Strategic Business Planning Management And Decision Making

Strategic Business Planning Management And Decision Making The term strategy has found a limited definition arising, principally, from military origins. This definition has been expanded into the business context where many authors have argued strategy in terms of quantitative and qualitative processes. However, it continues to defy a singular, definitive definition. In order to understand strategy, we must look beyond its military antecedents and identify strategy as a life process. Different possible definitions of strategy are: Strategy is the direction and scope of an organisation over the long term, which achieves the advantage in the changing environment through its configuration of resources and competences with the aim of fulfilling stakeholder expectations. Strategies are developed in order to achieve the goals and objectives of the organisation. Aconsistency of direction based on a clear understanding of the game being played and an acute awareness of how to manoeuvre into a position of advantage. Strategy is not just a notion of how to deal with an enemy or set of competitors or a market. It draws us into some of the most fundamental issues about organizations as instruments for collective perception and action. Scope and nature of strategic business management and planning: Scope and nature of strategic business management and planning is a widespread topic and it is hard to list down every aspect of it. I am using JSW model to describe some of the key aspects of strategic business management and planning: The organisations long termdirection: no specific timescale is envisaged but one should think in terms in excess of one year and more probably of several years. The scope of an organisations activities: This will include both the overall roles and purposes the organisation accepts for itself and the activities it undertakes in pursuit of them. For commercial organisations and for many not for profit organisations too, strategic planning will be about gaining some kind of advantage in competition. Strategic decisions are affected by the values and expectationsof organisations stakeholders. Stakeholders are people who have a legitimate interest in what the organisation does. Characteristics of strategic business management and planning: Using JSW model as an reference, some of the key characteristics of strategic business management and planning are: Decisions about the strategic planning are likely to be complexsince there are likely to be a number of significant factors to take in to consideration and a variety of possible outcomes to balance against one another. There is likely to be a high degree of uncertaintysurrounding strategic planning, both about the precise nature of current circumstances and about the likely consequences of any course of action. Strategic planning and management have extensive impact on operational decision making, that is, planning and decision at lower levels in the organisation. Strategic planning affects the whole organisation and requires processes that cross operational and functional boundaries within it. An integrated approachis therefore required. Strategic planning and management are likely to lead to changewithin the organisation as resource capacity is adjusted to permit new courses of action. Changes with implications for organisational cultureare particularly complex and difficult to manage. Key strategies of British Airways are: Be the airline of primary choice for long haul premium customers: So people will want to fly with us at any time they can. We will carry on to come up with great stuff such as the new business class seat on long haul and a restyled First cabin. Deliver a incomparable service for customers at every touch point: By training crew, on the ground and in the sky, in world-class warmth and customer service. Customers can check-in from their mobiles or PDAs. Grow our survival in key global cities around the world: To render the best global connectivity for our customers. In addition toour new long haul service from London City to New York JFK, our network depth will strengthen with more flights to Dubai and Johannesburg and a return to Saudi Arabia. Build on our leading stance in London: The worlds biggest aviation market. Ensuring Heathrow remains a world classhub is vital to give us a powerful London base to cater the largest international long haul markets. We will obtain new slots, support plans for athird runway and work with BAA to improve baggage and terminal conveniencesat Heathrow. Meet our customers needs and improve profit margins through new revenue streams: By coming up with profitable supplementary services that offer customers great value and re-enforce our brand. Our aspire is to grow our mileage business and further revenues from third-party engineering, in-flight sales and a new online retail website. On ba.com we have now launched a variety of great value hotel and car hire options packaged with our flights. The decisions we are taking now will establish how strongly we materialize from the downturn. The airline industry is in a period of unprecedented change and we have developed a clear strategy for our business. In order to become the principal global premium airline, we necessitate to look at the way we work as well as what we are doing as a business. For that rationale, along with our five key strategies, we have launched a three-year change programme Compete 2012 correlated to our sponsorship of the London 2012 Olympics. This programme is being progressively rolled out across our business to revive our culture and will reform the way we work. Need of strategy in global environment: Todays environment is very much dynamic. Organisations are in a constant exercise of realigning themselves to the needs of the environment. Defined and thorough strategy plays a vital part here. Especially for a globally operating organisation like BA, it could be a matter of success or failure. Managers must be aware that markets, supplies, investors, locations, partners, and competitors can be everywhere. Successful businesses will take advantage of opportunities wherever they are and will be prepared for downfalls. International strategy is the continuous and comprehensive management technique designed to help companies operate and compete effectively across national restrictions, For example, some companies form partnerships with companies in other countries, others acquire companies in other countries, others still develop products, services, and marketing campaigns designed to appeal to customers in other countries. Some rudimentary aspects of international strategies mirror do mestic strategies in that companies must determine what products or services to sell, where and how to sell them, where and how they will produce or provide them, and how they will compete with other companies in the industry in accordance with company goals. Generally, a Company develops its international strategy by considering its overall strategy, which includes its operations at home and abroad. We can consider four aspects of strategy: (1) scope of operations, (2) resource allocation, (3) competitive advantage, and (4) synergy. Besides the fact that well defined strategic business management and planning processes bring structure, control and consistency to the overall decision making of the organisation but we (the company) should also consider that the formal decision making model discussed above may distract managers attention from controlling actual process as making strategic plans is not the same thing as managing the process. A split may also develop between the people responsible for planning and those responsible for implementation. Particularly in large organisation like ours (BA) the planning system may be too complex and extensive for even quite senior managers to understand the way it works. Over-formal planning systems and over-rigid control can hamper innovative thinking. As the national and international environment is always in a constant move so one can say that there is no one best planning and management model. Now a days the environmental factors and most importantly the customer are in a greater power than before that influences the overall structure, strategy, planning and management processes of the organisation. Prescriptive and Emergent (Mintzberg) strategies: In real world, 100% intended or prescriptive strategies does not get realised. Some intended strategies fail as predicted environment keeps changing. Emergent strategies arise in response to unexpected changes in the environment and may be better than intended strategies. Hence, organisations should keep some room for emergent strategies alongside the formal process i.e. Rational model. Following diagram is a snapshot of how a mix of prescriptive and emergent strategies get realised in the practical world: Different levels of strategy and their relationship with each other: (Hofer and Schender) Strategic business management and planning can be formulated on three different levels: Corporate level. Tactical or business level. Operational level. Corporate level strategy makers analyze the common needs of business units and add impact to the whole system in addition to individual development of participating business units. Issues with reference to the introduction of new products or growth into new markets or segments are all a part of this strategic level. Corporate level strategy forms the stem of the strategic decision tree and the management has to be wholly responsive of its implications as well as the sensitivity of all succeeding strategies, no matter at what level. It is of prime substance that corporate level strategy is entirely associated by and large with the vision of the business and the values and prospect of stakeholders. Business or tactical level strategies are in essence position strategies whereby businesses safe for themselves uniqueness and spot in the market. The endeavour here is to augment the business value for the corporate and stakeholders by increasing the brand understanding and value professed by the customers. The third level of strategy is the operational level which chiefly is concerned with successfully implementing the tactical decisions prepared at Corporate and business unit level through optimal consumption of resources and competencies of the business unit. A methodical understanding of the three levels of strategy makes their strong co-dependence and non-hierarchical nature obvious. All strategies have to be in absolute harmonization with each other since the accomplishment of one is inseparably related to the other. So as a substitute of being in a top-down order, the inter-connecting can be visualized as a triangle with the three corners indicating the three levels. Visions, missions and objectives: The two organisations which are to be contrasted and compared are British Airways (for Profit) and Oxfam (Not for Profit). Vision: Vision means the category of intentions which are broad, all-intrusive and forward-thinking. The corporate success is reliant on the vision set by the top management. A vision is the image that a business must have of its objectives before it sets out to reach them. It describes ambitions for the future, without specifying the means that will be used to achieve those desired ends. Vision of British Air : The Vision focuses on employees and customers à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.it emphasizes BAs desire to be the worlds global airline. Vision of Oxfam UK : Oxfams vision is that diverse communities of people living in poverty will exercise their rights to a decent and secure standard of living in developed society. Mission : A mission statement is an organizations vision converted into written form. It makes tangible the managements view of the direction and purpose of the organization. Mission of British Airways : To be the undisputed leader in world travel for the next millennium. Mission of Oxfam : The main areas of Oxfam mission focus are poverty alleviation, action against violence, making people exercise their rights, removing gender inequality and preventing and reducing environment damage. Objectives : Objectives give the organization a clearly defined target. Planning can then be made thereafter to achieve these targets. This is helpful in motivating the employees. It also allows the business to measure the progress towards to its stated aims. Objectives of British Airways : The main objectives of British Air revolve around the following key areas: Employee satisfaction and retention Customer Satisfaction Being more effective as an international carrier as compared to other airlines. Making efficient use of resources. Using methods that are environmentally friendly. Making the airline more competitive in terms of fares while at the same time focusing on profitability. Objectives of Oxfam : The main objectives of Oxfam address the following: Creating programs for people to make them exercise their rights. Taking measures to reduce environmental damage. Creating awareness among women and thus working towards gender equality. Taking practical measures against the use of violence. Methodology for creating Vision, Mission and Objectives: The methodology used would be: Vision: Based on the views of the management to create a certain image of the airline in the long-term and how the founding members/key stakeholders want to see the organization in future. Mission: It will be based on the vision and the methodology used will depend on the need for to stand out amongst the airline