A Good Man is Hard to Find Essay Example for Free

A Good Man is Hard to Find Essay By the title, â€Å"A Good Man Is Hard to Find†, a reader would not suspect what the story is really about. One might assume that Flannery O’Connor’s short story is about finding love perhaps, rather than moral, murders, and convicts. Contrarily, the meaning of this story is even deeper than the naked eye can reveal. Throughout Flannery O’Connor’s short story, â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† a manipulative setting, leads to domination over the other characters in the story; moreover, leading to symbolic animalistic attributes, fabricating a profound meaning of hypocritical aspects. The monkey presented in the story symbolizes the animalistic nature of humans. The monkey represents the stubborn, bias, and shallow views of the people of the time period in the quote, â€Å" a gray monkey about a foot high, chained to a chinaberry tree, chattered nearby. The monkey sprang back into the tree and got to the highest limb as soon as he saw the children jump out of the car and run toward him.†(O’Connor 325) The animal is chained to signify the limitations to the views the characters like the Grandmother and Red Sam believe. When someone poses animal-like characteristics, humans completely dominate their environment that our social structures have become ecosystems unto themselves. Animals learn to act exactly like their parents as they grow to adulthood; furthermore, once the animal is an adult, it has the behaviors, ideas, and motives of the parents that will never change and will pass those traits on to the next generation. This corresponds with the Grandmother and the story, with her children and grandchildren; for example, when a person is the most dominant character in the family, the inferior ones follow behind grasping the beliefs of the dominate character. The Grandmother’s immutable ways make her the dominant character in the allegory. It is written in the story, â€Å"..The old lady settled herself comfortably, removing her white cotton gloves.. The children’s mother still had on slacks and still her head tied in a green kerchief, but the grandmother had on a navy blue straw sailor hat.. a navy blue dress with a small white dot in the print.. In case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (O’Connor 323) It makes the reader wonder that, why was she dressed so dressy for a prolonged drive in a cramped car? For one, this statement is also an example of foreshadowing. Later on in the story, when she is held at gun point, she constantly recites â€Å"I know you wouldn’t shoot a lady!† Ironically, she got what she wanted because when people find her dead, she will be dressed like a lady. The outfit she is wearing also tells about her demeanor. The references to the navy, for example navy blue hat, means that she was strong and domineering like the navy. Later on in the story, unfortunately leading to their demise, she uses her domineering tactics to get where she wants to go using the children’s curiosity. â€Å".. She knew that Bailey would not be willing to lose any time looking at an old house, but the more she talked about it, the more she wanted to see it once again and find out if the little twin arbors were still standing. ‘There was a secret panel in this house,’ she said craftily, not telling the truth but wishing that she were, ‘and the story went that all the family silver was hidden in it when Sherman came through but it was never found’†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (O’Connor 327) The Grandmother purposely says something false to ensure the children will cajole their dad into going there. She knew this was a lie and she knew that she was not going to talk Bailey into it single-handily. The only way possible was to manipulate the children through the use of their excitement and curiosity to dominate over her son. The grandmother manipulates all of the characters except the Misfit who turns the tables on the grandmother in the end. She tries to make the convict feel better about himself by conveying, â€Å"‘Yes, its a beautiful day, said the grandmother. ‘Listen,’ she said, ‘you shouldnt call yourself The Misfit because I know youre a good man at heart. I can just look at you and tell.’† (O’Connor 330) The Grandmother knows of the crimes this man has committed. She thinks she can manipulate him the way she does Bailey but the man can sense this all along. The Grandmother uses manipulation by saying that the Misfit is a good man so he can believe that he is a good man deep down inside and spare the lives of the family. In addition, the grandmother has a hypocritical standpoint, which makes using religion as a manipulation tool goes completely wrong. She  questions her faith in the quote, â€Å" ‘Maybe He didnt raise the dead,’ the old lady mumbled†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (O’Connor 334) The grandmother is humbled as she sees that she has lost the fight. She is now inferior to the Misfit unlike in the beginning, where she stood before him; now she sits faintly on the ground looking up to the convict. The Grandmother could be questioning her faith as if saying â€Å"How could God do this to me?† or the line could be indicating that she did not have very much faith at all. At this point in the short story; it seems as if the Misfit has more faith than she does. She tries to regain her dominance in the quote, â€Å" ‘Why youre one of my babies. Youre one of my own children!’ She reached out and touched him on the shoulder. The Misfit sprang back as if a snake had bitten him and shot her three times through the chest.† (O’Connor 334) It is as if he has encountered something very threatening. It is hypocritical because a snake is usually associated with evil or â€Å"enemy of man† like the biblical story of Adam and Eve. It symbolizes how genuine good appears to genuine evil. To conclude, this story has so many points that you have to examine in between the lines. Basically, the story is about a woman with a domineering personality that has to die to be brought back down to size. The writer conveys this meaning through the use of symbolism, domination, manipulation, and hypercriticism.

