Flannery O"Connor uses four short stories to emphasize the different beliefs of the time period. She uses "Good Country People," "Parker's Back," "Revelation," and "A Good Man Is Hard To Find" to represent similar throughout each story. In one way or another religion and racism are tied into most of the short stories. In several cases her characters represent some similar personality traits. Also, she writes about rarities in a couple of her stories to enhance the themes created. In her biography, she is quoted saying, "I am interested in making a good case for distortion because I am coming to believe that it is the only way to make people see." (O"Connor Wksht) She states that she writes about oddities to inform to the reader that anything is possible. People can't rule out the unthinkable in life. She really identifies that in her stories. It is clear to the reader that most of her stories have similar themes, ideas, and characters. This makes it easier to distinguish Flannery O"Connor's personality, which makes her stories easier to read and more enjoyable. It can be argued that O"Connor's bizarre way of writing will set her aside to be the most talked about writer of all time.
There are a couple of things certain with Flannery O"Connor's stories. In "Parker's Back," "A Good Man Is Hard To Find," "Good Country People," and "Revelation," a similar theme is represented by each one of them. In "Good Country People," country people have an appeal or higher standard. The characters in this story envied country people. As quoted in the story Mrs. Hopewell states "good country people are the salt of the earth." (O"Connor 401) Trust is a big theme in this story and in the end trust and country people are tied together. Mrs. Hopewell and her family can best be summarized as low society citizens. Joy, Mrs. Hopewell's daughter is an atheist who is frustrated at the world. Joy attracts a countryman claiming to be a Bible salesman.