industry. Objective: The Objectives will be decided comparing the performance of other airlines and the key steps / indicators required to translate the vision in to tangible results. Methodology for creating Vision, Mission and Objectives: Vision: This will be decided according to the core principles on which a charity like Oxfam is founded. The factors considered would be the environment in which the charity operates and the people affected by its activities. Mission: This area is decided according to the aims of the key stakeholders and the different areas on which Oxfam focuses including poverty reduction, disaster relief and development projects around the world. Objective: The objectives will be set for the short or long term and the performance measures for the charity taking into consideration the main areas of operations as well as the likely hurdles in attaining a particular goal. Strategic business management and planning method: Strategic Business Management and Planning Method of the organization : One of the main methods used is the SWOT Analysis and the PEST analysis. It takes into account the likely impact of the steps taken by British Air to meet its objectives taking into account the competitors as well as the global conditions existent in the world of travel and transport. This will focus on the main areas which can have a direct impact on the running of the airline including the fuel prices , customer satisfaction, competitor fares etc. Strategic Business Management and Planning Method of the organization : The methods used for a non-profit like Oxfam would be different as they will focus on key achievement areas in its global relief and humanitarian efforts rather than profitability. A key method might be the Value for Money (VFM) process. The likely areas taken into account during these methods might include the amount of donations received, the number of people served and the effectiveness of the work undertaken by Oxfam. The influence of corporate governance and regulations: Influence of Corporate Governance and Regulations: British airways has to take into account different areas of corporate governance including the performance of the board and the regulation concerning the executive pay, the roles and duties of chairman and the chief executive , regulation concerning the functioning of board committees, shareholder accountability , environmental regulation. Influence of Corporate Governance and Regulations: Oxfams corporate governance procedures will take into account the requirement for directors and trustees and adhering to a code of conduct(based on the Nolan Committee Principles of Standards in Public Life),also looking into possible conflicts of interests . The specifications of the memorandum of association and the key charitable aims of the charity. Relevance of visions, missions and objectives: Many organisations never explore their reasons for being in business. They are so involved in day-to-day actions they fail to see the bigger picture. So what is the significance of having an articulated Vision, Mission and Objectives? It starts with establishing your core values. Core values are things that drive an organisation. They are the driving force of an organisation. They are fixed and do not change over time. Once the core values are established, the next step is the Vision, a long-term goal. It can be something minute or something that is huge. The Mission flows from an organisations Vision. A Mission is important because it embraces the commitment of an organisation to staff, customers, and the community at large. It may define the company ethos, core beliefs of the owners, service levels, quality, excellence, training and commitment. Setting objectives is the stage that comes next in the process. It is important because it shows how an organisation delivers on the promises made by its Mission. If there is clarity in both the Vision and Mission, it is easy to decide on the objectives. Objectives can be set for each key area of the business along with a time-line for completion. Objectives may be corporate, product, market, sales, financial, operations, or staff related or any combination of these.As can be seen, this is a trickle down system with higher level aspirations that flow down to every level of the business and become the glue that holds everything together. The benefits of having a vision, mission and objectives are clear and unambiguous. Every step that an organisation takes is in pursuit of its articulated end game.

Theories of Growth, Loss and Stress

Theories of Growth, Loss and Stress Theories are used to explain the characteristics and circumstances of individual. Theories look at human growth and development; managing loss and change; managing stress and behaviour Psychoanalytical Theory This approach looks at the underlying unconscious processes in individuals. Ideas developed by Sigmund Freud. Sigmund Freud he stated the belief that the child is born with basic animal instincts that operate at the unconscious level of thought. These instincts require immediate gratification. Development depends in part on transforming these animal needs into socially acceptable, rational behaviour. The range of potential behaviour is very broad at birth and then becomes increasingly reduced in scope, fixed in form and shaped to conform to social norms (Boundless, 2017). Eriksons Psychosocial Theory Eriksons theory is based on the psychoanalytic approach to human development, founded by Sigmund Freud. Erikson believed that the process of socializing the child into a given culture occurs as the person passes through eight innately determined, sequential stages. Although he recognized the individuals instinctual drives, Erikson emphasized the childs interaction with the environment (Erikson, 1959). For Erikson, the events of later childhood can undo the personality foundations built earlier in life (Boundless, 2017). Behaviourist theory This is used to describe human behaviour. The concept is that all human behaviour can be understood as a result of learning. There are two types of learning; Classical conditioning; inducing a natural reflex response to a stimulus and Operant conditioning: using reward and punishment to modify behaviour (McLeod, 2017).   Behaviourism helps to modify behaviour by using operant conditioning. E.g. if a client does something wrong, they should be told of so that they do not repeat their wrong doings. At the same time we offer some rewards for good behaviour to reinforce those behaviours. Humanistic Theory This theory tries to understand human development according to how the self develops. Sense of self in terms of self-concepts, and self-esteem is developed right from childhood. Self-concept is about how we see ourselves.eg(female, tall, brown-eyed, skills and competences, being kind, shy outgoing, lively, thoughtful, honest etc., fire fighter, doctor, brother sister etc. Self-esteem refers to how we fell about ourselves. How much value we give to ourselves and how lovable and likeable we believe ourselves to be. The self-esteem can be shattered depending on how individuals are treated. If discriminated against, ridiculed, neglected criticised, individuals will develop a low self-esteem (AQA,2017). Nature This account of behaviour and personality development focuses on what we are born with. This include characteristics like Left-handedness, intelligence, susceptibility to certain illnesses, temperament (shy, withdrawn, or outgoing and confident). Nurture Refers to all that happens within the environment. It involves the way someone is brought up and the way they are treated by parents, teachers and peers. All these influence behaviour and development and goes towards building a personality.Piagets Cognitive-Developmental Theory Cognitive theory: is involved with aspects on an individuals cognitive processes that are involved with learning, thinking, knowing about, reflecting on, and understanding the world. It involves the study of our thinking, memory, intelligence, perception, problem solving and reasoning. Piaget described that in different stages of a person life they would develop skills in reasoning and comprehension. The stages he compiled are as follows (Learning-theories, 2017); a. Sensorimotor development (0-2 years). As an infant the person exercises rudimentary sensory (seeing touch, hearing, tasting, smelling) and motor (kicking, punching, moving around, hitting objects) awareness and functions almost exclusively by means of reflexive responses. The child cannot think abstractly. b. Preoperational thought (2-7 years). The person is now a child and demonstrates an increase in language abilities and concepts become more elaborate. However, the child can only view the world from its own perspective. Their intellectual state is immature. c. Concrete operations (7-11 years). As an older child the ability to consider the viewpoints of others and understand relational concepts is evident. However, the child cannot will struggle to solve problems of an abstract nature (Learning-theories.com, 2017). d. Formal operations (11-15). Now an adolescent the person is able to demonstrate abstract thinking and scientific problem-solving strategies emerge. This theory informs health and social care professionals to understand the level of thinking of individuals with learning difficulties who may have a lower mental age   in relation to their physical aid. Appropriate communication techniques are required to reach out to them. Managing loss and change Change management is a basic skill in which most leaders and managers need to be competent. This theory looks at the basic principles of change management, and how to apply them People react differently to change when it occurs because of differences in our personality and our inner conflicts as proposed by Erikson in his theory of psychosocial development. Change often involves a loss, and people go through the loss curve. Expectations need to be managed realistically. Fears have to be dealt with by giving people honest information and also to be opened about the facts (North West NHS Academy, 2017). Avoid speculation and meet their unrealistic expectations. Major changes in our lives may have a positive impact depending on the ways of coping. On the other hand, major change in our lives can lead to stress and loss of self-confidence depending on our abilities to cope with them. Managing stress and behaviour From the biological point of view, stress causes the release of adrenalin and noradrenalin and cortisol (hormones). Adrenalin and noradrenalin make us feel agitated and uncomfortable, while prolonged secretion of cortisol is associated with depression. However 2 people can be exposed to the same stressful event and react differently. This can be explained by the cognitive approach. For example if a negative event happens, the stress response if mild for someone whose thoughts are along the lines of positive thinking. For example if they think it is an opportunity or a challenge, rather than a threat. The stress response will be severe for someone who thinks that this is the end of the line (Schneiderman et Al, 2017). Choice and Interaction This focus on the belief that people can take control of their own lives base on the choices they make. Nonetheless, others believe that everything in life is fixed by nature and nurture. In most cases, people believe that human life course involves an interaction of nature, nurture and the decisions and choices we make. For instance, if performing prayers (5) times daily is part of your environment, your genes may make you urge to do your prayers. However your choice and interaction depends on your reaction (Pearson Education, 2017). Health care professionals need to know these theories in order to understand different personalities and understanding of how individuals may react differently to life situations. References   AQA. (2017). The Humanistic Approach | AQA B Psychology. [online] Available at: http://aqabpsychology.co.uk/2010/07/the-humanistic-approach/ [Accessed 4 Feb. 2017]. Boundless. (2017). Freudian Psychoanalytic Theory of Personality. [online] Available at: https://www.boundless.com/psychology/textbooks/boundless-psychology-textbook/personality-16/psychodynamic-perspectives-on-personality-77/freudian-psychoanalytic-theory-of-personality-304-12839/ [Accessed 4 Feb. 2017]. Development through the life stages. (2017). 1st ed. [ebook] London: Pearson Education. Available at: http://www.pearsonschoolsandfecolleges.co.uk/AssetsLibrary/SECTORS/Trade/Sample%20pages%20(for%20Ed%20Supplier%20sites)/Newsamplecontentfor2010/BTECNationalHealthandSocialCare-SampleStudentBookMaterial.pdf [Accessed 4 Feb. 2017]. Erikson, E. H. (1959) Identity and the Life Cycle. New York: International Universities Press. Learning-theories.com. (2017). STAGE THEORY OF COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT (PIAGET). [online] Available at: https://www.learning-theories.com/piagets-stage-theory-of-cognitive-development.html [Accessed 4 Feb. 2017]. Managing Change Five Basic Principles. (2017). 1st ed. [ebook] NHS North West Leadership Academy. Available at: http://www.nwacademy.nhs.uk/sites/default/files/0f_1722011_managing_change_5_basic_principles.pdf [Accessed 4 Feb. 2017]. McLeod, S. (2017). Behaviorism | Simply Psychology. [online] Simplypsychology.org. Available at: http://www.simplypsychology.org/behaviorism.html [Accessed 4 Feb. 2017]. Schneiderman, N., Ironson, G. and D. Siegel, S. (2017). STRESS AND HEALTH: Psychological, Behavioral, and Biological Determinants. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 1, pp.607-628.