Compare and Contrast: Passage 1: Description of Tom, Passage 2: Gatsby

Compare and Contrast: Passage 1: Description of Tom, Passage 2: Gatsby seen The first passage is a description of Tom. He is portrayed as strongly built: "It was a body capable of enormous leverage-a cruel body." He also seems to be a brutal an supercilious man. Words as "arrogant", "sturdy", "gruff" and "husky" create a mood around him which is quite unpleasant. This description is very objective and we get a clear picture of what Tom looks like. We are also given a description of Tom's voice as being "...a gruff, husky tenor..." The other passage is not really a description of Mr Gatsby, but rather an occasion which he fits into. The description we are given about Gatsby is much more unclear than that of Tom. The night makes the atmosphere more mysterious around Gatsby. Here words as "night", "trembling", "silhouette" and "dark" set the theme of the passage. There is a clear contrast in the themes between the two passages. In the first one 'day' or 'light' can be said to be a theme in comparison to the 'night' or 'darkness' in the other. Even though the description of Tom is quite objective, the sunshine and clearness has a high symbolic importance to the passage and makes it more of a contrast to the other passage. This sunshine could be there because Tom is an antagonist in the novel, thus his description should not be complicated as, for example Gatsby's. Thereby he is connected to unambiguousness, whereas Gatsby is connected to darkness and implying that his character will be revealed later on. The sunshine which is connected to Tom could mean that his character is exposed and open for everyone to look at. This could be connected to that his characteristics are those of a fascist prototype... ...asting themes are day and night and the tone and the techniques are based around these themes. The techniques are quite different in the two passages; in Toms there are many negative words and his body is personified as "cruel". In Gatsby's passage there are more words connected to obscurity and Gatsby is not at all illustrated negatively. The techniques create two contrasting moods in the two passages. Tom's passage is more simple and it is not as interesting to read as Gatsby's passage. Tom's passage is almost unpleasant to read because one could almost think he is a monster by his account. The tone in Gatsby's passage is more calm. The presence of the night makes everything more subjective and abstract. A potential effect of this is that the reader will feel more comfortable with this passage. Things connected to the night are usually more interesting.

Unforeseen Opportunity in an Election

You are in charge of the advertising staff for Cindy Smith's election campaign. Cindy is trying to prevent the eight term incumbent, Jesse Jones, from getting another term in the U. S. House of Representatives. Cindy decided to run against Jesse because he wrote 150 bad checks in the House banking scandal, voted to not disclose the names of the people involved in the scandal, and voted to give himself a substantial pay raise at taxpayers’ expense. Furthermore, Jesse seems unconcerned with the debt crisis and has been criticized by the national press for funding questionable projects in his district at the expense of more worthy projects elsewhere in the nation. Moreover, Jesse has worked behind the scenes to prevent the Equal Rights Amendment from passing in your state, and as a member of the House Armed Services Committee, has consistently voted against allowing women to fight in combat. Jesse is also a pro ¬life candidate who supported Clarence Thomas as a Supreme Court nominee. Cindy has never run for political office before, and is running a grassroots campaign with only unpaid volunteers. She believes it is time for a change in Washington, and Jesse Jones is a prime example of why the people in your district have become cynical about politicians. Because she has not accepted any political action committee money, Cindy has only been able to afford a few television ads and has instead concentrated her efforts on radio and newspaper advertising. These ads have not provided Cindy's specific views on what she plans to do about taxes, education, unemployment, social security, the debt, or defense spending, but instead have focused on her prochoice and pro women views and her beliefs about the need for a change in Washington. She has so far avoided even mentioning her opponent in these ads. Up until last week, Cindy was riding the wave of disenchantment with incumbents and was leading Jesse Jones by 10 percentage points. However, in last week's debates Jesse Jones did a good job of pointing out Cindy's lack of political savvy and came across as a patronizing father figure who understood Cindy's frustrations with government but subtly stated Cindy did not possess the knowledge to make things happen in the federal government. These debates helped to pull the race to a dead heat, and the election is one month away. Jesse Jones has accepted a number of contributions from political action committees and has a sizable campaign chest. His initial television ads depicted him as a family man of strong moral character and an experienced incumbent who could get the job done. These ads had proven to be fairly ineffective, and Jones has now switched to negative campaigning. Jesse's ads now state he is a pillar of family values and Cindy is a single mother of two who has been unable to form or maintain a cohesive family unit. These ads also focus on Cindy's views of unrestricted abortions, implying that electing Cindy will