The role of chance in the story plays a big part. If one little thing had been different, they wouldn't have ended up meeting the misfit. For example, if the grandmother hadn't stood up in the car, it wouldn't have lead to an accident. Then the family would be out of harms way. But ultimately, it was fate that lead them to their deaths. It was very unexpected, and every choice the family made contributed to their deaths, just by chance.
The grandmother's definition of a good man is a man who is nice, someone who you can trust, and comes from nice people. A good man has to be nice, from when the grandmother said "People are certainly not nice like they used to be." This implies that people should be nice. She also tells Red Sam that he is a good man when he did a nice deed. A good man has to be trustworthy from when it says "It isn't a soul in this green world of God's that you can trust." That shows how you would have be trustworthy to be a good man. Finally, a good man has to have respectable parents. It says "I know you're a good man.....I know you must come from nice people!"
I agree with part of the grandmother's definition. I agree that a good man must be trustworthy and nice. I don't agree with the part that says a good man comes from good people. A man from a good family could easily turn bad. A man from a bad family could turn out better. They would try hard to be good to not end up like their parents. The grandmother's definition is only partly right.
The article from the blog we read was very interesting. It said that Misfit had an epiphany after he killed the grandmother. He realized that she really was a good lady and that it would take someone threatening to shoot her. It also says that these epiphanies don't last for long, so the Misfit will go back to old ways soon and forget what he thought about with the grandmother. This shows how some people really don't want to change, even if they realize that they should. The article says that even if a character sees themselves clearly, they can't change much. That applies to the Misfit who sees himself clearly for a moment, but will most likely not change.
I also think that chance and fate played a large role in this short story. I like how you found good in the grandmothers definition of a good man. I did not really agree with her definition but now, I see how part of it was actually good.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that a good man could come from a bad family and that someone from a good family could turn bad. So, I disagree with part of her definition of a good man too! And, like you, I believe that there was a small chance that that would have happened to them, but fate brought them to their deaths. Good job Piper :)
ReplyDeleteI also agree that a bad man can come from a good family. We had the same opinion on the grandmothers definition of a good man and fate. I liked your interesting insights on the article. Good job!
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