Knights of the Middle Ages Essay examples -- Middle Ages Medieval

Knights became important in the Middle Ages as warriors recruited by their lords for military service. They were equipped with defensive garment, armor and weapons, and they were trained to fight on horseback since they were children. They also took part in jousts and tournaments in order to exercise their fighting skills and to show their battle skills. Knights were part of the nobility of the Middle Ages. Nobles lived much more comfortably than peasants, but their lives were not glamorous. Some knights inherited or were given castles which had been built for security but not for comfort. It is supposed that some medieval stories are based on the lives of the courageous warriors who lived in those times no matter whether they died during a battle or whether they won. Authors took them as an ideal exemplar and they added several elements to make the knight superior. However, the perfect knight is just a character of medieval stories, a product of the author?s imagination or inspiration, perhaps taking a real knight of those times as a model. This work aims to describe the most important characteristics of the life of the medieval knight and his role in the society of the Middle Ages. Afterwards, a comparison between these characteristics and the description of the figure of the knight found in medieval literature as an ideal and model man will be established, highlighting their beliefs and values. The word Knight is the modern form of several old terms. Among these, the primary equivalent comes from Old English cniht, which means boy or youth, secondly, from German, two terms are closely related, the first one being knecht, translated as servant, and the second one, ritter, which means rider. Lastly,... ...yday life, the knight was supposed to follow the code of chivalry and exalt his moral virtues, humility was one of them, for example. However, he was engaged in battles and tournaments seeking for honour, prestige and power. There was no other alternative, he ?had to? win, and in this way, he would have the respect and admiration of others. A well-known surname, an expensive armour, good weapons and a trained horse were not enough. In knighthood, it was extremely important that a knight would become popular and have a high social standing. It might seem that a knight?s life was full of adventures and excitement, though it was not really like this. The way towards knighthood was not so simple as it involved a permanent dedication and commitment since early stages and knighthood itself meant facing sacrifices, dangerous situations, defeats and even death.

Family Relationships in Morrisons The Bluest Eye Essay -- The Bluest

Family Relationships in Morrison's The Bluest Eye â€Å"The Bluest Eye† by Toni Morrison, is a story about the life of a young black girl, Pecola Breedlove, who is growing up during post World War I. She prays for the bluest eyes, which will â€Å"make her beautiful† and in turn make her accepted by her family and peers. The major issue in the book, the idea of ugliness, was the belief that â€Å"blackness† was not valuable or beautiful. This view, handed down to them at birth, was a cultural hindrance to the black race. A main theme in this novel is the influence of family relationships in the quest for individual identity. Our family or lack thereof, as children, ultimately influences the way we feel as adults, about ourselves and about others. The effects on us mold our personalities and as a result influence our identities. This story shows us the efforts of struggling black families who transmit patterns and problems that have a negative impact on their family relationships. These patterns continue to go unresolved and are eventually inherited by their children who will also accept this way of life as this vicious circle continues. Having inherited the myth of ugliness and unworthiness, the characters throughout the story, with the exception of the MacTeer family, will not only allow this to happen, but will instill this in their children to be passed on to the next generation. Beauty precedes love, the grownups seem to say, and only a few possess beauty, so they remain unloved and unworthy. Throughout the novel, the convictions of sons and daughters are the same as their fathers and mothers. Their failures and accomplishments are transferred to their children and to future generations. It is int... ... son, Louis, Jr. The cat becomes her surrogate child as the blue-eyed Fisher child became the surrogate child to Pauline Breedlove. The cat will die physically as Pecola will die mentally. Soaphead Church was a mixed black and white ancestry from the Caribbean. He inherits the need to be British and to erase all color. His schoolmaster father developed his own legacy of Anglophilia into a narrow intellectual statement of the unworthiness of man. Being a mulatto, he knew the â€Å"non-life he had learned on the flat side of his father’s belt.† Because racism prevents Soaphead from getting the job that his education merits, he gives up, he ends up with a non-life, like his father and his wife, the only person he ever truly loved, abandons him. He uses little Pecola to rid himself of the mangy dog that represents non-white, non-perfect beings whom he despises.

Freedom in Mark Twains The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn :: Adventures Huckleberry Huck Finn Essays

Huckleberry Finn – Freedom Freedom is not a reward or a decoration that is celebrated with champagne...Oh no! It's a...long distance race, quite solitary and very exhausting." -Albert Camus. The dictionary defines freedom as the condition of being free from restraints. Freedom is not just a word one can say without meaning. It is a privilege, a privilege not everyone is granted. Freedom gives the liberty to choose what should is done and how. Freedom is the capacity to exercise choice and free will. In the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the narrator, Huck, seeks freedom from society. Huck, a thirteen year-old boy, lives with Widow Douglass and her sister Miss Watson. He lives with them because before this he had no home, only a drunken father, whom he rarely sees. Both of the ladies attempt to civilize Huck by sending him to school and teaching him good manners. "Pretty soon I wanted to smoke, and asked the widow to let me. But she wouldn't. She said it was a mean practice and wasn't clean, and I must try to not do it any more" In this passage from chapter one you can see that Huck enjoyed doing what he pleased when he choose. "I liked the old ways best, but I was getting so I liked the new ones, too, a little bit." This passage is from chapter four of the book spoken by Huck. In it one can see that although Huck begins to like the civilized ways he still has a craving for his old ways, which seem u ncivilized to all. Freedom is not only having a choice but also having no restraints. The characters of the Duke and the Daphne, who were really two criminals running away, have an advantage of no restraints being given. In chapter 19 of the book, the two men introduce themselves to Huck and Jim. When they do this, they do not introduce themselves with their true identity. Because there were no restrictions, they could not only befriend Jim and Huck but also trick them. "He told them he was a pirate-been a pirate for thirty years out in the Indian Ocean-and his crew was thinned out considerable last spring in a fight, and he was home now to take out some fresh men, and thanks goodness he'd been robbed last night.

