Billie And Pecola's Search For Identity example essay topic

A Good Man Is Hard To Find I believe that Flannery O Connor's short story A Good Man is Hard to Find is used as a tool to convert the unbelieving or unwilling to at least take a look at the old ways of Christian faith. O Conner, herself being a strong believer in Christianity, probably thought that writing this story will help make people who aren t really living by the Christian rules to seriously consider doing so. Flannery O'Connor was deeply concerned with the values and the direction of the youth at the time. In reading ' A Good Man is Hard to Find,' we find ourselves in a setting of a lower middle class family with a dominant mother, annoying grandmother and a whinny mother-in-law. I tend to believe that she is to be the main character.

The grandmother is representative of godliness and Christianity. An example of this, in "A Good Man is Hard to Find,' involves the grandmother's strong, southern heritage. She dresses with the intention that anyone who finds her dead on the road will know she was a lady, and she is always telling stories of southern gentlemen courting her. Then, the Misfit, whom she "knows' is of quality, southern blood, shoots her and her family, despite her belief in southern hospitality.

Grandma is a woman who believes in God, but it seems that her belief isn t really strong up until her confrontation with the Misfit. From what I understand, the main character (s) are in some kind of trouble and at the end they see the light of God's ways and have their redemption. The immoral character of the Misfit is very skillfully portrayed, as is the enlightened character of Grandma. Most of the characters in A Good Man is Hard to Find and, probably her other works, go through some kind of methamorphosis, a change in their views of the world and in their perceptions about life and death. Such character in this particular story is Grandma and, in my opinion, the Misfit. I think that the Misfit is constantly experiencing a deep inner struggle and this is revealed in his conversation with Grandma.

Of course, O Conner's skillful portrayal of his helps the reader to detect some obscure details of the Misfits behavior, which are key elements in determining the Misfit's state of mind. Those details are his gestures, his speech, and his thoughts. The Misfit represents evil. At one point the Misfit likens himself to Christ, in that they both were punished for crimes they did not commit. Christ accepted death for the sins of all people, however, and not only did the Misfit not do that, but he also killed other innocent people.

Near the end of the ordeal, the grandmother recognizes the shirt the Misfit has put on as her son's shirt. Upon observing this image, she realizes that to be truly Christ like, she is going to have to forgive the Misfit and accept him as a child of God. I think O'Connor was trying to show how deeply concerned with the values and the direction of the youth of that time. She may have started believing that Christ was no longer enough of a priority to the people of her generation In a way, the Misfit represents the new generation of young and religiously misguided people, and Grandma symbolizes the old generation, which has grown somewhat distanced from religion. In my opinion this is a take on the missionary concept. Someone in the storyline is converted to stronger faith in God, and also there is a form of conversion of the reader by the author.

A Search for Self-Identity Finding a self-identity is often a sign of maturing and growing up, as well as the search for the real you. This becomes the central issue for the main characters in My Sister's Bones, by Cath i Hanauer and The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison. In both novels, Billie and Pecola's search for identity is affected by how others influence them and their unrealistic goal to meet society's image of perfection. Both main characters developed a coping mechanism of not existing or fading into the crowd in order to escape the pain of reality. Due to the pressure that most people have to endure, they feel that another figure of themselves will alter the condition that affects them. Pecola in The Bluest Eye, is a young girl who is easily influenced by things and people that surround her.

Pecola's father is of violent nature, threatening Pecola and the rest of her family that, If I sneeze once, just once, God help your butt! (Morrison, 41). Pecola's father takes his frustration out on the family, corrupting what Pecola believes is a normal life. Due to the way Pecola appears in the eyes of society, as well as her family as ugly and black, Pecola endures pain in which a pretty or cute girl would not have to set eyes on or bear. Pecola is confused and has been perverted to ways in which she believes her life should be like, always living life in hash and violent cercumtances, but always wishing for another way of life. Pecola and her family are always looked down upon because of their way of doing things and their way of life.

