...Good Country People Author Institutional Affiliation Good Country People Introduction Good Country People is the first and famous short story among the writings of Flannery O’Connor. The short story was published in 1955 in her collection of short stories titled, “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”. The characters in O’Connor’s book are seen to have embraced and rejected some platitudes that have fully taken control over their lives. They give ‘Good Country People’ a lesson based on the dangers humans are prone to as they mistake platitudes for original perceptions. Moreover, there are various themes acquired from the short story: betrayal, grace, nihilism, redemption and blindness. The setting of the story is on Georgian tenant farm. Irony Flannery O’Connor’s short story Good Country People is filled with ironical objects and characters starting from the title. The end of the story gives a lesson on how no-Good Country People exists in the contemporary world. There is irony noticed in the names of the characters in the book. For instance, Manley Pointer’s bible turns out to be a carrier for a small printed blue box, a pack of cards and a pocket flask full of Whiskey. Mrs. Freeman is Mrs. Hopewell’s tenant farmer. From her name, “Free-Man” has no sign of freedom as she is an employee though privileged by being Mrs. Hopewell’s cliché exchange ally. Despite Hulga’s extensive knowledge, she attempts being her own light both intellectually and spiritually. The irony...
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...Moments of grace happen constantly in daily life and throughout history. Flannery O’Connor’s short story A Good Man is Hard to Find was published in 1955 by Harcourt, Brace, and Company. O’Connor uses a fatal encounter to push the main character towards her moment of grace. More importantly O’Connor’s use of fictional realism makes the character’s demise feel devastating. “Grace” is achieved when a character set’s aside their personal values and becomes overwhelmed by a higher power. This essay analyzes how the Grandmothers character was developed and why her development was crucial to the ending of the short story. A Good Man is Hard to find is about a who went on a road trip to Tennessee. When the family was driving to their destination...
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...The fictional short story, “A Good Man Is Hard To Find” was published from author Flannery O’Connor in 1955. This cynical tale is about a family deciding to take a trip to Florida but the Grandmother is opposed on where exactly she’d rather be, and suggests that the family go to east Tennessee so she can visit some of her old friends. She aims to convince the family to agree to change direction by using reasoning to that is would be dangerous traveling to the same location that a bandit had just escaped from prison from. Throughout the story, the narrative uses several rhetorical techniques such as: Imagery, foreshadowing, comparison and contradictions to produce a mentally intriguing story following the tragic ending of this family vacation. The family to set off early on morning on their scheduled trip. There is Bailey, the Grandmother and her cat, Pitty Sing, The Mother and infant child and the two younger siblings, June Star and John Wesley. Although the family had already planned to take the trip to Florida, the Grandmother frequently tries to impose her ideas of rerouting to east Tennessee to visit some of her old friends. She used the reasoning of “Here this fellow that calls himself The Misfit is aloose from the Federal Pen and headed toward Florida.” O’Connor moves along to use a bit of imagery when she goes to describe the funeral-like attire that the Grandmother dressed in, “White-cotton gloves, a navy blue straw sailor hat with a bunch of white violets on the...
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...“Love in L.A.” vs. “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” Comparative Essay Amy E. Peche LITR201-1304A-04: Literature: A Reflection of Life Colorado Technical University Prof. Eric Wright October 18, 2013 Abstract No two stories are ever the same, there may be a ton of similarities between the two but unless they are mere copies of each other, they are different. Two stories can be based in two completely different settings, have two different tones, and completely different characters, but they could expose the same message to the readers. Throughout this paper, I will discuss how “Love In L.A.,” and “A Good Man Is Hard To Find,” is similar, different, what their settings are, describe their characters, tone and reveal their messages. A Brief Overview “Love in L.A.” and “A Good Man Is Hard To Find,” are two short stories that portray the characters as arrogant, self-centered, triumphant people, but allows the readers to envisage the true demise of the characters from the beginning. “Love in L.A.,” revolves around a young man in his mid-twenties who goes by the name Jake. In the beginning of the story, you can tell that Jake is an unemployed jerk, which only cares about what he can get for everyone else, without having to lift a figure; he does not care what the cost may be as long as it does not cost him anything. He is the true definition of a con artist, he does not care about anyone other than himself, he is extremely shallow, and in all...