The Twilight Saga 3: Eclipse Chapter 2. EVASION

I FELT ODDLY BUOYANT AS I WALKED FROM SPANISH toward the cafeteria, and it wasn't just because I was holding hands with the most perfect person on the planet, though that was certainly part of it. Maybe it was the knowledge that my sentence was served and I was a free woman again. Or maybe it wasn't anything to do with me specifically. Maybe it was the atmosphere of freedom that hung over the entire campus. School was winding down, and, for the senior class especially, there was a perceptible thrill in the air. Freedom was so close it was touchable, taste-able. Signs of it were everywhere. Posters crowded together on the cafeteria walls, and the trashcans wore a colorful skirt of spilled-over fliers: reminders to buy yearbooks, class rings, and announcements; deadlines to order graduation gowns, hats, and tassels; neon- bright sales pitches – the juniors campaigning for class office; ominous, rose-wreathed advertisements for this year's prom. The big dance was this coming weekend, but I had an ironclad promise from Edward that I would not be subjected to that again. After all, I'd already had that human experience. No, it must be my personal freedom that lightened me today. The ending of the school year did not give me the pleasure it seemed to give the other students. Actually, I felt nervous to the point of nausea whenever I thought of it. I tried to not think of it. But it was hard to escape such an omnipresent topic as graduation. â€Å"Have you sent your announcements, yet?† Angela asked when Edward and I sat down at our table. She had her light brown hair pulled back into a sloppy ponytail instead of her usual smooth hairdo, and there was a slightly frantic look about her eyes. Alice and Ben were already there, too, on either side of Angela. Ben was intent over a comic book, his glasses sliding down his narrow nose. Alice was scrutinizing my boring jeans-and-a-t-shirt outfit in a way that made me self-conscious. Probably plotting another makeover. I sighed. My indifferent attitude to fashion was a constant thorn in her side. If I'd allow it, she'd love to dress me every day – perhaps several times a day – like some oversized three-dimensional paper doll. â€Å"No,† I answered Angela. â€Å"There's no point, really. Rene knows when I'm graduating. Who else is there?† â€Å"How about you, Alice?† Alice smiled. â€Å"All done.† â€Å"Lucky you.† Angela sighed. â€Å"My mother has a thousand cousins and she expects me to hand-address one to everybody. I'm going to get carpal tunnel. I can't put it off any longer and I'm just dreading it.† â€Å"I'll help you,† I volunteered. â€Å"If you don't mind my awful handwriting.† Charlie would like that. From the corner of my eye, I saw Edward smile. He must like that, too – me fulfilling Charlie's conditions without involving werewolves. Angela looked relieved. â€Å"That's so nice of you. I'll come over any time you want.† â€Å"Actually, I'd rather go to your house if that's okay – I'm sick of mine. Charlie un-grounded me last night.† I grinned as I announced my good news. â€Å"Really?† Angela asked, mild excitement lighting her always-gentle brown eyes. â€Å"I thought you said you were in for life.† â€Å"I'm more surprised than you are. I was sure I would at least have finished high school before he set me free.† â€Å"Well, this is great, Bella! We'll have to go out to celebrate.† â€Å"You have no idea how good that sounds.† â€Å"What should we do?† Alice mused, her face lighting up at the possibilities. Alice's ideas were usually a little grandiose for me, and I could see it in her eyes now – the tendency to take things too far kicking into action. â€Å"Whatever you're thinking, Alice, I doubt I'm that free.† â€Å"Free is free, right?† she insisted. â€Å"I'm sure I still have boundaries – like the continental U.S., for example.† Angela and Ben laughed, but Alice grimaced in real disappointment. â€Å"So what are we doing tonight?† she persisted. â€Å"Nothing. Look, let's give it a couple of days to make sure he wasn't joking. It's a school night, anyway.† â€Å"We'll celebrate this weekend, then.† Alice's enthusiasm was impossible to repress. â€Å"Sure,† I said, hoping to placate her. I knew I wasn't going to do anything too outlandish; it would be safer to take it slow with Charlie. Give him a chance to appreciate how trustworthy and mature I was before I asked for any favors. Angela and Alice started talking about options; Ben joined the conversation, setting his comics aside. My attention drifted. I was surprised to find that the subject of my freedom was suddenly not as gratifying as it had been just a moment ago. While they discussed things to do in Port Angeles or maybe Hoquiam, I began to feel disgruntled. It didn't take long to determine where my restlessness stemmed from. Ever since I'd said goodbye to Jacob Black in the forest outside my home, I'd been plagued by a persistent, uncomfortable intrusion of a specific mental picture. It popped into my thoughts at regular intervals like some annoying alarm clock set to sound every half hour, filling my head with the image of Jacob's face crumpled in pain. This was the last memory I had of him. As the disturbing vision struck again, I knew exactly why I was dissatisfied with my liberty. Because it was incomplete. Sure, I was free to go to anywhere I wanted – except La Push; free to do anything I wanted – except see Jacob. I frowned at the table. There had to be some kind of middle ground. â€Å"Alice? Alice!† Angela's voice yanked me from my reverie. She was waving her hand back and forth in front of Alice's blank, staring face. Alice's expression was something I recognized – an expression that sent an automatic shock of panic through my body. The vacant look in her eyes told me that she was seeing something very different from the mundane lunchroom scene that surrounded us, but something that was every bit as real in its own way. Something that was coming, something that would happen soon. I felt the blood slither from my face. Then Edward laughed, a very natural, relaxed sound. Angela and Ben looked toward him, but my eyes were locked on Alice. She jumped suddenly, as if someone had kicked her under the table. â€Å"Is it naptime already, Alice?† Edward teased. Alice was herself again. â€Å"Sorry, I was daydreaming, I guess.† â€Å"Daydreaming's better than facing two more hours of school,† Ben said. Alice threw herself back into the conversation with more animation than before – just a little bit too much. Once I saw her eyes lock with Edward's, only for a moment, and then she looked back to Angela before anyone else noticed. Edward was quiet, playing absentmindedly with a strand of my hair. I waited anxiously for a chance to ask Edward what Alice had seen in her vision, but the afternoon passed without one minute of alone time. It felt odd to me, almost deliberate. After lunch, Edward slowed his pace to match Ben's, talking about some assignment I knew he'd already finished. Then there was always someone else there between classes, though we usually had a few minutes to ourselves. When the final bell rang, Edward struck up a conversation with Mike Newton of all people, falling into step beside him as Mike headed for the parking lot. I trailed behind, letting Edward tow me along. I listened, confused, while Mike answered Edward's unusually friendly queries. It seemed Mike was having car troubles. â€Å". . . but I just replaced the battery,† Mike was saying. His eyes darted ahead and then back to Edward warily. Mystified, just like I was. â€Å"Perhaps it's the cables?† Edward offered. â€Å"Maybe. I really don't know anything about cars,† Mike admitted. â€Å"I need to have someone look at it, but I can't afford to take it to Dowling's.† I opened my mouth to suggest my mechanic, and then snapped it shut again. My mechanic was busy these days – busy running around as a giant wolf. â€Å"I know a few things – I could take a look, if you like,† Edward offered. â€Å"Just let me drop Alice and Bella at home.† Mike and I both stared at Edward with our mouths hanging open. â€Å"Er . . . thanks,† Mike mumbled when he recovered. â€Å"But I have to get to work. Maybe some other time.† â€Å"Absolutely.† â€Å"See ya.† Mike climbed into his car, shaking his head in disbelief. Edward's Volvo, with Alice already inside, was just two cars away. â€Å"What was that about?† I muttered as Edward held the passenger door for me. â€Å"Just being helpful,† Edward answered. And then Alice, waiting in the backseat, was babbling at top speed. â€Å"You're really not that good a mechanic, Edward. Maybe you should have Rosalie take a look at it tonight, just so you look good if Mike decides to let you help, you know. Not that it wouldn't be fun to watch his face if Rosalie showed up to help. But since Rosalie is supposed to be across the country attending college, I guess that's not the best idea. Too bad. Though I suppose, for Mike's car, you'll do. It's only within the finer tunings of a good Italian sports car that you're out of your depth. And speaking of Italy and sports cars that I stole there, you still owe me a yellow Porsche. I don't know that I want to wait for Christmas. . . .† I stopped listening after a minute, letting her quick voice become just a hum in the background as I settled into my patient mode. It looked to me like Edward was trying to avoid my questions. Fine. He would have to be alone with me soon enough. It was only a matter of time. Edward seemed to realize that, too. He dropped Alice at the mouth of the Cullens' drive as usual, though by this point I half expected him to drive her to the door and walk her in. As she got out, Alice threw a sharp look at his face. Edward seemed completely at ease. â€Å"See you later,† he said. And then, ever so slightly, he nodded. Alice turned to disappear into the trees. He was quiet as he turned the car around and headed back to Forks. I waited, wondering if he would bring it up himself. He didn't, and this made me tense. What had Alice seen today at lunch? Something he didn't want to tell me, and I tried to think of a reason why he would keep secrets. Maybe it would be better to prepare myself before I asked. I didn't want to freak out and have him think I couldn't handle it, whatever it was. So we were both silent until we got to back to Charlie's house. â€Å"Light homework load tonight,† he commented. â€Å"Mmm,† I assented. â€Å"Do you suppose I'm allowed inside again?† â€Å"Charlie didn't throw a fit when you picked me up for school.† But I was sure Charlie was going to turn sulky fast when he got home and found Edward here. Maybe I should make something extra-special for dinner. Inside, I headed up the stairs, and Edward followed. He lounged on my bed and gazed out the window, seeming oblivious to my edginess. I stowed my bag and turned the computer on. There was an unanswered e-mail from my mom to attend to, and she got panicky when I took too long. I drummed my fingers as I waited for my decrepit computer to wheeze awake; they snapped against the desk, staccato and anxious. And then his fingers were on mine, holding them still. â€Å"Are we a little impatient today?