Pecola's father does not deal with frustration very well taking most of it out in violent temperaments. Neighbours see how Pecola's father releases his temper on his family, refering to him as, That dirty nigger (Morrison, 189), as well as Doing a wild and forbidden thing excited him (Morrison, 162). Therefore making Pecola want more then anything in the world to have blue eyes (another life) then the one that she has been forced to live in. In My Sister's Bones Billie one of the main characters is young and easily influenced by things that may have an impact on her life. Such as, Billie looks up to her big sister for support and guidance, but Cassie believes that excess weight is looked at as, It's gross (Hanauer, 180). Therefore Cassie is leading Billie, who is of average beauty to believe that she herself is not perfect, and maybe is gross too.

Dealing with her sister's life, her SAT's Billie is faced with the fact that Everything has to be perfect (Hanauer, 8), thus she feels she has to judge the way she is and the things she does, because she is always feeling less than perfect. Billie is even judged by those who are closest to her such as her father, He likes to compare us (Hanauer, 24). She feels trapped, because she is not perfect and she feels like she has to live up to everyones expectations. Beauty is more looked upon as external attractiveness instead of the beauty that lies within a person. Both main characters struggle to live up to society's belief of beauty. Pecola being young and nieve, falls easily for the influence of what society believes is beautiful, all the world had agreed that a blue-eyed, yellow-haired, pink-skinned doll was what every girl child treasured (Morrison, 20).

Thus making Pecola feel she will never be beautiful. Pecola and the rest of the community belive that perfection as such characters like Mary Jane will never have to undergo the hardship and suffering of the community, To eat the candy somehow to eat the eyes love Mary Jane. Be Mary Jane (Morrison, 50). Therefore such people like Pecola feel the need to try to be someone else, someone like Mary Jane. Pecola believes if she has blue eyes, I want the blue (Morrison, 174), then she wouldn t have the life she has, full of pain. She feels that she is always being treated with disrespect because of the way people look at her, and if she looked different then she would be treated differently.

Billie like Pecola feels she always wants to be what people want her to be, and she never stops to think if that's who she wants to be. Billie changes herself to suit what other people want her to be, She looks like me talks like I do, but she feels like an imposter somehow (Hanauer, 142). In the end she realizes that the person she has created for everyone else is not really her own self. Billie becomes so involved with society's flawless figure that she only care's about what people, especially when it comes to what the boys think, Maybe he doesn t like what he sees (Hanauer, 67). She is always judging herself, especially her looks, because she knows and believes that people are doing the same. Society is the main cause to the way Billie looks at what is beautiful and what she herself should look like, Cosmopolitan is displayed; a brassy-haired woman leers through bronze pillow lips (Hanauer, 62).

The feeling of not existing as an escaping mechanism is a main issue when dealing with the struggles which both Pecola and Billie have to bear. Pecola believes she and her life is nothing, Please make me disappear (Morrison, 45). Therefore she feels the only way to rid herself of the pain by escaping it, disappearing from whatever or whoever is bothering her. Since she believes she is nothing, she believes she can fade away without anyone ever knowing. Pecola truly believes that her life would change if people looked at her different, as someone. Such people like Pecola's mother would love her and treat her as someone, instead of, She's no one (Morrison, 164).

Pecola's overall harsh treatment makes her feel that it is just best for her to fade away, thus creating someone other then herself. Billie like her parents don t like to deal or accept their problems, they normally push them off until it's too late. Billie believes that all her problems will disappear, making things different from reality like the case with her sister's anorexia. Billie didn t want to accept that her sister was sick until it almost too late. Billie retreats from her sisters problem, I talk about the way I want it to be, not the way it really is (Hanauer, 220), leaving her troubles for another time because she feels that she isn t good enough to make the right decisions. She would rather create another life / situation so she can cope with it, disappearing into the unrealistic expectation of society.

Both Pecola and Billie's search for identity was defined by their everlasting longing to be appreciated. They both believed that their purpose in life was to be the norm, or in other words what people / society thinks is beautiful. As a result of this purpose they would be accepted and loved by those around them. Their family and friends and community made it unattainable for them to be satisfied with themselves, thus leading them to give in to the unrealistic standards which society has set. Therefore manufacturing the lack of confidence in themselves thus leading them to believe that they are only worthy to retreat from their problems instead of facing them. 33 c.