Good and Evil Can Be Interchangeable: Morality in Flannery O'Connor dien tran College

Who doesn’t want to be a good human being? Being good could bring one to happiness, joy, faith, and grace. “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by Flannery O'Connor, however, reveals a satiric reality in which not many people fully understand the fundamental meaning of being “a good man.” This short story is one of the most famous example of Southern Gothic literature. By focusing on strange events, local color, and eccentric characters, O’Connor successfully depicts the difference and similarity of the two main character’s moral code. Although the grandmother and Misfit have contrasting philosophies and principles, both struggle to discover their own righteousness which is buried deeply under their flaws. In “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” O’Connor uses many literary devices such as conflict, symbolism, foreshadowing, and irony to unfold the good and evil in the story.

Conflict is a main means of organizing the whole story, which begins with the disagreement between the grandmother and the rest of the family. The readers might be astonished by the fact that no one in the family cares about the grandmother or her opinions; even the children show no respect for her at all. O’Connor force the readers to question themselves: What has the...