Two stories “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor and “Where are You Going? Where Have you Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates have the same style of the storytelling. They both tell us tragic stories that could easily happen in real life. In both of the stories women are the main characters. However, both of the stories have their similarities and differences. One of the common themes for A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor and “Where are You Going? Where Have you Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates is elusiveness of the reality.
In “Where are You Going? Where Have you Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates the main character Connie has created an illusive image of being a mature woman which she is not. And in “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor, Grandma has an illusive understanding of a good man who ends up killing her family, but she still believes that he is a good man. Connie tries hard to pretend to be a grown up. She uses clothing, make up, specific hairstyle in order to create an illusion that she is a rather mature woman who can deal with men. However, as we find out at the end of the story it is not reality. Arnold has revealed her play and fakeness. Even though, Connie pretended to be a very mature adult, but it turned out to be not true. She did all that to pretend that she is an adult in order to be able to attract boys. That was her plan from the very beginning. Be that as it may, Connie befuddles her capacity to charge consideration from young men with her longing to really have them seek after her sexually. The affection and sentiment obvious in melodies she listens to and pictures of popular society that encompass her are entirely different from the truth of grown-up sexuality. In spite of the fact that Connie experiments with sexuality, for example, when she goes into the back street with Eddie, she is frightful of really turning into a grown-up. Arnold Friend takes her by power into adulthood, however this vicious demonstration speaks to a movement inside Connie herself: the relinquishing of innocent dream for the substances of being a full grown lady.
In the story “A Good Man is Hard to Find” the grandmother uses the adjective “good” inappropriately. The name "A Good Man Is Hard to Find," echoes Red Sammy in his discussion with The Grandmother. The question of others when all is said in done is a proceeding with subject all through O'Connor's short stories, and in her discussion with Red Sammy Butts, The Grandmother affirms her confidence in this thought: "It isn't a spirit in this green universe of God's that you can believe." This conviction repudiates her Christian confidence, obviously, yet at last her Christian confidence results in the accomplishment of Grace. The good man is no longer truly good. In this story the reality of being a good man and Misfit does not coincide. She applies this term to a wrong person. The first time she calls Red Sammy a good man and then he says that people cannot be trusted. The grandmother was asked why he allowed two people not to pay for gas even though he knew that he will be frauded and she said that he was a good man. For this situation, her meaning of "good" appears to incorporate artlessness, misguided thinking, and visually impaired confidence, none of either are characteristically "great." The Grandma tends to use "good" when she talks to Misfit. After she remembers him, she asks him whether he would kills a woman with a gun, despite the fact that Misfit never stated that he would not. Since being a woman is such a noteworthy part of what the grandma considers moral, the Misfit's answer demonstrates that he does not follow the same good rules as she does. The grandma frantically calls him a decent man, just as speaking to some sort of hidden quality that the Misfit wouldn't have any desire to deny. Her meaning of "good," nonetheless, is skewed, laying completely on her claim that he doesn't have "basic blood." The grandma's wanton use of the mark "great man" uncovers that "great" doesn't infer "good" or "kind." Grandma considers, a man is a "decent man" in case his qualities are adjusted to her ideas about life. Red is "great" since he trusts individuals aimlessly and talks about more blameless times and grandma can definitely relate to that. The Misfit happens to be a "great" since, she states that , he will not kill a woman. Her suspicion, obviously, turns out to be false. The main thing "great" about the Misfit is his consistency in experienced his ethical code. He happens to be not as good as she expected.
In conclusion, two stories “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor and “Where are You Going? Where Have you Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates show us how people see reality differently. Connie thought that she was a mature woman. However, whenever she faces a reality, she realized that she was wrong. She was a child who wanted to grow up fast which was not a good thing to do. Grandmother saw everyone as a good man and as a result she got shot three times by a so called by her good man. She was trying to deny the reality and see that not all the people are good. There are different people in the world and it is important to be aware of it. Grandmother just like Connie was trying to deny the reality of things. As a result, both of them have suffered because of their misconception of reality. They were trying too hard to create their own world which tends to be a fake one.
Works Cited
Oates, J. “Where are You Going? Where Have you Been?”. Web. 1966.
<https://www.d.umn.edu/~csigler/PDF%20files/oates_going.pdf>
O’Connor, F. “A Good Man is Hard to Find”. Web.
<http://www.boyd.k12.ky.us/userfiles/447/Classes/28660/A%20Good%20Man%20Is%2
0Hard%20To%20Find.pdf>.
