A Good Man Is Hard To Find Good Vs Evil

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Good Vs. Evil is one of the most controversial themes in literature, in “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor and “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the authors focus on this theme to unravel the plot. In “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” O’Connor uses the Grandmother and a thief, The Misfit, to compare and contrast the good and evil in people. Hawthorne’s, “Young Goodman Brown,” uses the main character, Young Goodman Brown, and his journey from being a respected man to being summoned by the devil. Both authors use the main characters as a comparison of what being good means, but they present the evil of the story in different ways. Throughout the two stories, it is apparent that the main characters start off as good people. …show more content…

The Grandmother and her family encounter a runaway, The Misfit, who she immediately starts trying to sweet talk to try and save herself. The Grandmother says “I know you’re a good man… I know you must come from nice people,” trying to manipulate him to not kill her. The Grandmother stays true to her Southern lady class and never stoops down to The Misfits level. On the other hand, Brown falls into the trap of evil. Before being summoned to the dark side, Brown was told “evil must be your only happiness. Welcome, again, my children, to the communion of your race!” Brown did not take a stand against evil, punishing himself into a lifetime of misery. These two main characters contrast each other when it comes to fighting off corrupt forces. In “A Good Man is Hard to Find” and “Young Goodman Brown” the authors focus on the main characters to interpret the theme of good vs. evil. Both stories share in similar that the main characters are seen in a positive light and come from strong family backgrounds. Although these two characters may share similarities, they also have their differences. The major difference is how they carry out themselves once evil is presented to them. Although the two stories bear similarities in what it means to be good, the differences between how evil is presented is