Term paper on Good Vs Bad

Good Vs Bad Essays

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Webster’s defines “Good” as “opposite of bad; wholesome, useful, fit virtuous, able to fulfill engagements.” It is a word that is loosely used in the English language usually ascribed to things and people who are approved of by society. The word can be used as both an emotion and a description. Multi-faceted, it is used to represent different things with different meanings however it is always used and understood as something that is positive and beneficial. When one thinks about the word it brings about a sense of security for the individual. And as the definition states, “good” is opposite of “bad” which has been ingrained into the human mind as something negative without really knowing its true definition. But it is that desire not to associate oneself with the idea of bad that leads us to aspire to be good.

Flannery O’Connor, a Southern, twentieth-century writer could easily be described as a writer who takes the notion of good and seems to write the exact opposite in subject matter. She is a writer who seems to capture and encapsulate in her pieces those feelings most closely related to a man (and women’s) most base and crude behavior. In her now famous piece A Good Man is Hard to Find, O’Connor really shows off her talents in portraying her to-the-point writing and “real-life” issues she writes about. This paper will incorporate the idea of good and the definition provided by Webster’s and relate it to the story. More specifically, the idea of good will is associated with The Misfit, the main character of the story who commits the heinous act of killing an entire family. What is O’Connor saying in her title? And perhaps more importantly is anyone really all good? This paper will try to answer those questions.

O’Connor’s A Good Man is Hard to Find, is a tale that involves a family that is brutally murdered by a man, The Misfit, who seems anything but good. He is a rogue; an escaped con who in his brief stint in the book seems almost approachable, creating an atmosphere around him that is neighborly-like. A man of older persuasion, he could be your grandfather in fact, he very might well be someone’s grandpa. However, his demeanor and tone change, and unfortunately for the family they change rather quickly and for the worse. Under his direction the entire family of five is brutally executed and no one is spared. The reader comes away with the feeling that The Misfit feels no remorse, expresses any distaste in his act. The story ends there.

The story raises the issue of “good” and the title, after reading the story, almost forces the reader to agree with its sentiments. Is a good man really hard to find? When we look at The Misfit, is he truly not good, thus perhaps a man who is in deed in fact bad? Of course, the reader is left with a sense of despair at the conclusion of the story because there is no “virtuous” or “wholesome” acts committed by The Misfit. However, does this make him “ungood?” Or could it be that one individual could be less good than another? Man is not infallible, we make mistakes and we do things that may be detrimental to one and to others. That said, the title raises an interesting inquiry for me. What makes a man good? If one goes through life without killing a single person does that make the individual good? The answer is obviously easy and that answer is no. However, it does not provide for us the tools to distinguish those people who are truly good.

The reason there are no tools for distinguishing between those who are truly good and those who are not is because there is no such thing as “truly good.” No one possesses that trait and The Misfit and the grandmother-seemingly complete opposites in action and demeanor-validate that sentiment. The Misfit and his role in the story is neither “good” nor “bad” one. The Misfit cannot be considered “good” or “bad” because there are no rules for such distinction, as we will see with the grandmother who seems good, but in fact is not. The Misfit murdered however, murder in many places is considered not only good but appropriate. The sacrificing of an individual in order to appease an angry God is what is to be done. It is not considered murder, its religion. The same can be said for those who refuse medical treatment to help themselves overcome a disease. To many this is considered foolish and stupid, to Jehovah’s Witnesses it is not. Does that mean that The Misfit is not good and in fact bad? One cannot say. Would it be fair then to assess ones moral “goodness” or “badness” on one act no matter how malevolent or outlandish it may be? The answer must be NO for one act cannot not and most of the time does not chastise you as one or the other.

The other main character in the story is the grandmother. She could be considered The Misfit’s counterpart, his...

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