Morality & Change

Morals define an individual’s ethics and principles which are engraved and remain the same throughout a lifetime. Since all people have their own unique explanations of morality, it is safe to assume that morality is not defined by any one individual. According to social norms, morals are supposed to be inherited from parents and community norms, which proportionately allows to give shape as to what type of principles an individual holds. Morals influence a change only once an individual is able to define morality to themselves. After morality is defined, it cannot influence a change again. The secrecy and contradicting behaviors of the grandmother from “A Good Man is Hard to Find” and Jack from “Home” defines these characters morality which explains their actions, and as result determines that morality does not influence a change once engraved.

Marilynne Robinson’s “Home” and Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find” explain that morals shape up every person differently, despite family and community interference. As seen by the grandmother after finding out about the misfit, she continues “I wouldn’t take my children in any direction with a criminal a loose in it. I couldn’t answer to my conscience if I did” (O’Connor, p422) which explains how conceited the grandmother is. This is the first important piece of information the readers acquire about the grandmother, because it explains to the readers exactly how high and mighty the grandmother sees herself, and how she compares herself against others. Jack from “Home” was a lot worse, not just because he inflicted pain onto his loved ones, but because Jack also does not justify his actions according to his behavior, and feelings. There are not any specific set of morals that are accepted by every society. Only communities and families can hold similar states of mind and share a common set of morals. Even then morals will still vary. An individual cannot alter their identity after identifying their own specific set of morality as displayed by Jack’s actions as he slowly relapses back into his regular old self, and as the grandmother’s grotesque self comes to life as she slowly realizes she is about to die

In “Home” the protagonist Jack is fighting to bring about a change in how he is remembered, and neither his community nor his family believe jack can change. Jack continuously struggles to show the readers that change is achievable, however Robinson conveyed that Jack’s futile attempts to change who he was as inevitable. Upon Jack’s arrival home the readers can sense the tension in the air with every action he commits. Jack returns home with a negative mindset, still judging his past self and comparing it with the present. Robinson attempts to sway the reader into understanding the situation and analyzing it through Jack’s perspective. As the story went on it was evident that Jack was different from his former self, because he grew up, however the lesson learned from Robinson is that even though people grow up morality remains constant. Jack himself realized that change is not necessary, and that it is not an entity that can be controlled by any person. Jack came to terms with himself by accepting himself for who he is, and not who his community want him to be. Robinson explains that change happens unwillingly instead of intentionally. As jack comes to peace with himself, the readers can learn through Jack’s character development that change is not necessary, as change is neither good nor bad in his case. Jack stopped trying to become the person he is expected to be because He cannot change his Morality.

In O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find” the readers are given crucial information about how different the family is from the grandmother, which helps explain how morality influences the grandmother’s behaviors. The old fashioned characteristics of the grandmother give the readers a background as to what type of person she is and the type of morals she holds. The grandmother was the first in the car, and had “her big black valise that looked like the head of a hippopotamus in one corner, and underneath it she was hiding a basket with Pitty Sing” (O’Connor, p423) this information allows the readers to put the pieces of the puzzle into place, and understand why the author forces the grandmother to be in a situation where she has to challenge her morals and bring about a change. The situation was in favor of the argument that a person should be able to change, and alter their morals, because of the life or death situation the characters faced. The grandmother was given a chance by the misfit, who judged the grandmother based on her morality. As the grandmother died, the readers realize that evil and good are separated by a thin line that cannot be defined by an individual’s morals or actions. O’Connor argues that actions do not justify morals, and that evil people can acquire good morals even though a change in behavior and actions is not possible. “She would have been a good woman, the Misfit said, if it had been somebody to shoot her every minute of her life.” (O’Connor, p 433) Individuals cannot alter their morals to bring about a change in their fate.

Both “Home” and “A Good Man is Hard to Find” are good example of how people with a specific set of morals attempt to influence a change in specific life situations, however it was evident that these characters were not trying to change for themselves, but for reasons that appealed to them. The change the grandmother and jack attempt to go through was not righteous to themselves and as a result they were not able to succeed in achieving their respective goals. Morality influences a change only when they are subconsciously defined. Individuals cannot control what path life has instore for them, and neither can they control what ethics and principles they gain. Individuals must learn to live with themselves, instead of detesting their actions. Life will continue to move on, and human morality will continuously evolve “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” (Fitzgerald, p189). Human continuity will always remain unchanged, and will forever be in the same place.

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