Themes Of A Good Man is Hard To Find Novel - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 3 Words: 774 Downloads: 5 Date added: 2019/06/10 Category Literature Essay Level High school Tags: A Good Man is Hard to Find Essay Did you like this example? The short story A Good Man is Hard to find has a lot of different themes involved. Since a long time ago there has being a issue of good versus evil, and thatrs one of the themes. It also has other themes like: family, religion, society, and class. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Themes Of A Good Man is Hard To Find Novel" essay for you Create order Good versus evil is developed because the grandmother has a confrontation with a superficial sense of goodness and a criminal who is evil. Religion is involved because the grandmother think that the Misfit is a good man, by her beliefs. On the other hand, family is included because there we just like a basic family, adults arguing and the two kids in the back. The grandmother in A Good Man is Hard to Find gives great importance to being a lady, and her ideas about what that means reflect an old-fashioned, somewhat upper-crust Southern mindset. In A Good Man is Hard to Find, Flannery OConnor shows the dfferent types of themes that are in the story, these themes are: good vs evil, family, religion, society, and class. A Good Man is Hard to Find is confrontation of between a grandmother with a rather superficial sense of goodness, and a criminal who embodies real evil. The grandmother seems to treat goodness mostly as a function of being decent, having good manners, and coming from a family of the right people. The grandmother describes her family as the right people because they supposedly raised her the right way. The Misfit is the criminal who embodies real evil, the grandmother and the Misfit met in Florida. The Misfit who seems straightforwardly evil, with little to no sense of guilt, and a genuine, desires to do cruel or destructive things for their own sake. Understanding the motivations of The Misfit, and what goodness means by contrast, is one of the central puzzles of the story. The grandmother and The Misfit had a another conformation between each other in that revolves around Jesus and religion. The grandmother brings up praying to Jesus in the hope that she can induce The Misfit to spare her life by appealing to his religious sense. It turns out, however, that The Misfit has probably thought about Jesus more seriously than she has. The Misfit know about Jesus, but he doubts him. The Misfit thinks that there is no real right or wrong, and no ultimate point to life. At the storys climax, the grandmother appears to receive a moment of divine grace, which might transform her and The Misfit. How this ending is understood is the major question of the story. A Good Man is Hard to Find contains some funny comedy about a family, and the ways they get on each others nerves. They were the kind of family that could be in a movie. Theres the two troublesome and annoying kids, the hot-headed dad who tries to maintain control of a situation and fails, the wife busy attending to the baby, and the grandmother, whos a case all to herself. This story is like a comedy, there are a couple of movies or tv shows that are similar to this. Even though it starts as a comedy, it takes a serious turn when the family encounters a criminal, who kills them one by one. The grandmother in A Good Man is Hard to Find gives great importance to being a lady, and her ideas about what that means reflect an old-fashioned, and a Southern mindset. She uses the n-word and longs for the good old days when kids were polite, people were trustworthy, and there were pretty plantations to visit. All of this leads her to associate being good with coming from a respectable family and behaving like a member of her social class. Her sensibilities are in for quite a shock when she meets The Misfit. In conclusion, a story can have several different themes in it. Even though the story started about a normal family, they all ended up dying. It is ironic to see the Misfit on the newspaper, and then find in in person. The main characters were the Misfit and the grandmother. The two main characters were involved in most of the themes. In A Good Man is Hard to Find, Flannery OConnor clearly shows the different types of themes that are in the story, these themes are: good vs evil, family, religion, society, and class. Works Cited Shmoop Editorial Team. A Good Man Is Hard to Find Themes. Shmoop, Shmoop University, 11 Nov. 2008, www.shmoop.com/good-man-hard-to-find/themes.html. 09 November 2018 A Good Man Is Hard to Find. Pullman Strikes Out Introduction, xroads.virginia.edu/~drbr/goodman.html. 09 November 2018

Jay Gatsby as Tragic Hero of Fitzgeralds The Great...