† he murmured. I looked up, intending to make a sarcastic remark, but his face was closer than I'd expected. His golden eyes were smoldering, just inches away, and his breath was cool against my open lips. I could taste his scent on my tongue. I couldn't remember the witty response I'd been about to make. I couldn't remember my name. He didn't give me a chance to recover. If I had my way, I would spend the majority of my time kissing Edward. There wasn't anything I'd experienced in my life that compared to the feeling of his cool lips, marble hard but always so gentle, moving with mine. I didn't often get my way. So it surprised me a little when his fingers braided themselves into my hair, securing my face to his. My arms locked behind his neck, and I wished I was stronger – strong enough to keep him prisoner here. One hand slid down my back, pressing me tighter against his stone chest. Even through his sweater, his skin was cold enough to make me shiver – it was a shiver of pleasure, of happiness, but his hands began to loosen in response. I knew I had about three seconds before he would sigh and slide me deftly away, saying something about how we'd risked my life enough for one afternoon. Making the most of my last seconds, I crushed myself closer, molding myself to the shape of him. The tip of my tongue traced the curve of his lower lip; it was as flawlessly smooth as if it had been polished, and the taste – He pulled my face away from his, breaking my hold with ease – he probably didn't even realize that I was using all my strength. He chuckled once, a low, throaty sound. His eyes were bright with the excitement he so rigidly disciplined. â€Å"Ah, Bella.† He sighed. â€Å"I'd say I'm sorry, but I'm not.† â€Å"And I should feel sorry that you're not sorry, but I don't. Maybe I should go sit on the bed.† I exhaled a little dizzily. â€Å"If you think that's necessary. . . .† He smiled crookedly and disentangled himself. I shook my head a few times, trying to clear it, and turned back to my computer. It was all warmed up and humming now. Well, not as much humming as groaning. â€Å"Tell Rene I said hello.† â€Å"Sure thing.† I scanned through Rene's e-mail, shaking my head now and then at some of the dippier things she'd done. I was just as entertained and horrified as the first time I'd read this. It was so like my mother to forget exactly how paralyzed she was by heights until she was already strapped to a parachute and a dive instructor. I felt a little frustrated with Phil, her husband of almost two years, for allowing that one. I would have taken better care of her. I knew her so much better. You have to let them go their own way eventually, I reminded myself. You have to let them have their own life. . . . I'd spent most of my life taking care of Rene, patiently guiding her away from her craziest plans, good- naturedly enduring the ones I couldn't talk her out of. I'd always been indulgent with my mom, amused by her, even a little condescending to her. I saw her cornucopia of mistakes and laughed privately to myself. Scatterbrained Rene. I was a very different person from my mother. Someone thoughtful and cautious. The responsible one, the grown-up. That's how I saw myself. That was the person I knew. With the blood still pounding inmy head from Edward's kiss, I couldn't help but think of my mother's most life-altering mistake. Silly and romantic, getting married fresh out of high school to a man she barely knew, then producing me a year later. She'd always promised me that she had no regrets, that I was the best gift her life had ever given her. And yet she'd drilled it into me over and over – smart people took marriage seriously. Mature people went to college and started careers before they got deeply involved in a relationship. She knew I would never be as thoughtless and goofy and small-town as she'd been. . . . I gritted my teeth and tried to concentrate as I answered her letter. Then I hit her parting line and remembered why I'd neglected to write sooner. You haven't said anything about Jacob in a long time, she'd written. What's he up to these days? Charlie was prompting her, I was sure. I sighed and typed quickly, tucking the answer to her question between two less sensitive paragraphs. Jacob is fine, I guess. I don't see him much; he spends most of his time with a pack of his friends down at La Push these days. Smiling wryly to myself, I added Edward's greeting and hit â€Å"send.† I didn't realize that Edward was standing silently behind me again until after I'd turned off the computer and shoved away from the desk. I was about to scold him for reading over my shoulder when I realized that he wasn't paying any attention to me. He was examining a flat black box with wires curling crookedly away from the main square in a way that didn't look healthy for whatever it was. After a second, I recognized the car stereo Emmett, Rosalie, and Jasper had given me for my last birthday. I'd forgotten about the birthday presents hiding under a growing pile of dust on the floor of my closet. â€Å"What did you do to this?† he asked in a horrorstruck voice. â€Å"It didn't want to come out of the dashboard.† â€Å"So you felt the need to torture it?† â€Å"You know how I am with tools. No pain was inflicted intentionally.† He shook his head, his face a mask of faux tragedy. â€Å"You killed it.† I shrugged. â€Å"Oh, well.† â€Å"It would hurt their feelings if they saw this,† he said. â€Å"I guess it's a good thing that you've been on house arrest. I'll have to get another one in place before they notice.† â€Å"Thanks, but I don't need a fancy stereo.† â€Å"It's not for your sake that I'm going to replace it.† I sighed. â€Å"You didn't get much good out of your birthday presents last year,† he said in a disgruntled voice. Suddenly, he was fanning himself with a stiff rectangle of paper. I didn't answer, for fear my voice would shake. My disastrous eighteenth birthday – with all its far- reaching consequences – wasn't something I cared to remember, and I was surprised that he would bring it up. He was even more sensitive about it than I was. â€Å"Do you realize these are about to expire?† he asked, holding the paper out to me. It was another present – the voucher for airplane tickets that Esme and Carlisle had given me so that I could visit Rene in Florida. I took a deep breath and answered in a flat voice. â€Å"No. I'd forgotten all about them, actually.† His expression was carefully bright and positive; there was no trace of any deep emotion as he continued. â€Å"Well, we still have a little time. You've been liberated . . . and we have no plans this weekend, as you refuse to go to the prom with me.† He grinned. â€Å"Why not celebrate your freedom this way?† I gasped. â€Å"By going to Florida?† â€Å"You did say something about the continental U.S. being allowable.† I glared at him, suspicious, trying to understand where this had come from. â€Å"Well?† he demanded. â€Å"Are we going to see Rene or not?† â€Å"Charlie will never allow it.† â€Å"Charlie can't keep you from visiting your mother. She still has primary custody.† â€Å"Nobody has custody of me. I'm an adult.† He flashed a brilliant smile. â€Å"Exactly.† I thought it over for a short minute before deciding that it wasn't worth the fight. Charlie would be furious – not that I was going to see Rene, but that Edward was going with me. Charlie wouldn't speak to me for months, and I'd probably end up grounded again. It was definitely smarter not to even bring it up. Maybe in a few weeks, as a graduation favor or something. But the idea of seeing my mother now, not weeks from now, was hard to resist. It had been so long since I'd seen Rene. And even longer since I'd seen her under pleasant circumstances. The last time I'd been with her in Phoenix, I'd spent the whole time in a hospital bed. The last time she'd come here, I'd been more or less catatonic. Not exactly the best memories to leave her with. And maybe, if she saw how happy I was with Edward, she would tell Charlie to ease up. Edward scrutinized my face while I deliberated. I sighed. â€Å"Not this weekend.† â€Å"Why not?† â€Å"I don't want to fight with Charlie. Not so soon after he's forgiven me.† His eyebrows pulled together. â€Å"I think this weekend is perfect,† he muttered. I shook my head. â€Å"Another time.† â€Å"You aren't the only one who's been trapped in this house, you know.† He frowned at me. Suspicion returned. This kind of behavior was unlike him. He was always so impossibly selfless; I knew it was making me spoiled. â€Å"You can go anywhere you want,† I pointed out. â€Å"The outside world holds no interest for me without you.† I rolled my eyes at the hyperbole. â€Å"I'm serious,† he said. â€Å"Let's take the outside world slowly, all right? For example, we could start with a movie in Port Angeles. . . .† He groaned. â€Å"Never mind. We'll talk about it later.† â€Å"There's nothing left to talk about.† He shrugged. â€Å"Okay, then, new subject,† I said. I'd almost forgotten my worries about this afternoon – had that been his intention? â€Å"What did Alice see today at lunch?† My eyes were fixed on his face as I spoke, measuring his reaction. His expression was composed; there was only the slightest hardening of his topaz eyes. â€Å"She's been seeing Jasper in a strange place, somewhere in the southwest, she thinks, near his former . . . family. But he has no conscious intentions to go back.† He sighed. â€Å"It's got her worried.† â€Å"Oh.† That was nothing close to what I'd been expecting. But of course it made sense that Alice would be watching out for Jasper's future. He was her soul mate, her true other half, though they weren't as flamboyant about their relationship as Rosalie and Emmett were. â€Å"Why didn't you tell me before?† â€Å"I didn't realize you'd noticed,† he said. â€Å"It's probably nothing important, in any case.† My imagination was sadly out of control. I'd taken a perfectly normal afternoon and twisted it until it looked like Edward was going out of his way to keep things from me. I needed therapy. We went downstairs to work on our homework, just in case Charlie showed up early. Edward finished in minutes; I slogged laboriously through my calculus until I decided it was time to fix Charlie's dinner. Edward helped, making faces every so often at the raw ingredients – human food was mildly repulsive to him. I made stroganoff from Grandma Swan's recipe, because I was sucking up. It wasn't one of my favorites, but it would please Charlie. Charlie seemed to already be in a good mood when he got home. He didn't even go out of his way to be rude to Edward. Edward excused himself from eating with us, as usual. The sound of the nightly news drifted from the front room, but I doubted Edward was really watching. After forcing down three helpings, Charlie kicked his feet up on the spare chair and folded his hands contentedly across his distended stomach. â€Å"That was great, Bells.† â€Å"I'm glad you liked it. How was work?† He'd been eating with too much concentration for me to make conversation before. â€Å"Sort of slow. Well, dead slow really. Mark and I played cards for a good part of the afternoon,† he admitted with a grin. â€Å"I won, nineteen hands to seven. And then I was on the phone with Billy for a while.† I tried to keep my expression the same. â€Å"How is he?† â€Å"Good, good. His joints are bothering him a little.† â€Å"Oh. That's too bad.† â€Å"Yeah. He invited us down to visit this weekend. He was thinking of having the Clearwaters and the Uleys over too. Sort of a playoff party. . . .