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An argument on feminist criticism on a good man is hard to find
Literary analysis of " A Good Man is Hard To Find
Literary analysis of " A Good Man is Hard To Find
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Despite the fact the plot in Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? differs from A Good Man Is Hard to Find, the themes of isolation, manipulation, and violence are present in both short stories. The malicious ideas that arise in both pieces of literature connect to women’s abuse as it became an issue in the late 1960s and 1970s. Both authors emphasize the issue of the violence against women in their stories since marital rape and other forms of abuse had no legal preventions. The authors specifically focus on the emotional abuse experienced by women as serial killers and abusers became popular during this time period and continue to be an issue in today’s society. Based on Leanne Perry’s Step-by-Step Pattern of a Serial Killer, …show more content…
He even states dominantly, “‘. . .honey, I’m not coming in there but you are coming out here’” (Oates, page 377, line 113). This calm statement frightens Connie. She does not want to listen to him, but he gives her no other choice. Arnold also uses mind games to convince Connie to come with him. Arnold’s persuasive techniques cajole Connie into following his orders. As with the theme of isolation, the manipulation does not end. Even as Connie follows Westbrook 3 Arnold’s demands, she knows she will inevitably fall into his trap and be killed, which shows how men have the power to manipulate helpless women. On the contrary, The Misfit gains the grandmother’s trust by distracting her with casual conversation while his gang brutally murders her family. This technique can be linked to The Wooing Phase. In A Good Man Is Hard to Find, The Misfit easily manipulates the grandmother after he rips away her safety. Near the end of her life, the grandmother becomes more hysterical, shouting, “You’ve got good blood! I know you wouldn’t shoot a lady! I know you come from nice people! Pray!” (O’Connor, page 436, line 131). However, The Misfit plays with her mind by making it seem like he will not kill her. As …show more content…
The violence reaches its resolution only after Connie follows Arnold’s orders and goes outside into his arms. Arnold appears to put on a facade as he pretends to be wholehearted. However, in A Good Man Is Hard to Find, The Misfit fails to be sincere as the violence completely destroys the family. He abuses the grandmother emotionally and psychologically as he fills her with false hope for life. Not only did the grandmother have to hear her family be killed, but she also experienced denial and emotional pain. On top of this, while the grandmother tries to make The Misfit feel like he has a family, he shoots her, “The Misfit sprang back as if a snake had bitten him and shot her three times through the chest” (O’Connor, page 437, line 136). The violence the grandmother experiences surpasses the pain that the rest of her family undergoes and shows that men have the ability to harm women in a multitude of ways. Arnold and The Misfit both use different forms of violence to capture and murder their victims. During the late 1960s and 1970s, the abuse of women became an issue and authors began to portray this in their literature. Because Oates and O’Connor were both against the abuse
“You wouldn’t shoot a lady, would you?” the grandmother said while dabbing her eyes with her handkerchief. Looking at the ground, the Misfit says, “I would hate to have to.” “Listen,” the grandmother almost screamed, “I know you are a good man. You don’t look a bit like you have common blood. I know you must come from nice people.” It all happened so fast. The car had rolled and wrecked. A murderer was in the family’s presence. The grandmother was begging for grace from the Misfit in every way possible. The character of the selfish grandmother, in Flannery O 'Connor 's short story, “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” tries to use her manipulative ways to fight
The main theme of this story is that of Connie’s search for independence. Oates portrays this theme by exemplifying Connie’s tendency to frequent places where older people are, in her attempt to quicken her path to adulthood. This theme is also portrayed by Connie’s desire to go with Arnold who is exploiting her need for independence, and in the end forces Connie to grow up faster through cruel means.
...articular particularly symbolic aspect of A Good Man is Hard to Find is the fact that O'Connor is a great deal more elusive in her interpretation than in her other works. The author relies considerably more upon intangible ideals and concepts in which to make her point, which is readily obvious by the style and tone she adopts for the story. "She had her own distinctive, totally unsparing voice, and this novella about a tough old lady and a tougher escaped convict is as black as it gets" (Anonymous 182). In one way, she is trying to encourage both her readers and her characters to take control of their lives, to become empowered by the very events that serve to break down the people in her tale. Yet in another way, she recognizes the fact that people will always be the way they are, and nothing that anyone can say or do will ultimately save them from themselves.