Jay Gatsby as Tragic Hero of Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby According to Aristotle, there are a number of characteristics that identify a tragic hero: he must cause his own downfall; his fate is not deserved, and his punishment exceeds the crime; he also must be of noble stature and have greatness. These are all characteristics of Jay Gatsby, the main character of Fitzgeralds novel, The Great Gatsby. Jay Gatsby is a tragic hero according to Aristotles definition. Jay Gatsby is an enormously rich man, and in the flashy years of the jazz age, wealth defined importance. Gatsby has endless wealth, power and influence but never uses material objects selfishly. Everything he owns exists only to attain his vision. Nick feels†¦show more content†¦Later, the concept develops into an obsession with money and more so, Daisy. Gatsbys tragic flaw lies within his inability to see that the real and the ideal cannot coexist. Gatsbys ideal is Daisy. He sees her as perfect and worthy of all his affections and praise. In reality she is undeserving and through her actions, proves she is pathetic rather than honorable. When Daisy says Sophisticated-God Im sophisticated (18), she contradicts who she really is. The reader sees irony here, knowing she is far from sophisticated, but superficial, selfish and pathetic. Gatsbys vision is based on his belief that the past can be repeated, cant repeat the past? Why of course you can (111)! The disregard for reality is how Gatsby formulates his dream (with high expectations), and the belief that sufficient wealth can allow one to control his or her own fate. Gatsby believes youth and beauty can be recaptured if he can only make enough money. To become worthy of Daisy, Gatsby accumulates his wealth, so he can rewrite the past and Daisy will be his. He establishes an i mmense fortune to impress the great love of his life, Daisy, who can only be won with evidence of material success. Over the five years in which Gatsby formulates this ideal, he envisions Daisy so perfect that he places her on a pedestal. As he attempts to make his ideal a reality things do not run as smoothly as he plans. Daisy can never live up to Gatsbys ideal, thoughShow MoreRelatedEssay on Jay Gatsby’s Dangerous Illusions in The Great Gatsby1253 Words   |  6 PagesJay’s Dangerous Illusions in The Great Gatsby      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   America is a land of opportunity and hopes and dreams can become reality. The American Dream consists of the notion that the struggling poor can achieve financial success through hard work. F. Scott Fitzgeralds novel, The Great Gatsby, puts this premise to the test while also warning against the dangers of believing too passionately in any dream. 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The Good Life Perspectives of Buddha and Confucius Free Essays

There are several definitions of the technical term â€Å"good life† and there are countless standards on â€Å"how one should live†, however, there are two personalities that teach differently with regards to this. This paper entitled â€Å"The Good Life: Perspectives of Buddha and Confucius† intends to answer the following questions: 1) â€Å"What is the ‘good life’ according to Buddha? †; 2) â€Å"What is the ‘good life’ according to Confucius? †; 3) â€Å"How should one live according to Buddha? †; and last but not least 4) â€Å"How should one live according to Confucius? †. II. We will write a custom essay sample on The Good Life: Perspectives of Buddha and Confucius or any similar topic only for you Order Now The Good Life According to Buddha The good life according to Buddha is to live according to certain standards that will lead one to obtain the â€Å"definitive life of bliss† (Thapar, 1966). In addition to that the â€Å"good life† is where â€Å"equal treatment† is experienced (Thapar, 1966). This is stated under the category â€Å"Sunyata† (Thapar, 1966). Furthermore, it also entails â€Å"nirvana†, which means that â€Å"whatever happens or no matter how disordered incidents may turn out to be, there will always be perfect peace, as well as, fairness in the end† (Gotiangco, 2001). Believing in such is already living the good life according to Buddha (Gotiangco, 2001). Moreover, living the good life is also to practice the combination of â€Å"compassion and wisdom† (Gotiangco, 2001). This means that individuals ought to show sympathy towards other people which may be achieved by â€Å"understanding the real meaning of life (Gotiangco, 2001). He reiterated that â€Å"wisdom should be developed as well to be able to impart the right teachings of Buddhism while compassion should also be present to be able to appropriately carry out the