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...Southern Gothic is a form of literature with a style specific to itself. There are many unique elements that’s are characterized only to southern gothic literature. The Southern Gothic style uses traits such as grotesquery and ironic events to judge the morals of the American South. Unlike its similar and older genre, Gothic tools are used not only for the sense of anticipation, but also to discover social issues and show the cultural aspect of the American South. One thing that holds dear to the south is religion. Many southerners claim Christianity, which to them makes their morals right. Southern culture has been and remains commonly and publically more conventional the rest of the United States. Due to the huge agricultural role that the south played in the building of Americas economy, the culture continued to be sacred and covered due the immense land ownership during that time. The societies where small, which led to the development of strong relationships through business, community gatherings and church. The south is known for being the most religious section in the United States. According to Adherents.com the Southern Baptist Convention, the nation’s largest denomination, claims roughly 16 million members. The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life reports that “more than eight in ten people in Mississippi (82 percent) say religion is very important in their lives, making the Magnolia State the most religious according to this measure.” Flannery O’Connor created...
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...Savannah, Georgia. After her father died of lupus erythematosus, a rare and fatal autoimmune disease, she and her mother lived alone. She received a general education at Georgia State College for Women and then continued to study creative writing at the University of Iowa. After receiving an M.F.A. degree in 1947, Flannery spent time in an artists' colony in Saratoga Springs, New York, and then with friends in Connecticut. She finished writing Wise Blood in 1950. Later that year, Flannery developed the same disease that had ended her father's life. Though crippled by lupus, Flannery was able to enjoy a modest lifestyle on her mother's ancestral farm, raising peacocks and writing. Her short stories are collected in A Good Man is Hard to Find, and Other Stories (1955), Everything That Rises Must Converge (1965), and Flannery O'Connor: The Complete Stories published posthumously in 1971. Her only other novel was The Violent Bear it Away (1960). Flannery O'Connor was a devout Catholic. She approached her work as a novelist and short story writer with a realistic understanding of her audience. The society around her had separated physical fact from spiritual reality and was left without any ground for belief. As Flannery wrote of spiritual experiences, she was careful not to "approach the divine directly," but rather to "penetrate the natural human world as it is." (O'Connor 68) She had a keen ear for common speech and used her observational powers to portray grotesque characters...
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...Through the analysis of Flannery O’Connor’s works “A Good Man is Hard to Find” and “Everything that Rises Must Converge,” the distinct similarity of class can be distinguished between the grandmother of the family and Julian’s mother. The two characters share the static notions of how each class is represented in regards to race and propriety through the racist southern traditions which they were raised. In “Good,” the grandmother of the family is viewed as an older woman who clings to racism and traditional southern standards which dictated how a person was to act due to the social class which they belong. The grandmother’s static belief that race and class are joined becomes apparent during the scene when the family passes the Negro child on the side of the road which states, “‘Oh look at the cute little pickaninny!’ she said and pointed to a Negro child standing in the door of a shack. ‘Wouldn’t that make a picture, now?’ she asked and they all turned and looked at the little Negro out of the back window. He Waved. ‘He didn’t have any britches on,’ June Star said. ‘He Probably didn’t have any,’ the grandmother explained. ‘Little niggers in the country don’t have things like we do. If I could paint, I’d paint that picture,’ she said” (O’Connor, “Good” 3) In this scene, the grandmother objectifies the Negro child as if he were a caged animal to watch and then she classifies him as a lower class because he is a Negro and therefore must unable to afford pants. The objectification...
