Good Man Is Hard To Find 'And Everything That Rises Must Converge'
Rey � PAGE * MERGEFORMAT �3�
Eduardo M. Rey
Mr. King
ENC1102/Composition II
22 February 2010
Flannery O 'Connor - Single Author Comparison
In her two short stories, "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" and "Everything that Rises Must Converge", O 'Connor reveals much about her identity as writer. Both stories are told in a serious moral tone that set the mood for the reader. The theme of race is brought to life through violent self-realization moments by the main characters. Her writing style is vague and provides little concrete information to the reader up front. Yet, small ironic subtleties at the beginning seem to foreshadow events to come. Religion is not only part of the story, but a defining trait of the main characters. To follow, we …show more content…
This mode is suited for telling sweeping stories involving a surprise ending, so the mode becomes essential in conveying the themes of the two stories. The mode also helps to develop the plot. Both stories share this surprised ending plot structure, where in, or near the end of the story, one of the main characters has an intense moment of self-realization that is usually preceded or followed by severe acts of violence and/or death. In "A Good Man Is Hard to Find", in the last page of the story, the grandmother says to the misfit, "Why you 're one of my babies. You 're one of my own children!"(O 'Connor, pg. 375). Shortly after, the misfit shoots her three times in the chest. Here, the grandmother has a moment where she realizes her bond with all humans - even the non-religious ones. In contrast, in "Everything That Rises Must Converge", Julian was the character who had a moment of self-realization. "Mother! He cried. Darling, sweetheart, wait! Crumbling she fell to the pavement. He dashed forward and fell at her side crying, Mamma, Mamma!"(O 'Connor, pg 410). Julian recognized that he had been too hard on his mom for her beliefs. He seemed to focus only on the racist behavior of his mom, which I think affected him much more than his mom. This indirectly caused Julian to act out in harsh ways towards his mother in attempts to prove to her that her actions toward African-Americans were …show more content…
In "A Good Man Is Hard to Find", It seems to be the underlying reason behind the main characters actions and behaviors. Take for example when the grandmother interrupts a conversation with one of her grandchildren to say, "Oh look at the cute little pickaninny" (O 'Connor, pg 366). The author uses the conversation to further develop and exploit the grandmother 's character obvious racist beliefs. While in "Everything That Rises Must Converge", it seems to be embedded in the class conscious, self-righteousness of Julian 's mother 's actions. When Julian 's mother says, "You remain what you are. Your great-grandfather had a plantation and two-hundred salves" (O 'Connor, pg 402). This shows that she has a profound sense of pride for the way she was raised that overshadows and somehow justifies her racist comments and actions throughout the
Eduardo M. Rey
Mr. King
ENC1102/Composition II
22 February 2010
Flannery O 'Connor - Single Author Comparison
In her two short stories, "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" and "Everything that Rises Must Converge", O 'Connor reveals much about her identity as writer. Both stories are told in a serious moral tone that set the mood for the reader. The theme of race is brought to life through violent self-realization moments by the main characters. Her writing style is vague and provides little concrete information to the reader up front. Yet, small ironic subtleties at the beginning seem to foreshadow events to come. Religion is not only part of the story, but a defining trait of the main characters. To follow, we …show more content…
This mode is suited for telling sweeping stories involving a surprise ending, so the mode becomes essential in conveying the themes of the two stories. The mode also helps to develop the plot. Both stories share this surprised ending plot structure, where in, or near the end of the story, one of the main characters has an intense moment of self-realization that is usually preceded or followed by severe acts of violence and/or death. In "A Good Man Is Hard to Find", in the last page of the story, the grandmother says to the misfit, "Why you 're one of my babies. You 're one of my own children!"(O 'Connor, pg. 375). Shortly after, the misfit shoots her three times in the chest. Here, the grandmother has a moment where she realizes her bond with all humans - even the non-religious ones. In contrast, in "Everything That Rises Must Converge", Julian was the character who had a moment of self-realization. "Mother! He cried. Darling, sweetheart, wait! Crumbling she fell to the pavement. He dashed forward and fell at her side crying, Mamma, Mamma!"(O 'Connor, pg 410). Julian recognized that he had been too hard on his mom for her beliefs. He seemed to focus only on the racist behavior of his mom, which I think affected him much more than his mom. This indirectly caused Julian to act out in harsh ways towards his mother in attempts to prove to her that her actions toward African-Americans were …show more content…
In "A Good Man Is Hard to Find", It seems to be the underlying reason behind the main characters actions and behaviors. Take for example when the grandmother interrupts a conversation with one of her grandchildren to say, "Oh look at the cute little pickaninny" (O 'Connor, pg 366). The author uses the conversation to further develop and exploit the grandmother 's character obvious racist beliefs. While in "Everything That Rises Must Converge", it seems to be embedded in the class conscious, self-righteousness of Julian 's mother 's actions. When Julian 's mother says, "You remain what you are. Your great-grandfather had a plantation and two-hundred salves" (O 'Connor, pg 402). This shows that she has a profound sense of pride for the way she was raised that overshadows and somehow justifies her racist comments and actions throughout the