Flannery OConnor And Shiloh Analysis - 1564 Words

Within the collection of short stories titled The Art of the Short Story, edited by Dana Gioia, there are a surfeit of stories that mirror one another in terms of similar themes, including but not limited to: love, happiness, journeys, etc. Two short stories in particular, â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† by Flannery O’Connor and â€Å"Shiloh† by Bobbie Ann Mason, share similar aspects pertaining to the dual themes of conflict within the families as well as journeys embarked upon by the main characters of the short stories that lead to the ultimate demise of the families. â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† begins with a family conflict arising with relation to the destination of a family vacation. The grandmother of the family makes a suggestion to†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"A Good Many is Hard to Find† begins with the family conflicting over the destination of a family vacation, where the grandmother desires to go to Tennessee while the rest of the family wishes to go to Florida, their usual destination. â€Å"You all ought to take them somewhere else for a change so they would see different parts of the world and be broad. They never have been to Tennessee† (678). The grandmother is able to coerce the family into going to Tennessee, but there remains a sense of tension and conflict during the remaining course of the drive to the final destination. â€Å"All right!† He shouted and drew the car to a stop at the side of the road. â€Å"Will you all shut up? Will you just shut up for one second? If you don’t shut up, we won’t go anywhere.† (682). The father has become increasingly irritated with the direction that the vacation is heading and clearly voices his frustrations with the family in the previously referenced quote deriving from the short story. As tension increases within the family in â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find†, a similar family situation arises in â€Å"Shiloh†, where a man and his wife experience difficulties is maintaining their marriage. The story opens with the husband, Leroy Moffitt, wishing to build a log cabin for him and his wife, Norma