The Theme of Conformation to Moral Standards and Thinking before Acting in a Good Man is Hard to Find, a Short Story by Flannery O'connor

In the story “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, the author gives a story of a conflict between grandmother and a criminal who engage in evil activities. In this story the grandmother is portrayed as a good person who is morally upright whose behaviors were influenced by the background where she was raised (O’Connor, 2015). In the theme of good man, the definition of being good was portrayed as being gullible, and a poor decision maker (O’Connor, 2015). In the story, the Misfit is also regarded as good based ability to conform to moral standards that are generally accepted in the society. Therefore, the theme of “A Good Man is Hard to Find” is the ability of a person to conform to moral standards and reason before acting on anything, because choices has its consequences (O’Connor, 2015).

The story “The Hanging stranger” talks about the protagonist Ed Loycen who encountered a horrific incident which elicited different reactions from colleagues (Dick, 2014). While working at a repair store, Ed saw a dead body and immediately informed his colleagues. The theme of the story is portrayed in form of symbols and fear of a dead person, and also the procedures involved when handling critical situations. The major themes portrayed is suspicion and fear of mystical-religious elements who would deliver punishments through hanging if one does what is considered wrong in the society. Therefore, the people had to weigh between doing good and evil because of its potential consequences. The hanging stranger is portrayed as a strong message to the wrong doers of potential consequences of their actions (Dick, 2014).

“All Summer in a Day” is fictional story about children from the planet Venus who are raised by “rocket men” parents (Bradbury, 1992). In Venus, the children had never seen the summer as the sun was since ounce every seven years. The protagonist in the story is Margot from the planet earth who is despised because she does not belong to Venus (Bradbury, 1992). The major theme portrayed in the story is jealously. Margot being from another planet was hated by other children because his views about the sun were not accommodated by those in Venus. Her inability to behave and follow the rules of the Venus society resulted in violence treatment she received from other children.