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...Conrad aiken tragedy, Aiken was taken to Massachusetts to live with relatives. He graduated from the Middlesex School and Harvard, where his classmates included T.S. Eliot, with whom he established a lifelong friendship. He lived in England for several years, but his main home for most of his life was Massachusetts. During his last 12 years, however, his home was the brickfront rowhouse in Savannah next to the one in which his parents died. Aiken wrote or edited more than 50 books, the first of which was published in 1914, two years after his graduation from Harvard. His work includes novels, short stories (The Collected Short Stories appeared in 1961), criticism, autobiography, and, most important of all, poetry. He was awarded the National Medal for Literature, the Gold Medal for Poetry from the National Institute of Arts and Letters, the Pulitzer Prize, the Bollingen Prize, and the National Book Award. He was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship, taught briefly at Harvard, and served as Consultant in Poetry for the Library of Congress from 1950 to 1952. He was also largely responsible for establishing Emily Dickinson's reputation as a mayo SWAG SWAG SWAG THIS IS NOT MINE AND I DO NOT TAKE CREDIT FOR THAT. Flannery O’connor Writer. Born on March 25, 1925, in Savannah, Georgia. Flannery O'Connor is considered to be one of the greatest short story writers of the twentieth century. She faced some hardships growing up, losing her father as a teenager. He died of systemic lupus...
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...void in your heart? When we look at stories about desperate love and the longing of the human heart we might look at William Faulkner. Born in 1897 into an old Mississippian family, the reader may find that most of his stories focus on the vast emotions that one feels when trying to understand the heart and the soul in small town southern life. “A Rose for Emily” written by Faulkner in 1950, tells the story of a proud southern belle robbed of her chances for love and to belong, by an overbearing father and a culture so stifling as to lock her away her with desire forever. Faulkner writes this story from an objective point of view as the reader is told only what Miss Emily does with her life as it is picked apart by the town gossip. “The Griersons held themselves a little too high”, as most would say and Miss Emily, a well bred southern daughter, described as “a slender figure in white”, (Faulkner, 84) a young woman, to be envied and hated for her privileged status. Approaching the age of an old maid, Miss Emily is shown to be suffocating by the shadow of her father, unable to even feel a whisper of love. Young men, intimidated by the “spraddled silhouette” (Faulkner, 84) of a horsewhip toting father, turned away time after time, “none of the young men were quite good enough”,...
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...Cassity Professor Jeffries ENGL 012, Paper 2 March 24, 2015 Survival of the Fittest Life is hard and often times filled with tough challenges and difficult situations. In the past, African Americans were subjected to the tortures of slavery and isolation from mainstream America during the 18th and 19th centuries. Meanwhile, the harsh reality of life faced by African Americans is seen today with an increase in homeless people living on the streets. While some people look down on people they consider undesirable or inferior, one aspect of a person’s character that can never be questioned is their will to survive. Furthermore, survival in life requires a “never quit, never die” mentality that enables a person to keep fighting to realize a dream. “I, Too” and “Crusader Rabbit” suggest that survival requires courage, desire, and faith. In the poem “I, Too,” Langston Hughes portrays a black man bound into slavery who knows deep down in his heart that he “too” is part of America and is entitled to all the rights and freedoms that America itself stands for and represents. While held captive as a servant, the black man displays courage through his refusal to be recognized as an inferior human being. As Hughes notes, “I am the darker brother. They send me to eat in the kitchen When company comes, But I laugh, And eat well, And grow strong” (Hughes 2-7). The black man will not allow ignorance and neglect to destroy his pride. The black man’s mindset and spirit exemplify...
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...many stand-alone action films such as Commando, 48hrs and Con Air. There are even more action film series such as Die Hard, Rambo, James Bond and Underworld. The movie I have chosen to suit this genre is the action RED: Retired and Extremely Dangerous In 1920’s and 1930’s, action films were often about swashbuckling heroes, involving a damsel in distress and featured a romantic element such as the 1920 silent film The Mark of Zorro. The 1940’s incorporated war and western action films including the 1955 war story The Colditz Story. In 1959, Alfred Hitchcock re-invented the spy-action genre with his film North by Northwest and introduced action-orientated set pieces with the crop duster scene and the finale on Mount Rushmore. This film, North by Northwest, helped inspire producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman film their own spy-adventure film. James Bond, inspired by Ian Fleming’s novels, took the world by storm and is still used today. James Bond introduced some of the common elements and features of an action film that are still used today. In the 1970’s, gritty detective stories and urban crime drama’s led to a number of police officer films. Asian martial-arts themed movies also appeared including Bruce Lee’s Enter the Dragon. Also popularized by the cross of martial arts and cops and robbers, Chuck Norris entered with films like the 1977 Good Guys Wear Black. Steven Spielberg and George Lucas then introduced us to Indiana Jones, continuing with the James Bond...
