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Flannery O’connor’s Use of Symbolism, Theme, and Religion Essay Example

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Flannery O’connor’s Use of Symbolism, Theme, and Religion Essay Example
Flannery O’Connor’s Use of Symbolism, Theme, and Religion In this essay I will be covering the similarities, differences, and uniqueness of theme in three of Flannery O’Connor’s short stories. The stories I will be discussing are A Good Man is Hard to Find, Revelation, and Good Country People. O’Connor was considered to be a type of religious propaganda. At least one character in her stories had a name or behavior that reflected religion. Her stories most often had an aggressive twist to them. The epiphany in her stories basically always arose from the violent and aggressive twist. In A Good Man is Hard to Find, the key word is “good.” It is also a part of the theme for this story. The grandmother uses “good” as a label for many things in this story including Red Sammy and the Misfit. The grandmother says Red Sammy is a “good” man for his act of kindness toward a couple needing gas but couldn’t afford it. Red Sammy knew the couple would not be back to pay for the gas as they promised, but he let them pump it anyways. When the grandmother encounters the Misfit and realizes who he is, she continues to tell him he is a “good” man, he could be a “good” man if he would just find god, and he could turn “good” if he just made this one exception. Her definition for “good” was anything that met her standards and qualities, even if it wasn’t actually good. In A Good Man is Hard to Find, mistrust and grace are continued throughout the story. Grace is an important theme to O’Connor. O’Connor depicts the grandmother and the Misfit as characters of grace, although, neither of them are deserving of the title. The grandmother implies grace by praying to Jesus that the Misfit won’t kill her or her family, and that he will help the Misfit be a “good” man. The Misfit refers to grace at the end of the story when he mentions that the only pleasure in life was meanness. In O’Connor’s short story, Revelation, grace and religion are portrayed through her characters again. Mrs.
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