In "A Good Man is Hard to Find," the grandmother is a typical Southern lady. This constant effort to present herself a Southern lady is where her pride is grounded. She criticizes the mother's traveling outfit, but she herself is wearing a prim and proper-and probably uncomfortable-outfit so that "anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady" (O'Connor, "A Good Man" 382). She recalls exactly how to find a certain plantation she used to visit, and the children convince their father to turn the car around. However, the grandmother realizes that the plantation is in another state but is too prideful to admit so. This pride follows her to the point of grace when The Misfit forces her to see reality.
rival’s guard down; to the point she’s invited (possibly more like coerced) to his bed. In addition,
that she omnisciently sees herself walk out to Arnold Friend and her inevitable ruin. Connie steps
Oates is accused of "producing too much" (676). This story is no different. Her exposition is painstaking. She sets the scene by making the main character and protagonist, Connie, parallel to an average girl in the sixties. Oates' narrator introduces Connie using elements of description which puts emphasis on the vanity of the main character. Connie's mother is quickly introduced and is used by the narrator to reveal how much disdain her mother has for her vanity. The narrator uses the main character's mother to introduce her sister, June. One is led to believe that sibling rivalry is one of the many causes that lead to the demise o...
In conclusion, "Where are you going, where have you been?" is full of important symbolism that help to expand the story and subtly helps the reader comprehend the story better. They represent things such as evil, loss of innocence, and the line between freedom and imprisonment. Without these symbols the story would be much less interesting and would have been considerably harder to understand.
Her home ultimately represents the life she has always known—a trouble-free and supportive environment in which she feels safe. Yet the doorway that separates her from Arnold Friend symbolizes a threshold into the unknown, a point of uncertainty that Connie is reluctant to venture into. However, her home remains a constant symbol of stability and safety as Arnold states, “I always tell the truth and I promise you this: I ain't coming in that house after you” (Oates par. 80). Whether or not Arnold’s claim was valid, Connie finds comfort and reassurance that she is protected by her house. Unfortunately, during Connie’s final hypnotic episode, she loses the ability to take control of her decisions and actions, as she has yet to define her own identity. Despite the unconventional behavior of Arnold Friend, he provides her with attention, which is essentially all she has ever desired. Connie’s internal conflict towards the end of the story represents her struggle to decide between saving her home and family or giving in to the demands of Arnold who provides her with the attention she has been seeking. Oates employs this omnipresent usage of symbolism in order to distinguish between the young and innocent Connie who is afraid to leave her house and the self-centered and attention-seeking Connie who is willing to depart from her house as long as Arnold takes heed of her. By using this specific symbolism, Oates displays her disapproval for the new ego and attitude of Connie and the consequential decisions and actions she makes as a
As I read Flannery O’Connor’s short story “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, I find myself being completely consumed by the rich tale that the author weaves; a tragic and ironic tale that concisely and precisely utilizes irony and foreshadowing with expert skill. As the story progresses, it is readily apparent that the story will end in a tragic and predictable state due to the devices which O’Connor expertly employs and thusly, I find that I cannot stop reading it; the plot grows thicker with every sentence and by doing so, the characters within the story are infinitely real in my mind’s eye. As I consider these factors, the story focuses on two main characters; that of the grandmother, who comes across as self-centered and self-serving and The Misfit, a man, who quite ingeniously, also appears to be self-centered and self-serving. It is the story behind the grandmother, however, that evidence appears to demonstrate the extreme differences between her superficial self and the true character of her persona; as the story unfolds, and proof of my thought process becomes apparently clear.
Joyce Carol Oates does not condemn Connie for her vanity or suggest Arnold Friend's violent and disturbing visit is a fit punishment, as a male Renaissance artist might have.
It is hard to believe that women only 60 years ago were still viewed and inferior to males and had little to no rights to protect themselves. When men returned from World War II some men resulted to domestically violate as a way of punishing his wife for something she did and to affirm dominance that he previously lost. Assaults that were inflicted on to women during the 1950s were seen being a part of male aggression and something that is normal. Women who did report the crime were viewed as being the actually perpetrators and the assault was actually their fault because they were unable to defend themselves. Domestic abuse during the 1950s was not considered as a crime but as a family matter, and law enforcement would not get involved. Since women were unable to defend themselves from abuse and assaults during the 1950s, the excuse that it was the woman’s fault was an excuse that was popularly used.
The Eternal Present in Joyce Carol Oates’s “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”, Michele D. Theriot, Journal of Short Story in English, 48, (Spring 2007): 59-70. Academic Search Complete. Web. 2 November 2013.
Oates’ use of the way Arnold looks and acts so similar to the devil, her use of the words on the car meaning something foreign and her subtle symbolism with Connie’s attire make the story’s theme of evil and manipulation stand out so much more. Connie’s clothing symbolizing
In her well-known short story, “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” Flannery O’Connor skillfully describes the difficulty of finding a morally upright human being, whether it is a man or a woman. No one is perfect, everyone has inadequacies and shortcomings, and she presents this cleverly in her story. She is able to support this view of mankind through her characters. They are self-centered, egotistical human beings who can be judged by their words and actions. This is especially true of the protagonist (the grandmother) and the antagonist (the Misfit). The grandmother tries to portray herself as a virtuous woman, but in the end O’Connor shows that her actions are always self-serving and that morally, she is not that different from the Misfit.