Good vs Evil Essay

Going back to as far as we can remember there has always been a battle between good and evil or right vs. wrong. At the end of the day we are all faced with a moment where we must make a decision. A series of made decisions will, as a result, mold our character to somehow define ourselves as either good people or bad people. It is no surprise that this very own reality is the focus on our entertainment as well. We lose ourselves in an action packed film about a superhero saving the world from a villain to spending an evening watching soap operas where Mr. Perfect goes through an injustice as Mr. Wrong in Every Sense takes his woman away from him. But before all of this technology took over, this scenery was given to us in a more witty and creative way. We will discuss these mentioned roles in two superb stories that until this day simply cannot be replaced by special effects and/or exaggerated and unnecessary stunts. Let’s begin by discussing this subject along with one of O’Connor’s masterpieces â€Å" A Good Man is Hard to find†. This is a story without restraint on going straight to the point. We may describe O’Connor’s style of writing as a no apologies type of writing. The story begins by portraying an almost ordinary family. There is a grandmother, who plays the main role, along with her son, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren. This family discusses the possibilities of taking a road trip to Florida whereas the grandmother tries her best to persuade them into not following along with the plans. Being the paranoid elder we read about, she brings up the recent release of a killer and saying how â€Å"I couldn’t answer to my conscience† (449) if her family came across him. Moving on to spoiling the finale, the story ends with every member of the family being shot and killed. Although brutal, it is tied completely to the title as the family comes across a cold hearted, merciless killer who did not care for the pleading of poor old grandma. As previously discussed, this is a classic case of the innocent (good) sadly falling under the mercy of a criminal (evil). O’Connor was an author that wrote with a purpose and meaning behind every story. Even though some may argue about this being simple a story for entertainment, we are able to take a look around and notice that scenarios like the one in the story happen around us sadly. Therefore, the reader can relate and surely sympathize for the family and what they went through. One of O’Connor’s greatest attempt in revealing the mindset behind a character like The Misfit is through one of his final words after killing the grandmother by saying â€Å"She would have been a good woman†¦if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life† (459). Moving along to Boyle’s â€Å"Carnal Knowledge† we will find a variation of the Right vs. Wrong scenario. In this story we will read about the common scenario of a man, Jim, doing whatever it takes with the purpose of pursuing love in the arms of a very selfish and egotistical Alena. Like many, Jim works hard and enjoys eating meat, as he would love nothing more than to have â€Å"Beef, mutton, pork, venison, dripping burgers, and greasy ribs† (569). But his whole world is turned upside down when he meets Alena, as he was laying on the beach feeling lonesome. In contrast to him, Alena is an animal rights fanatic. Regardless, cupid’s arrow had struck Jim from the moment he laid eyes on her. He tried changing everything about himself to try and win her heart. Jim lost his job, became a vegan, and became part of animal rights protests to impress her. The sad part of the story was not love striking Jim. Instead, Alena being as self involved as she was, did not reciprocate the feelings he had for her. She did not reciprocate anything at all for that matter. After all his effort and attempts, Alena ends up with Rolfe and leaving with him to Wyoming, Along with this devastating heart break for Jim, during their whole friendship he was mistreated and being unfairly dealt by the woman who stole his heart. This is another relatable topic as we see this happen all the time around us or to us in our daily life. We find a relationship where there is and abuser and an abused. There is a relationship where there is right vs. wrong. Good vs. evil and right vs. wrong. We learn about this endless battle through stories, poems, movies, etc. Most importantly, we must treasure the brilliant work from authors like Boyle and O’Connor, which show us some of these scenarios through some of their writing. The same way we recognize the faults and the attributes in these characters, we can learn a thing or two and avoid making the same mistakes or catching ourselves while we still can before we hurt someone or even ourselves. We can all agree that right is most important after all.