appropriately the teachings of Buddhism† (Gotiangco, 2001). Last but not least is to â€Å"develop wisdom and faith† which involves the conviction with open-mindedness to be able to see visibly other people’s point of view without any preconceived notion and foregone conclusion; belief with extremely profound contemplation to be able to be acquainted with its soundness; commitment with efforts to be able to really comprehend it; and confidence with realization to be able to recognize that there is really no difference between the belief of an individual and the truth (Gotiangco, 2001). III. The Good Life According to Confucius The good life according to Confucius is a never-ending aspiration for moral faultlessness/perfection (Gotiangco, 2001). IV. How One Should Live According to Buddha According to Buddha, one should live in a matter that observes the following: A. Essential Teachings First of all, the basic and essential teachings of Buddha should be learned and practiced by an individual (Thapar, 1966). These include the following: â€Å"1) the Four Noble Truths which include the following: a) Noble Truth of Sorrow; b) Noble Truth of Arising Sorrow; c) Noble Truth of the Stopping of Sorrow; and d) Noble Truth of the Way which leads to the Stopping of Sorrow; as well as 2) The Noble Eightfold Path which consists of the following: a) Right Speech; b) Right Views; c) Right Conduct; d) Right Resolve; e) Right Effort; f) Right Recollection; g) Right Mediation; and h) Right Livelihood† (Thapar, 1966). B. Steps to Follow to Achieve a Life of Bliss and Perfection Second is to be extremely aware of the concrete steps to attain â€Å"a life of bliss and perfection† (Thapar, 1966). The following should then be followed: 1) It is important for one to discover what causes suffering to be felt or experienced (Thapar, 1996). Buddha technically defined suffering as â€Å"anything that hinders preference or anything which go against an individual’s will, for instance death, illnesses, etc† (Thapar, 1966). ) It is needed for an individual to know what he or she should do to be able to avoid encountering suffering (Thapar, 1966). Likewise, an individual is obliged to â€Å"control himself or herself† and to â€Å"fight off suffering† which â€Å"presents itself through lust, negative emotions, hatred, lapse in judgment, as well as, self-centeredness† (Thapar, 1966). This is in connection with the one mentioned in Part A of this section/category that te achings should be read incessantly to be able to internalize it (Thapar, 1966). This is because such internalization and habitual meditation will play a large role in letting go of wants and release of disparaging mania/fixations which will eventually keep the mind and body of a person to be calm (Thapar, 1966). Of course, to live calmly is to be able to initiate goodwill and capability of delivering rational decisions which are all parts of the good life according to Buddha (Thapar, 1966). 3) Last but not least is to know what is technically known as karma (Thapar, 1966). Buddha said that â€Å"since the calmness, rational judgment and goodwill are already present then it can be claimed that rebirth or karma has already taken place (Thapar, 1966). A human being who now actually has better control of herself/himself may now attain â€Å"perfect bliss or nirvana†, which in turn is the objective of living and so the most basic principle to how one should live as well (Thapar, 1966). V. How One Should Live According to Confucius There is a set of standards that one should follow according to Confucius (Gotiangco, 2001). It entails being ethical and being humanitarian (Gotiangco, 2001). Specifically, there are three elements included in the aforementioned two and these are â€Å"human relations, virtues, as well as, rituals† (Gotiangco, 2001). All these components are required or needed to be able to meet the standards on how one should really live from the perspective of Confucius (Gotiangco, 2001). A. Human Relations Human relations should be very harmonious according to Confucius (Gotiangco, 2001). The five kinds of human relations that should be kept are the following: â€Å"1) parents – children; 2) husband – wife; 3) older – younger; 4) friend – friend; and last but not least 5) ruler – subject† (Gotiangco, 2001). He advises that â€Å"a parent should be able to understand what a parents really means; a husband should know how to be a good husband; a daughter or a girl should be able to internalize the allusions highly related with being a female or a daughter; likewise, a ruler or a subject should be familiar of being a ruler or a subject respectively (Gotiangco, 2001). He said that everybody is anticipated to â€Å"relate† in accordance with