Corrupted Compass

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer notes that a good person, as commonly defined, is someone who can correctly establish the difference between right and wrong. The writer discusses that in Flannery O'Connor's "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" and "Good Country People" the understanding of this term is challenged. Both stories revolve around the characters' lack of sympathy and compassion for anyone. The writer discusses that O'Connor strives to destroy the traditional conception of good and replace it with a more realistic view of the human moral compass by showing the selfish tendencies in each character. The writer concludes that essentially, O'Connor shows the audience that the characters in these stories are relatable to people that exist in society today. The reader is thus forced to wonder if the idea of "good" is even a possibility in today's society.

From the Paper:

" Lack of conscience, or at the very least lack of moral value, is displayed prominently in both of O'Connor's works to challenge ideas of "good" people. For instance, traditionally grandmothers are thought to be sweet, elderly women who bring peppermints in their purse and never forget a birthday. In "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" the grandmother comes face-to-face with a cold-blooded killer as her family is being taken out to the woods and shot to death. Not only does she solely bargain for her own life, but she seems to be ambivalent to the fact that her kin are being slaughtered like cattle. Likewise, Joy of "Good Country People" aims to rob a young salesman of his strong morals for her own entertainment, but is double-crossed when he turns the tables on her in the end. Secondary characters further flesh out the destruction of the reader's understanding of a normal person's moral values (or lack thereof). Both of these works effectively show the depraved values of human kind, but do so in separate manners, together better proving O'Connor's conception of good."

Sample of Sources Used:

• O'Connor, Flannery. Good Country People. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, 1988.
• O'Connor, Flannery. A Good Man Is Hard to Find. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, 1988.

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• Comparison Essay # 103644 : "The Golden Compass" and "The Wind in the Willows"

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