† â€Å"Huh,† was my genius response. But what could I say? I knew I wouldn't be allowed to hit a werewolf party, even with parental supervision. I wondered if Edward would have a problem with Charlie hanging out in La Push. Or would he suppose that, since Charlie was mostly spending time with Billy, who was only human, my father wouldn't be in danger? I got up and piled the dishes together without looking at Charlie. I dumped them into the sink and started the water. Edward appeared silently and grabbed a dishtowel. Charlie sighed and gave up for the moment, though I imagined he would revisit the subject when we were alone again. He heaved himself to his feet and headed for the TV, just like every other night. â€Å"Charlie,† Edward said in a conversational tone. Charlie stopped in the middle of his little kitchen. â€Å"Yeah?† â€Å"Did Bella ever tell you that my parents gave her airplane tickets on her last birthday, so that she could visit Rene?† I dropped the plate I was scrubbing. It glanced off the counter and clattered noisily to the floor. It didn't break, but it spattered the room, and all three of us, with soapy water. Charlie didn't even seem to notice. â€Å"Bella?† he asked in a stunned voice. I kept my eyes on the plate as I retrieved it. â€Å"Yeah, they did.† Charlie swallowed loudly, and then his eyes narrowed as he turned back to Edward. â€Å"No, she never mentioned it.† â€Å"Hmm,† Edward murmured. â€Å"Was there a reason you brought it up?† Charlie asked in a hard voice. Edward shrugged. â€Å"They're about to expire. I think it might hurt Esme's feelings if Bella doesn't use her gift. Not that she'd say anything.† I stared at Edward in disbelief. Charlie thought for a minute. â€Å"It's probably a good idea for you to visit your mom, Bella. She'd love that. I'm surprised you didn't say anything about this, though.† â€Å"I forgot,† I admitted. He frowned. â€Å"You forgot that someone gave you plane tickets?† â€Å"Mmm,† I murmured vaguely, and turned back to the sink. â€Å"I noticed that you said they're about to expire, Edward,† Charlie went on. â€Å"How many tickets did your parents give her?† â€Å"Just one for her . . . and one for me.† The plate I dropped this time landed in the sink, so it didn't make as much noise. I could easily hear the sharp huff as my father exhaled. The blood rushed into my face, fueled by irritation and chagrin. Why was Edward doing this? I glared at the bubbles in the sink, panicking. â€Å"That's out of the question!† Charlie was abruptly in a rage, shouting the words. â€Å"Why?† Edward asked, his voice saturated with innocent surprise. â€Å"You just said it was a good idea for her to see her mother.† Charlie ignored him. â€Å"You're not going anywhere with him, young lady!† he yelled. I spun around and he was jabbing a finger at me. Anger pulsed through me automatically, an instinctive reaction to his tone. â€Å"I'm not a child, Dad. And I'm not grounded anymore, remember?† â€Å"Oh yes, you are. Starting now.† â€Å"For what?!† â€Å"Because I said so.† â€Å"Do I need to remind you that I'm a legal adult, Charlie?† â€Å"This is my house – you follow my rules!† My glare turned icy. â€Å"If that's how you want it. Do you want me to move out tonight? Or can I have a few days to pack?† Charlie's face went bright red. I instantly felt horrible for playing the move-out card. I took a deep breath and tried to make my tone more reasonable. â€Å"I'll do my time without complaining when I've done something wrong, Dad, but I'm not going to put up with your prejudices.† He sputtered, but managed nothing coherent. â€Å"Now, I know that you know that I have every right to see Mom for the weekend. You can't honestly tell me you'd object to the plan if I was going with Alice or Angela.† â€Å"Girls,† he grunted, with a nod. â€Å"Would it bother you if I took Jacob?† I'd only picked the name because I knew of my father's preference for Jacob, but I quickly wished I hadn't; Edward's teeth clenched together with an audible snap. My father struggled to compose himself before he answered. â€Å"Yes,† he said in an unconvincing voice. â€Å"That would bother me.† â€Å"You're a rotten liar, Dad.† â€Å"Bella -â€Å" â€Å"It's not like I'm headed off to Vegas to be a showgirl or anything. I'm going to see Mom,† I reminded him. â€Å"She's just as much my parental authority as you are.† He threw me a withering look. â€Å"Are you implying something about Mom's ability to look after me?† Charlie flinched at the threat implicit in my question. â€Å"You'd better hope I don't mention this to her,† I said. â€Å"You'd better not,† he warned. â€Å"I'm not happy about this, Bella.† â€Å"There's no reason for you to be upset.† He rolled his eyes, but I could tell the storm was over. I turned to pull the plug out of the sink. â€Å"So my homework is done, your dinner is done, the dishes are done, and I'm not grounded. I'm going out. I'll be back before ten-thirty.† â€Å"Where are you going?† His face, almost back to normal, flushed light red again. â€Å"I'm not sure,† I admitted. â€Å"I'll keep it within a ten-mile radius, though. Okay?† He grunted something that did not sound like approval, and stalked out of the room. Naturally, as soon as I'd won the fight, I began to feel guilty. â€Å"We're going out?† Edward asked, his voice low but enthusiastic. I turned to glower at him. â€Å"Yes. I think I'd like to speak to you alone.† He didn't look as apprehensive as I thought he should. I waited to begin until we were safely in his car. â€Å"What was that?† I demanded. â€Å"I know you want to see your mother, Bella – you've been talking about her in your sleep. Worrying actually.† â€Å"I have?† He nodded. â€Å"But, clearly, you were too much of a coward to deal with Charlie, so I interceded on your behalf.† â€Å"Interceded? You threw me to the sharks!† He rolled his eyes. â€Å"I don't think you were in any danger.† â€Å"I told you I didn't want to fight with Charlie.† â€Å"Nobody said that you had to.† I glowered at him. â€Å"I can't help myself when he gets all bossy like that – my natural teenage instincts overpower me.† He chuckled. â€Å"Well, that's not my fault.† I stared at him, speculating. He didn't seem to notice. His face was serene as he gazed out the windshield. Something was off, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Or maybe it was just my imagination again, running wild like it had this afternoon. â€Å"Does this sudden urge to see Florida have anything to do with the party at Billy's place?† His jaw flexed. â€Å"Nothing at all. It wouldn't matter if you were here or on the other side of the world, you still wouldn't be going.† It was just like with Charlie before – just like being treated as a misbehaving child. I gritted my teeth together so I wouldn't start shouting. I didn't want to fight with Edward, too. Edward sighed, and when he spoke his voice was warm and velvet again. â€Å"So what do you want to do tonight?† he asked. â€Å"Can we go to your house? I haven't seen Esme in so long.† He smiled. â€Å"She'll like that. Especially when she hears what we're doing this weekend.† I groaned in defeat. We didn't stay out late, as I'd promised. I was not surprised to see the lights still on when we pulled up in front of the house – I knew Charlie would be waiting to yell at me some more. â€Å"You'd better not come inside,† I said. â€Å"It will only make things worse.† â€Å"His thoughts are relatively calm,† Edward teased. His expression made me wonder if there was some additional joke I was missing. The corners of his mouth twitched, fighting a smile. â€Å"I'll see you later,† I muttered glumly. He laughed and kissed the top of my head. â€Å"I'll be back when Charlie's snoring.† The TV was loud when I got inside. I briefly considered trying to sneak past him. â€Å"Could you come in here, Bella?† Charlie called, sinking that plan. My feet dragged as I took the five necessary steps. â€Å"What's up, Dad?† â€Å"Did you have a nice time tonight?† he asked. He seemed ill at ease. I looked for hidden meanings in his words before I answered. â€Å"Yes,† I said hesitantly. â€Å"What did you do?† I shrugged. â€Å"Hung out with Alice and Jasper. Edward beat Alice at chess, and then I played Jasper. He buried me.† I smiled. Edward and Alice playing chess was one of the funniest things I'd ever seen. They'd sat there nearly motionless, staring at the board, while Alice foresaw the moves he would make and he picked the moves she would make in return out of her head. They played most of the game in their minds; I think they'd each moved two pawns when Alice suddenly flicked her king over and surrendered. It took all of three minutes. Charlie hit the mute button – an unusual action. â€Å"Look, there's something I need to say.† He frowned, looking very uncomfortable. I sat still, waiting. He met my gaze for a second before shifting his eyes to the floor. He didn't say anything more. â€Å"What is it, Dad?† He sighed. â€Å"I'm not good at this kind of thing. I don't know how to start. . . .† I waited again. â€Å"Okay, Bella. Here's the thing.† He got up from the couch and started pacing back and forth across the room, looking as his feet all the time. â€Å"You and Edward seem pretty serious, and there are some things that you need to be careful about. I know you're an adult now, but you're still young, Bella, and there are a lot of important things you need to know when you . . . well, when you're physically involved with -â€Å" â€Å"Oh, please, please no!† I begged, jumping to my feet. â€Å"Please tell me you are not trying to have a sex talk with me, Charlie.† He glared at the floor. â€Å"I am your father. I have responsibilities. Remember, I'm just as embarrassed as you are.† â€Å"I don't think that's humanly possible. Anyway, Mom beat you to the punch about ten years ago. You're off the hook.† â€Å"Ten years ago you didn't have a boyfriend,† he muttered unwillingly. I could tell he was battling with his desire to drop the subject. We were both standing up, looking at the floor, and facing away from each other. â€Å"I don't think the essentials have changed that much,† I mumbled, and my face had to be as red as his. This was beyond the seventh circle of Hades; even worse was realizing that Edward had known this was coming. No wonder he'd seemed so smug in the car. â€Å"Just tell me that you two are being responsible,† Charlie pled, obviously wishing a pit would open in the floor so that he could fall in. â€Å"Don't worry about it, Dad, it's not like that.† â€Å"Not that I don't trust you, Bella, but I know you don't want to tell me anything about this, and you know I don't really want to hear it. I will try to be open-minded, though. I know the times have changed.† I laughed awkwardly. â€Å"Maybe the times have, but Edward is very old-fashioned. You have nothing to worry about.† Charlie sighed. â€Å"Sure he is,† he muttered. â€Å"Ugh!† I groaned. â€Å"I really wish you were not forcing me to say this out loud, Dad. Really. But . . . I am a . . . virgin, and I have no immediate plans to change that status.† We both cringed, but then Charlie's face smoothed out. He seemed to believe me. â€Å"Can I go to bed, now? Please.† â€Å"In a minute,† he said. â€Å"Aw, please, Dad? I'm begging you.† â€Å"The embarrassing part's over, I promise,† he assured me. I shot a glance at him, and was grateful to see that he looked more relaxed, that his face was back to its regular color. He sank down onto the sofa, sighing with relief that he was past the sex speech. â€Å"What now?† â€Å"I just wanted to know how the balance thing is coming along.† â€Å"Oh. Good, I guess. I made plans with Angela today. I'm going to help her with her graduation announcements. Just us girls.† â€Å"That's nice. And what about Jake?† I sighed. â€Å"I haven't figured that one out yet, Dad.† â€Å"Keep trying, Bella. I know you'll do the right thing. You're a good person.