Flannery O Connor's A Matter Of Balance

In the short story "A Matter of Balance," the main character is shown to be very cautious, never taking risks unless he absolutely has to. An example of this would be where Harold, who is the main character, says, "there was no sense in taking more chances than necessary" (p. 234). This shows how even though he may seem overcautious, he knows what would be a better choice to make in order to survive. They way Harold considers whether or not to help the bikers is another example of how cautious he is. "If he drew them to safety, they would return to what they had been" (p.305). Here, Harold chooses not to take the risk of saving the two men only to have them turn on him. Being followed by those bikers appeared to represent how Harold is getting punished for how he could not save his wife when she needed him, but as the story comes to an end, he realizes that it is not punishment, but rather an opportunity to have revenge for how he was bullied at a young age and could not fight those bullies back.

One of the many types of balance is balance in the literal sense.. An example of this type would be when Harold was running away from the two bikers and made the decision to climb the mountain trail. Since the bikers had neither the skill nor the experience Harold has, they lost their balance, For Harold, staying physically balanced was crucial for many reasons. The most important reason is to make sure he does not fall. Harold realizes that he would certainly be falling to his death if he were to trip and as he said, "the greatest danger was that, for even a split second, he would allow himself to be distracted" (p. 238). This means that no matter what happens, Harold had to stay focused and balance his thoughts, which would take a lot of willpower on his