the story, “A Good Man is Hard to Find” is scary. A family has an accident and they are lying helplessly on the ground. He sees the accident occur and approaches the family. O’Connor writes “It came to a stop just over them and for some minutes, the driver looked down with a steady expressionless gaze to where they were sitting, and didn’t speak. Then he turned his head and muttered something to the other two and they got out” (453). On a dirt road, in the middle of nowhere, just had an accident and three men come riding up, seems a little specious and terrifying. The Misfit has two other men with him and they all get out of the car slowly and stare at the family. O’Connor describes the Misfit, “His hair was just beginning to gray and he wore silver-rimmed spectacles that gave him a scholarly look. He had a long creased face and didn’t have on any shirt or undershirt. He had on blue jeans that were too tight for him and was holding a black hat and a gun” (453). Holding a gun while getting out of “big black battered hearse-like automobile” (453), says O’Connor describing the car, is a little ironic. Normally they irony of an event occurring is the creepy part. The Misfit isn’t the only one with a gun but, O’Connor says, “The two boys also had guns” (453). What makes them threatening is not what they have on but the guns that they are carrying. Under most
English 102-C01
Short Story Essay
November 26, 2011 A book can’t be judge by its cover, just like a character. Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find” begins with an innocent family vacation ending in a tragic deaths after taking a detour. “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates features a typical teenage girl who begs for attention from males and meets her match at the end. The Misfit and Arnold Friend’s characteristics make them frightening in many ways.
The appearance of a character says a lot about who they are. The way the Misfit is introduce in the story, “A Good Man is Hard to Find” is scary. A family has an accident and they are lying helplessly on the ground. He sees the accident occur and approaches the family. O’Connor writes “It came to a stop just over them and for some minutes, the driver looked down with a steady expressionless gaze to where they were sitting, and didn’t speak. Then he turned his head and muttered something to the other two and they got out” (453). On a dirt road, in the middle of nowhere, just had an accident and three men come riding up, seems a little specious and terrifying. The Misfit has two other men with him and they all get out of the car slowly and stare at the family. O’Connor describes the Misfit, “His hair was just beginning to gray and he wore silver-rimmed spectacles that gave him a scholarly look. He had a long creased face and didn’t have on any shirt or undershirt. He had on blue jeans that were too tight for him and was holding a black hat and a gun” (453). Holding a gun while getting out of “big black battered hearse-like automobile” (453), says O’Connor describing the car, is a little ironic. Normally they irony of an event occurring is the creepy part. The Misfit isn’t the only one with a gun but, O’Connor says, “The two boys also had guns” (453). What makes them threatening is not what they have on but the guns that they are carrying. Under most