effectively murder 2,000 people a year in the district. These ads conclude by stating if Cindy can not get her own house in order, how will she ever be able to straighten out the House of Representatives? Unfortunately, these ads have been very effective. Cindy's negative ratings are at an all time high, and you believe Cindy's campaign has lost the momentum and will lose the race unless she does something to counter these negative ads. Including yourself, there are four full time volunteers on Cindy's advertising staff. Megan is a journalism major in college and became involved with the campaign because of Jesse's views on the Clarence Thomas appointment. Megan has never worked on a political campaign before, and has taken this quarter off from school to lend a hand. Megan is enthusiastic, hard working, and idealistic, but she has little campaign experience. Nancy is a good friend of Cindy's and worked on the last campaign to oust Jesse Jones. She has also lent a hand in several school board and state representative campaigns. Nancy is very committed to Cindy's campaign, although you suspect this devotion is due as much to ousting Jesse Jones as it is to her friendship with Cindy. Jack is the president of the student body of the local college. He has been politically active for the past three years, and two years ago he worked on a U. S. Senator's reelection campaign. Everyone on the advertising staff was enthusiastic and energetic after Cindy's success in the primary, but this enthusiasm has dampened considerably with the post debate poll results and with Jesse Jones' elentless attacks on Cindy's character. Everyone has said the election is slipping away, and Megan and Jack have threatened to quit and go back to school unless Cindy does something to turn the situation around. The cohesiveness of the group and your relationships with Megan, Nancy, and Jack are currently at an all time low. The campaign manager, Jenny O'Connor, called you into her office today. Apparently an anonymous tipster told someone o n the campaign staff that Jesse Jones was having an affair and had fathered a child out of wedlock. Someone on the staff followed up on the tip and has uncovered evidence lending support to this allegation. Jenny believes a negative ad depicting Jesse Jones as a corrupt father and politician would be enough to get Cindy elected. Although Cindy has publicly stated she will not run negative ads in her campaign, Jenny has asked you to take a day to think about running one on Jesse Jones. Jenny has also asked you not to discuss this matter with Cindy. What will you do?

The Choice of Assisted Suicide - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 5 Words: 1478 Downloads: 5 Date added: 2019/06/24 Category Law Essay Level High school Tags: Assisted Suicide Essay Did you like this example? There are very few things that we as humans have complete control over. Our bodies should be one of them. Why should a terminally ill patient and their family suffer for a longer period of time when they already made the mental decision that they are over it? There probably isnt one person that can say that they havent watched somebody they love suffer from and ultimately die from some sort of unfortunate disease. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The Choice of Assisted Suicide" essay for you Create order Assisted suicide is a choice that should be available for patients who are painfully-suffering from an underlying disease. The thoughts of assisted suicide are very mixed. Some people believe that it is a great way to put terminally-ill patients out of the their pain and suffering. They see it as a way for a person to die with dignity after suffering from a painful disease. Others think it is beyond morally wrong for a doctor to intentionally end a patientrs life. They feel that a doctor should not have unnecessary deaths put on their shoulders the rest of their career. Assisted suicide goes beyond the beliefs of medicine when arguing that it should heal and protect. But shouldnt doctors also help with the pain of the patient? Assisted suicide has been around since the 17th century, when Francis Bacon used, euthanasia, as a way for painless death. In the United States, the first legal cases of this procedure were in Oregon. On October 27, 1997 the state of Oregon passed The Death With Dignity Act. This act made it legal for terminally ill patients to legally end their life to stop their constant suffering. The next year after the act was passed, a total of 23 people in that state were prescribed the lethal dose of medicine to be assisted in their death. For the two decades that this act has been in place, around 1,300 patients in Oregon have peacefully passed with the help of assisted suicide. There are five types of assisted death. The first type is active euthanasia, it is death brought upon by a specific act. This means purposefully giving the patient an overdose of lethal medicine. This can be a doctor prescribing a patient more painkillers to make them fall into organ failure, then the failure of their organs will cause their death. Passive euthanasia is when death is omitted. Such as- holding their treatment, turning off a life support machine, choosing to not carry out with a surgery to extend their life, and stopping their feeding tube. Non-voluntary euthanasia is when the patient is unconscious or physically can not make the decision on their own. Just think of a newborn baby, they were just born and has been diagnosed with a fast-spreading cancer and has an estimated time of one month to stay alive. The baby physically can not speak their opinion on how they