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...THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY God’s purpose for pain and suffering in the lives of the righteous. Submitted to Dr. Jeffery Connell, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of the course Semi-500 – B05 Introduction to Seminary Studies by February 23, 2014 Introduction Since the Biblical days, following God has come with suffering, sacrifice, and insurmountable faith. Our Bible tells us stories of men and women God has chosen to suffer, struggle, and sacrifice so they can witness, minister, and be a testament to His glory and mercy. Also, so those around them can witness His glory and mercy. One that is known and remembered by many is the suffering of Job. Job loses everything, his children, his property, wealth, his good name, and his health. But, he stays faithful and obedient to God. We endure trials every day, the loss of a loved one, physical pain, and the pressures of the world. We are not exempt from these things because we are believers. As a matter of fact, we are more inclined to go through bad and rough times because we are believers. God did not only promise to help us in our trials, he also promises us trials. God did not send His son so we would live a strife-free life. He warned us that we would have suffering and strife within our families, that we would have trails, and that we would be persecuted. We enter the Kingdom through many trails, and every Christian will suffer persecution. Using the works of C.S. Lewis and other sources, this paper...
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...not how it should work. However if housing was provided it could help reduce people that end up in jail. In addition, in 1955 there was around one psychiatric bed for every 300 Americans now in 2005 there is one bed for every 3,000 Americans (A Survey of the States 1). Services are being cut for mental health. Through out the years as homelessness increases as the amount of available psychiatric beds have been decreasing. There is a disadvantage to mentally homeless people that are being placed in jail. First, it cost more to have a person with a mental illness in jail. It cost about fifty dollars more per day to treat a mentally ill than a non-mentally ill inmate (A Survey of the States). By helping stop homelessness the amount of mentally that will result from homelessness will also decrease. As an alternative to spending extra money on mentally ill in jail funding for housing take place Both of these laws could...
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...is our ambition, hard work, commitment, creativity, innovation, and generosity that have helped shape America into what it is today. We are a country that has been through seemingly insurmountable difficulties, but we have always managed to come out on top, learn from our mistakes, and advance ourselves toward the greater good of all. Since its founding, America has grown as a whole. We have fought to eliminate injustices while promoting integrity, courage and greatness. The right of freedom of speech granted to us by our founding fathers ensures that if there are injustices being committed that the American people will find out about them and we will be courageous enough to stand up and face the oppressors. We are a country that fights for what we believe in. The belief in the American Dream has always been the vision of this country. A belief that everyone is created equal. Regardless of race, religion, gender, or social status, every man and woman should have access to the same education and opportunities for advancement. Every citizen of this country should be granted the same freedoms. We have always been a melting pot of different religions, races, and cultures all with different ideas. One of our foundational beliefs is that we all have the same opportunities. In his inauguration speech Barack Obama said, “Our success depends on honesty and hard work, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism.” (Obama). The reward of hard work and dedication...
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...Chantz Graham January 10, 2014 Steve Jobs Steve Jobs is a man who has always marched to his own beat and never backed down from what he thought could be accomplished. Steve Jobs was born February 25, 1955 to Joanne Schieble and Abdulfattah Jandali. Paul and Clara Jobs later adopted him due to financial the strain of his biological parents. Steve has no doubt and even says the Paul and Clara are his true parents through and through. At a young age Steve was very intelligent and did extremely well in school. This is largely due to the fact that Paul who was an engineer taught Steve about electronics and how they worked. Which initially sparked his interest in electronics. Also Clara who was an accountant taught him to read and write from a very young age. Because of these intellectual factors at home, he tested so high that the school wanted him to skip a year, but is parents declined. One of the problems with finding school easy is that you will find it boring. So Steve often found himself in the principal’s office for being a prankster. Which was also a very lucky break for him because this led him to Stephen Wozniak and 18 year old who was very good with computers and also a prankster. Unbeknownst to him this would be the start of is career with computers and electronics. After high school he enrolled at Reed College a very expensive liberal arts school where he stayed for one semester then dropped out. He says he was more interested in philosophy and LSD then...
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