Despite the superficial differences in form, structure, and plot, Flannery O’Connor’s and Margaret Atwood’s respective short stories both examine the various ways of living a rich and fulfilling life.
Flannery O’Connor’s A Good Man is Hard to Find” tells the story of a family on a trip to Florida. The grandmother, an irritable and manipulative old woman, initially resists going on the trip. However, despite her reluctance, she is the first one in the car on the day of departure. She dresses smartly so that “in case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady” (O’Connor, par. 12). During their journey to Florida, they have an accident and are stranded by the side of the road. It is then that they encounter The Misfit and his gang who ultimately kill everyone in the family.
Margaret Atwood’s Happy Endings” mimics the structure of a fairy tale or love story. She uses the classic and clichéd “boy-meets-girl” opening but presents several versions of the plot. However, Atwood ultimately tells readers that despite the diverging storylines that can be produced from one beginning, the end will always be the same: “John and Mary die. John and Mary die. John and Mary die.” (Atwood, par. 17).
In O’Connor’s story, the idea of living a good and rich life comes into focus in the last few paragraphs. To convey this message, Atwood draws upon Christianity’s tenets and its message that God’s grace and mercy are necessary to live a good life. Initially, it seems like there is a binary opposition between good and evil with Misfit being evil” and the grandmother embodying “good.” However, Atwood shows readers that the case is not as simple as this. Throughout the story, the grandmother demonstrates how spiritually lacking she is by trying to associate goodness and Christianity with external appearances. For example, she was very manipulative:
She knew that Bailey would not be willing to lose any time looking at an old house. However, 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. “The story went that all the family silver was hidden in it when Sherman came through, but it was never found…” (O’Connor, par. 47).
It was because of this lie that she forced her son to turn back and look for the house. This eventually led to their accident and eventual deaths at the hands of Misfit. She only wanted to satisfy her desires, and she was willing to do it by any means necessary.
Furthermore, her desire to be the center of attention led to trouble for the whole family. The question arises: if she had kept it to herself that the man who stopped to help them was the Misfit, could she have saved them? The Misfit believes so, stating it would have been better for all of you, lady, if you hadn’t recognized me” (O’Connor, par. 85).
When bargaining with the Misfit, the grandmother undergoes a dramatic change. Just before her death, she tells him: Why, you’re one of my babies. You’re one of my own children” (O’Connor, par. 92). The grandmother realizes that the man was similar to her own children whom she raised similarly to herself. Through this realization, she admits to herself that she has been a hypocrite all along and that her supposed Godliness was just for show.
O’Connor is telling her readers that being God-fearing is a spiritual exercise that should not be confused with outward displays of religiosity. She seems to suggest that living a good Christian life involves going to the root of Christianity and living from there. Although the grandmother believes she is a faithful disciple of Christ, her actions reveal otherwise. O’Connor argues that true Christianity involves following its principles with one’s heart.
On the other hand, Margaret Atwood believes that living life is about asking the right questions – how and why. In contrast to O’Connor’s Christian exhortations, Atwood examines this idea by crafting her story in a way that resembles a storyboard development for an actual story. According to her, despite the numerous ways we can live our lives, we will all die: You’ll have to face it – the endings are the same however you slice it. Don’t be deluded by any other endings; they’re all fake – either deliberately fake with malicious intent to deceive or just motivated by excessive optimism if not by downright sentimentality” (Atwood, par. 16).
Because of this reality, Atwood suggests that we focus more on the journey towards death. This doesn’t mean that we should obsess over dying; rather, it’s a call to enrich our lives since living is what matters most. Atwood explores this concept by presenting various versions of the boy-meets-girl” formula. By putting John and Mary in different scenarios, she compels us to examine life more deeply instead of just going through the motions. According to Atwood, “True connoisseurs are known to favor the stretch in between since it’s the hardest to do anything with” (Atwood, par. 18). The stretch she refers to is life and how we live it. However, she emphasizes that our lives shouldn’t be solely focused on “one thing after another, a what and a what and a what” (Atwood, par. 18). Instead, we should ask ourselves “How and Why.” This means that our life plot shouldn’t just consist of one action after another; rather meditation and reflection should accompany our actions as we strive towards achieving personal goals.
Both Atwood and O’Connor explore the theme of living, though cast in different lights. However, they both concur on one thing: living one’s life should be an exercise in enriching it, not simply playing out parts. For O’Connor, living a good life means embodying Christian ideals and beliefs rather than just acting them out. On the other hand, for Atwood, a good life is about finding meaning in one’s actions and experiences rather than just playing pre-destined roles with slight modifications.
Works Cited.
Atwood, Margaret’s Happy Endings” can be found on the University of Central Florida Homepage at http://users.ipfw.edu/ruflethe/endings.htm. This source was accessed on April 19, 2007.
O’Connor, Flannery’s A Good Man is Hard to Find” can be found on the Indiana University – Purdue University Fort Wayne Homepage
