A Good Man is Hard to Find in a Cathedral
In works of literature, authors who use various forms of literary tools such as characterization, dialogue, and symbolism to help the readers understand the complexities within the stories. From the authors’ perspective, stories that have every detail and plot laid out for the reader will exemplify a poorly written piece of work. In the story “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver and “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Conner, the main characters had to cope with difficult situations that were presented to them. These situations made the characters change their beliefs about themselves and about the others around them. Through the use of the literacy elements of characterization and symbolism, O’Conner …show more content…
Dialogue between the two characters gave the readers a feel for the wife and how she talked about the blind man, Robert, she knew for years, but the narrator’s dialogue gave the readers a negative feel towards his ignorant attitude: “A blind man in my house was not something I look forward to,” (Carver 84) and “Beulah! That’s a name for a colored woman” (87). Also, the narrator is very possessive of his wife, even though throughout the whole story there seemed to be a stronger, emotional connection between the blind man and the wife than between the narrator and his wife. An article by Polly Rose Peterson, she explains, “The narrator’s use of the possessive ‘my’ in reference to his wife introduces the narrator’s character, the story’s conflict, and the relationship between the narrator, his wife, and the blind man” (Peterson 2), explains how the characterization proves how possessive the main character is. In “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” the grandmother is the protagonist and, as in “Cathedral”, the grandmother in “A Good Man in Hard to Find” is the ignorant character of the story. Through use of dialogue and interaction with her family, the grandmother’s various flaws like obsession with herself and her image reveal manipulative aspects of her personality. Although these two short stories seem like they are about two completely different main characteristics, both present the idea that ignorance can be overcome and people can
In works of literature, authors who use various forms of literary tools such as characterization, dialogue, and symbolism to help the readers understand the complexities within the stories. From the authors’ perspective, stories that have every detail and plot laid out for the reader will exemplify a poorly written piece of work. In the story “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver and “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Conner, the main characters had to cope with difficult situations that were presented to them. These situations made the characters change their beliefs about themselves and about the others around them. Through the use of the literacy elements of characterization and symbolism, O’Conner …show more content…
Dialogue between the two characters gave the readers a feel for the wife and how she talked about the blind man, Robert, she knew for years, but the narrator’s dialogue gave the readers a negative feel towards his ignorant attitude: “A blind man in my house was not something I look forward to,” (Carver 84) and “Beulah! That’s a name for a colored woman” (87). Also, the narrator is very possessive of his wife, even though throughout the whole story there seemed to be a stronger, emotional connection between the blind man and the wife than between the narrator and his wife. An article by Polly Rose Peterson, she explains, “The narrator’s use of the possessive ‘my’ in reference to his wife introduces the narrator’s character, the story’s conflict, and the relationship between the narrator, his wife, and the blind man” (Peterson 2), explains how the characterization proves how possessive the main character is. In “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” the grandmother is the protagonist and, as in “Cathedral”, the grandmother in “A Good Man in Hard to Find” is the ignorant character of the story. Through use of dialogue and interaction with her family, the grandmother’s various flaws like obsession with herself and her image reveal manipulative aspects of her personality. Although these two short stories seem like they are about two completely different main characteristics, both present the idea that ignorance can be overcome and people can