† Nice. So if I didn't figure out some way to make things right with Jacob, then I was a bad person? That was below the belt. â€Å"Sure, sure,† I agreed. The automatic response almost made me smile – it was something I'd picked up from Jacob. I even said it in the same patronizing tone he used with his own father. Charlie grinned and turned the sound back on. He slumped lower into the cushions, pleased with his night's work. I could tell he would be up with the game for a while. â€Å"‘Night, Bells.† â€Å"See you in the morning!† I sprinted for the stairs. Edward was long gone and he wouldn't be back until Charlie was asleep – he was probably out hunting or something to pass the time – so I was in no hurry to undress for bed. I wasn't in the mood to be alone, but I certainly wasn't going to go back downstairs to hang out with my Dad, just in case he thought of some topic of sex education that he hadn't touched on before; I shuddered. So, thanks to Charlie, I was wound up and anxious. My homework was done and I didn't feel mellow enough for reading or just listening to music. I considered calling Rene with the news of my visit, but then I realized that it was three hours later in Florida, and she would be asleep. I could call Angela, I supposed. But suddenly I knew that it wasn't Angela that I wanted to talk to. That I needed to talk to. I stared at the blank black window, biting my lip. I don't know how long I stood there weighing the pros against the cons – doing the right thing by Jacob, seeing my closest friend again, being a good person, versus making Edward furious with me. Ten minutes maybe. Long enough to decide that the pros were valid while the cons were not. Edward was only concerned about my safety, and I knew that there was really no problem on that count. The phone wasn't any help; Jacob had refused to answer my phone calls since Edward's return. Besides, I needed to see him – see him smiling again the way he used to. I needed to replace that awful last memory of his face warped and twisted by pain if I was ever going to have any peace of mind. I had an hour probably. I could make a quick run down to La Push and be back before Edward realized I had gone. It was past my curfew, but would Charlie really care about that when Edward wasn't involved? One way to find out. I grabbed my jacket and shoved my arms through the sleeves as I ran down the stairs. Charlie looked up from the game, instantly suspicious. â€Å"You care if I go see Jake tonight?† I asked breathlessly. â€Å"I won't stay long.† As soon as I said Jake's name, Charlie's expression relaxed into a smug smile. He didn't seem surprised at all that his lecture had taken effect so quickly. â€Å"Sure, kid. No problem. Stay as long as you like.† â€Å"Thanks, Dad,† I said as I darted out the door. Like any fugitive, I couldn't help looking over my shoulder a few times while I jogged to my truck, but the night was so black that there really was no point. I had to feel my way along the side of the truck to the handle. My eyes were just beginning to adjust as I shoved my keys in the ignition. I twisted them hard to the left, but instead of roaring deafeningly to life, the engine just clicked. I tried it again with the same results. And then a small motion in my peripheral vision made me jump. â€Å"Gah!† I gasped in shock when I saw that I was not alone in the cab. Edward sat very still, a faint bright spot in the darkness, only his hands moving as he turned a mysterious black object around and around. He stared at the object as he spoke. â€Å"Alice called,† he murmured. Alice! Damn. I'd forgotten to account for her in my plans. He must have her watching me. â€Å"She got nervous when your future rather abruptly disappeared five minutes ago.† My eyes, already wide with surprise, popped wider. â€Å"Because she can't see the wolves, you know,† he explained in the same low murmur. â€Å"Had you forgotten that? When you decide to mingle your fate with theirs, you disappear, too. You couldn't know that part, I realize that. But can you understand why that might make me a little . . . anxious? Alice saw you disappear, and she couldn't even tell if you'd come home or not. Your future got lost, just like theirs. â€Å"We're not sure why this is. Some natural defense they're born with?† He spoke as if he were talking to himself now, still looking at the piece of my truck's engine as he twirled it in his hands. â€Å"That doesn't seem entirely likely, since I haven't had any trouble reading their thoughts. The Blacks' at least. Carlisle theorizes that it's because their lives are so ruled by their transformations. It's more an involuntary reaction than a decision. Utterly unpredictable, and it changes everything about them. In that instant when they shift from one form to the other, they don't really even exist. The future can't hold them. . . .† I listened to his musing in stony silence. â€Å"I'll put your car back together in time for school, in case you'd like to drive yourself,† he assured me after a minute. With my lips mashed together, I retrieved my keys and stiffly climbed out of the truck. â€Å"Shut your window if you want me to stay away tonight. I'll understand,† he whispered just before I slammed the door. I stomped into the house, slamming that door, too. â€Å"What's wrong?† Charlie demanded from the couch. â€Å"Truck won't start,† I growled. â€Å"Want me to look at it?† â€Å"No. I'll try it in the morning.† â€Å"Want to use my car?† I wasn't supposed to drive his police cruiser. Charlie must be really desperate to get me to La Push. Nearly as desperate as I was. â€Å"No. I'm tired,† I grumbled. â€Å"‘Night.† I stamped my way up the stairs, and went straight to my window. I shoved the metal frame roughly – it crashed shut and the glass trembled. I stared at the shivering black glass for a long moment, until it was still. Then I sighed, and opened the window as wide as it would go.

A Good Man is Hard to Find Analysis

â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† is a short story written by Flannery O'Connor, a significant American writer and essayist. Her writing style reflects the ethnic relation in the South and her own Christian faith. The author writes in third person limited point of view to portray the tragic journey of a family who lived in Georgia in 1953. Bailey wants to take his family to Florida, but his mother, â€Å"the grandmother† disagrees with him because there's a dangerous criminal named The Misfit who is also on the way to Florida.Bailey ignores the grandmother's concern and headed to Florida. On the road, The kids and the grandmother persuade Bailey to drive them to the see a plantation which the grandmother visited when she was a lady. Unfortunately, the family gets into an accident on the desolate dust road to the plantation. The only thing the family can do is to wait for help, and it turns out that their help is none other than The Misfit and his buddies. The Misfit ord ers his buddies to take all the family members except the grandmother into the wood and shoot them.Hopelessly, the grandmother calls The Misfit her child and wants to touch him on the shoulder, but this angers The Misfit. As a result, he shoots the grandmother three times on the chest. The author uses characterization, foreshadowing, and irony to illustrate the theme that the tendency to manipulate people's actions and thoughts may introduce tragic outcomes to the love ones. In the short story â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† , the author applies both direct characterization and indirect characterization to exhibit the selfishness of the grandmother, the innocence of the children, and the wickedness of The Misfit .In the exposition of the story, the grandmother wants to go to Tennessee to visit her connections instead going to Florida, so she tells Bailey that he † ought to take [the kids] somewhere else for a change so they would see different parts of the world and b e board. They have never been to east Tennessee† (O'Connor 403). From this quote the readers can perceive that the grandmother is good at manipulating her son by saying that going to Tennessee can be beneficial to the kids in order to achieve her own purpose.She also mentions that The Misfit is also on the way to Florida and she â€Å"couldn't answer to [her] conscience† (O'Connor 402) if she brings the kids to Florida. In this quote, the grandmother uses the word â€Å"conscience† to threat Bailey with the idea that he is going to put his children in danger, so he would give up the trip to Florida. In Katherine Keil's article â€Å"O'Connor's ‘Good Man is Hard to Find'†, Katherine analyzes â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† and comments that â€Å"the grandmother shows her indifference for creation by selfishly manipulating and nagging to get her way on the family's vacation â€Å"(Keil 45).Keil's analysis is reasonable because through the i nteractions between the grandmother and other family members on the issue about the family trip, the grandmother is used to manipulate people's decisions by taking advantage of the vulnerable side of people's mind and being selfish without knowing it herself. The kids, John Wesley and June Star, are innocent compare to their selfish grandmother. After the family encounter The Misfit in the country, John Wesley notices that The Misfit is holding a gun, so he asks him: â€Å"‘What you got that gun for?†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ(O'Connor 410).Under this kind of circumstance, probably most of the people would be quiet in order to avoid trouble, but John Wesley mentions the gun just because he is simply curious. Unfortunately, his inquiry brings The Misfit into action, and results in tragedy. Although The Misfit is not present until the final pages of the story, he influences the story from the exposition of the story when the grandmother tells Bailey that he flees from the prison, and is on the way to Florida.The author uses a clear and detailed direct characterization to portray The Misfit when he first appears in the story. The author describes him as a man whose Hair just beginning to gray and he wore silver rimmed spectacles that gave him a scholarly look. He had a long creased face and didn't have on any shirt or undershirt. He had on blue jeans that were too tight for him and was holding a black hat and a gun. (O'Connor 410) It is easy for the readers to realize that he is an antagonist from his appearance– long ceased face, unsuited clothes, holding a gun, a typical image of villains.The conversations between The Misfit and the grandmother also reveal the evil inside The Misfit. After the execution of Bailey and his son, The Misfit tells the grandmother that he † found out the crime doesn't matter. You can do one thing or you can do another, kill a man or take a tire off his car, because sooner you're going to forget what it was you done and just be punished for it†(O'Connor 414). John Desmond's, a professor of English at Whitman College made comment in his article that † the Misfit acts under the delusion that his actions are somehow good, i. e.  good for him.Since he cannot make sense of his spiritual condition, he now tries to reduce ethical mystery to a perverse pleasure-pain principle†(Desmond135). Desmond's comment reveals the characteristic of The Misfit because The Misfit's demeanor exhibits that his values is tangled, and he has developed his own philosophy, which is evil and lawless. As a result, his philosophy blinded his conscience, and make his sinful actions look naturally appropriate to himself. Besides characterization, foreshadowing is also a significant literary element throughout the story .The author uses foreshadowing to give the story its air of suspense, and to hint the outcome of the story. At the beginning of the story, the grandmother refers to the news that â€Å"The Misfit is al oose from the Federal Pen and headed toward Florida† (O'Connor 402). Initially, the grandmother just wants to use this scary news to threaten Bailey, and tries to change his mind. The reference to a dangerous criminal raises a sign of hazardousness. The grandmother's dress on the day of departure also foreshadows the misfortune of the family.