Blog #4: Dark, Shocking, and Addicting

In “Clichés, Superficial Story-Telling, and the Dark Humor of Flannery O’Connor’s ‘A Good Man is Hard to Find’”, Robert C. Evans made me view O’Connor’s short story from a completely different perspective. Perhaps I was analyzing the story and characters with the incorrect viewpoint, for I did not place nearly as much significance in the use of clichés as Evans. Surprised by the gravity he placed on hackneyed aspects of the story, dialogue, and characters, I had not considered his point of view. Evans saw the purpose of the clichés and superficiality to be to contrast O’Connor’s writing. He then says that O’Connor’s use of dark humor is meant to be a contrast between her writing and the writing of others when saying, “One reason O’Connor employs this sort of shockingly black comedy is to make a clear contrast between her own kind of writing and the other, far more stale and predictable styles in which language generally tends to be used, especially in modern society” (Evans).

            It is with Evans’ formerly stated opinion that I disagree. He makes it seems as if every writing style other than O’Connor’s dark, tragic humor is dry and unpredictable. Evans underestimates the power of language and speaks as if the only way to surprise an audience is through raw and sinister tragedy that shocks the reader like a devastating news broadcast. On the contrary, when used in the manner of authors such as Emily Brontë, language can make an impact without the use of graphic and specific description. Language has the potential to allure and surprise when applied vaguely, therefore Flannery O’Connor’s approach is not the only way to shock readers. I do, however, agree that O’Connor “uses her special brand of dark humor to shake her readers awake and keep them alert” (Evans). The bland and superficial characters do contrast well with the blatant and abominable Misfit and his startling deeds. Just as Evans discusses, “A Good Man is Hard to Find” begins as a series of predictable events, however progresses into a scandalous string of completely unforeseen occurrences.