would like to go about the situation, so someone else will have to make the decision based on the best int erest of the baby. Involuntary euthanasia occurs when the patient chooses life but is killed anyways for the benefit of the patientrs situation. This is where the argument of murder comes into play and makes people believe that ill patients are just killed off without their consent. Indirect euthanasia is giving the patient treatment to speed up their death. Finally there is assisted suicide, where the patient is going to kill themselves but they need help getting the drugs in their reach. This is as simple as moving the pills to their bedside or injecting the medicine in their IV. There are specific requirements that are needed to be eligible for these procedures depending on your situation. You must be diagnosed terminally ill and given a short amount of time left to live by at least two different physicians. You must be able to physically take the medicine on your own. This means taking the pills and swallowing it or flipping the switch on the IV. The two drugs offered for physician assisted suicide are secobarbital and pentobarbital. Secobarbital is the most commonly prescribed of the two forms. The medication typically come in nine grams of secobarbital in capsules or ten grams of pentobarbital liquid. You have to live in one of the states with a law passed that makes assisted suicide legal. You are allowed to move to one of the seven states where there is a law in place, you only need a proof of residence to show your doctor for the prescription. But since moving is very tiring for a terminally ill patient and most people do not want the hassle of moving their entire life to a different state, just to die when they get there. There is a question about the right to be assisted in the committing of suicide, a right that implies a duty for someone else. There are also questions about whether a physician is the person who should assist, whether all physicians should be required to assist, and in what ways a physician should assist. Many doctors take many different stances on this issue. Some believe that a doctorrs duty to save life should outweigh other duties. Before you finish medical school, some schools make you pledge to the The Hippocratic Oath. The oath states that a doctor should keep their patients from harm and come for the benefit of the sick. It also states that a doctor should never give a deadly drug, even if they have asked for it. This brings the issue that doctors have to go against their morals and prescribe a high dose of medicine to kill on purpose. Many argue that doctors should not be playing the role of God, that they should not have the power to decide who should and shouldnt live. But this practice is mostly based on consent of the patient, therefore nothing would happen to the patient if they did not make the choice to do so. On the other hand, some doctors believe that part of their job is to help their patients die better. Meaning they should help relieve the suffering that the pat ient is going though. Sometimes, the only way to make that happen for the patient is to help them end their life. The United States does not have law forcing doctors to participate in this procedure. But in the Cruzan v. Director, Missouri Dept. of Health case, in 1990, the court decided that severely injured patients have a constitutional right to refuse medical treatment and die. In the seven states that physician assisted suicide is legal, the doctors who are morally okay with participating may do so, but it is not required. In Oregon, the amount of doctors who agree with the idea of assisted suicide raised from forty-six percent to fifty-seven in 2014. Dr. Stewart Younger says that, people are getting used to the idea that death is the least worst alternative, meaning that death is not the worst thing that can happen to a person. They believe that the constant-excruciating pain and suffering is the worst thing that a patient can go through. Lauren Bacall once said, A manrs illness is his private territory and, no matter how much he loves you and how close you are, you stay an outsider. You are healthy. This shows the point that no one knows exactly what someone with an incurable illness is going through. We are not that person. Therefore, who gets the right to say that their pain is irrelevant. If a person has the right to live then a person should have the right to choose to die on his own terms. The general publicrs belief is that, doctors have professional obligations to save the lives of their patients regardless of their health status- to fight until the end. But if the patient has reached their limit, doctors should not have to keep pushing for their fight. The opposing view thinks that, healthcare workers involvement in the euthanasia practice is a betrayal. Each individual should have a private death. The law does not tell us how to live our personal lives as long as we live lawful. Death should not be any different from any of the other choices that we are allowed to make. When we are ready to face death, whether it is our own or that of a family member, it should be personal. It should be left up to us and our loved ones. People want to be remembered as strong and confident when they pass away. It is most important when thinking of the memories of the young family members that the patient might leave behind when they decide to go. These patients want to make the impression that they died with their dignity and that they won the fight with their illness. Instead of the illness completely taking over their life and causing them un-bearable pain.