the aforementioned kinds of relationships to be able to achieve harmony and maintain stability as well (Gotiangco, 2001). B. Virtues He thus reiterates that all the members of the family should be provided with the proper training to be able to exhibit the suitable and proper values relevant to the relationship they are involved with (Gotiangco, 2001). The training referred to here by Confucius include the following: First of all is â€Å"loyalty† (Gotiangco, 2001). Second is â€Å"filial piety† â€Å"which is technically defined as â€Å"the Chinese way of showing respect to parents and ancestors† (Gotiangco, 2001). Third is known as â€Å"obedience† (Gotiangco, 2001). Last but not least is better known as â€Å"conduct† (Gotiangco, 2001). Confucius stated that to be familiar with the aforementioned appropriate values will help people be more conscious of what they are about to carry out and since it maintains good relationships with others then it is a way of living the good life (Gotiangco, 2001). C. Rituals There are certain â€Å"rituals† that must be observed (and should be instilled preferably during childhood) as well according to Confucius (Gotiangco, 2001). Some of these are the following: First is to provide â€Å"formal education† to individuals (Gotiangco, 2001). This is in addition to the parental assistance and regulation given to their children (Gotiangco, 2001). Second is the â€Å"worshipping of ancestors† (Gotiangco, 2001). This is important it is effective in instituting and upholding â€Å"high esteem, reverence, faithfulness, as well as, loyalty among the members of the immediate family, as well as, that of the clan† (Gotiangco, 2001). Third is â€Å"contemplative reading or meditation† (Gotiangco, 2001). Confucius stated that the aforementioned is needed to enlighten the mind, invigorate it, as well as, instill and advocate values like tolerance/staying power, self-control/temperance, as well as, calmness that’s welled up inside a person (Gotiangco, 2001). He added that in times of extreme conflict or catastrophes, such values will definitely help the person (Gotiangco, 2001). Last but not least is the training in what is technically referred to as the â€Å"Confucian Six Arts† (Gotiangco, 2001). Included in the â€Å"Confucian Six Arts† are the following: ) â€Å"Music and Literature†, which are considered necessary for the â€Å"purposes of humanism and finesse† (Gotiangco, 2001). 2) â€Å"Mathematics†, which helps challenge and eventually sharpen â€Å"mental awareness† and â€Å"logic† (Gotiangco, 2001). 3) â€Å"Callligraphy†, which actually trains one to become extremely patient and strong-minded/indomitable (Gotian gco, 2001). 4) â€Å"Martial Arts†, which helps and molds someone to exhibit exactness and meticulousness (Gotiangco, 2001). In addition to that, it encourages maintenance of the body to become physically fit (Gotiangco, 2001). ) â€Å"Archery†, which â€Å"according to the philosophy of Confucianism, is needed for the purposes of developing deference, as well as, agility† (Gotiangco, 2001). 6) â€Å"Chariot Racing†, which Confucius says that it highly increases fortitude/stamina, as well as, adroitness/dexterity (Gotiangco, 2001). 5) â€Å"Confucian Literature Reading†, wherein a child is compelled to read the following books everyday: â€Å"a) I Ching or the Book of Change; b) Shuh Ching or the Book of History; c) Shih Ching or the Book of Odes; d) Spring and Autumn Annals; e) the Analects; f) the Great Learning; and last but not least g) the Doctrine of the Mean† (Gotiangco, 2001). The aforesaid books serve as â€Å"directions† or â€Å"models† for people to follow and to light their paths as they keep up with life and face all the challenges/endeavors that may come their way (Gotiangco, 2001). Confucius reiterated that the aforementioned rituals is a critical part of â€Å"how one should live† and so it is very important to him to start early with the aforementioned rituals (Gotiangco, 2001). He said that traditions will not only be sustained, the community/society will be cultivated and taken cared of as well (Gotiangco, 2001). In addition to that, the spirit of reciprocity lives on as well† (Gotiangco, 2001). VI. Conclusion The good life according to Buddha is one that is directed to reach â€Å"a definitive life of bliss† while for Confucius â€Å"it is the unending desire to attain moral perfection† (Gotiangco, 2001). According to Buddha, one should live by knowing and practicing his teachings and following the step s to attaining â€Å"a life of bliss and perfection† while for Confucius, one should live by maintaining good relations, instilling virtues and observing rituals (Gotiangco, 2001). How to cite The Good Life: Perspectives of Buddha and Confucius, Papers