â€Å"[S]he had on navy blue straw sailor hat with a bunch of white violets on the brim and a navy blue dress with a small white dot in the print. Her collars and cuffs were organdy trimmed with lace and at her neckline she had pinned a purple spray of cloth violets containing a sachet†(O'Connor 404). In the book Short Stories for Students, the author of the article ‘Overview: â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ analysis that † as the family prepares to embark on their vacation, the grandmother plans her outfit with an eye toward tragedy†(Short Stories for Students 103).Wilson's analysis is fair because when people die, they usually are dressed in their best outfit, just like the grandmother is dressed in her best clothes, so its clear that the grandmother holds a pessimistic view on the family trip. On their way to Florida, the family â€Å"passed a large cotton field with five or six graves fenced in the middle of it, like a small island†(O'Connor 404). It is pretty disturbing for people who are on a family trip to see thing like graveyard, and the number of the graves clearly represent the six family members, including the baby. When the family are waiting for help after the accident, they encounter TheMisfit, who drives â€Å"a big black battered hearse-like automobile† (O'Connor 409). It is very obvious that the appearance of the car is a vigorous example of foreshadowing, which foreshadows the tragedy that is about to happen. In Arthur F. Bethea's article, he states that â€Å"O'Connor's villain is relentlessly associated with death: he worked as an undertaker , drives a black â€Å"hearse-like automobile,†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ(Bethea 239). Bthea's interpretation is vigorous because the image of a hearse-like automobile gives rise to a bodeful ambience which perfectly foreshadows the debut of The Misfit.Other than characterization and foreshadowing, irony is another essential literary element that helps to carry out the purpose and the theme of the whole story. Both verbal irony and situational irony are used by the author in this story to illustrate how the grandmother's manipulative behaviors lead the whole family into deadly situation. In the exposition of the story, the grandmother warns Bailey that she â€Å"wouldn't take [her] children in any direction with a criminal like that aloose in it â€Å"(O'Connor 402).Ironically, she is exactly the person who take the family into dangerousness when she deliberately excites the children in order to force Bailey to take them to see the plantation, where they meet The Misfit. In order to convince Bailey, the grandmother announces that taking the kids to the old plantation â€Å"would be very educational for them†(O'Connor 408). To educate the children is not the purpose of the trip to the plantation in the grandmother's mind, it is just a excuse that used to disguise her selfishness.In Stanley Renne's article he comments that the grandmother is a â€Å"blind old woman, a failed parent who has ruined her own offspring, with a false and destructive dream of the past and an equally false and destructive self-perception in the present†(Renner 127). Renne's analysis is reasonable because the grandmother always wants others to accept her idea, and force his family members to do what she thinks is right and what she thinks is good for them, but the grandmother doesn't perceive that herself is being selfish and nostalgic all the time.As a result of her selfishness and nostalgia, the grandmother ultimately brings misfortune to the family. After the car accident, the kid says: â€Å"But nobody's killed†(O'Connor 409) with great disappointment. It is very awkward that a kid could has this kind of horrible thought, and it is an example of verbal irony because at the end of the story every family member gets killed eventually. Another irony happens when the grandmother is giving her grandkids a lecture on respecting others.She announces that in the old times â€Å"children were more respectful of their native states and their parents and everything else†(O'Connor 404), but at the same time, she saw an African American child on the roadside and says: â€Å"Oh look at that cute pickninny† (O'Connor 404). It is ironic that the grandmother is teaching her grandkids the importance of respect while she calls an African American child pickninny, which is disrespectful.In Stephen Brandy's article he analysis and describe the grandmother as a old woman who † is filled with the prejudices of her class and her time† (Brandy 110). Brandy's comment is agreeable because although the grandmother's conversations make her seems like a nice and traditional Southern old lady, her mindless insult on African Americans reveals that the racism is rooted in her mind for a very long time that even herself does not notice it, or she ignore this issue deliberately.I the short story â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find†, the author applies characterization, foreshadowing, and irony to illustrate the theme that the tendency to manipulate people's actions and thoughts may introduce tragic outcomes to the love ones. By using both direct and indirect characterization, the author is able to portray the characters in detail, and create a vivid image of interactions between characters.Foreshadowing is also a important literary element that the author applies in this short story because foreshadowing gives the story its air of suspense thus make the story more interesting and dramatic. Through both situational irony and verbal i rony, the author shows how the grandmother's character trait brings misfortune to the family, and unlock the theme of the story. Being manipulative not only distances a person from his or her family, but also could cause trouble to the love ones. A Good Man is Hard to Find Analysis â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† is a short story written by Flannery O'Connor, a significant American writer and essayist. Her writing style reflects the ethnic relation in the South and her own Christian faith. The author writes in third person limited point of view to portray the tragic journey of a family who lived in Georgia in 1953. Bailey wants to take his family to Florida, but his mother, â€Å"the grandmother† disagrees with him because there's a dangerous criminal named The Misfit who is also on the way to Florida.Bailey ignores the grandmother's concern and headed to Florida. On the road, The kids and the grandmother persuade Bailey to drive them to the see a plantation which the grandmother visited when she was a lady. Unfortunately, the family gets into an accident on the desolate dust road to the plantation. The only thing the family can do is to wait for help, and it turns out that their help is none other than The Misfit and his buddies. The Misfit ord ers his buddies to take all the family members except the grandmother into the wood and shoot them.Hopelessly, the grandmother calls The Misfit her child and wants to touch him on the shoulder, but this angers The Misfit. As a result, he shoots the grandmother three times on the chest. The author uses characterization, foreshadowing, and irony to illustrate the theme that the tendency to manipulate people's actions and thoughts may introduce tragic outcomes to the love ones.In the short story â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† , the author applies both direct characterization and indirect characterization to exhibit the selfishness of the grandmother, the innocence of the children, and the wickedness of The Misfit .In the exposition of the story, the grandmother wants to go to Tennessee to visit her connections instead going to Florida, so she tells Bailey that he † ought to take [the kids] somewhere else for a change so they would see different parts of the world and be board. They have never been to east Tennessee† (O'Connor 403). From this quote the readers can perceive that the grandmother is good at manipulating her son by saying that going to Tennessee can be beneficial to the kids in order to achieve her own purpose.She also mentions that The Misfit is also on the way to Florida and she â€Å"couldn't answer to [her] conscience† (O'Connor 402) if she brings the kids to Florida. In this quote, the grandmother uses the word â€Å"conscience† to threat Bailey with the idea that he is going to put his children in danger, so he would give up the trip to Florida.In Katherine Keil's article â€Å"O'Connor's ‘Good Man is Hard to Find'†, Katherine analyzes â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† and comments that â€Å"the grandmother shows her indifference for creation by selfishly manipulating and nagging to get her way on the family's vacation â€Å"(Keil 45).Keil's analysis is reasonable because through the int eractions between the grandmother and other family members on the issue about the family trip, the grandmother is used to manipulate people's decisions by taking advantage of the vulnerable side of people's mind and being selfish without knowing it herself. The kids, John Wesley and June Star, are innocent compare to their selfish grandmother. After the family encounter The Misfit in the country, John Wesley notices that The Misfit is holding a gun, so he asks him: â€Å"‘What you got that gun for?†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ(O'Connor 410).Under this kind of circumstance, probably most of the people would be quiet in order to avoid trouble, but John Wesley mentions the gun just because he is simply curious. Unfortunately, his inquiry brings The Misfit into action, and results in tragedy. Although The Misfit is not present until the final pages of the story, he influences the story from the exposition of the story when the grandmother tells Bailey that he flees from the prison, and is on th e way to Florida.The author uses a clear and detailed direct characterization to portray The Misfit when he first appears in the story. The author describes him as a man whose Hair just beginning to gray and he wore silver rimmed spectacles that gave him a scholarly look.He had a long creased face and didn't have on any shirt or undershirt. He had on blue jeans that were too tight for him and was holding a black hat and a gun. (O'Connor 410) It is easy for the readers to realize that he is an antagonist from his appearance– long ceased face, unsuited clothes, holding a gun, a typical image of villains.The conversations between The Misfit and the grandmother also reveal the evil inside The Misfit. After the execution of Bailey and his son, The Misfit tells the grandmother that he † found out the crime doesn't matter. You can do one thing or you can do another, kill a man or take a tire off his car, because sooner you're going to forget what it was you done and just be pu nished for it†(O'Connor 414).John Desmond's, a professor of English at Whitman College made comment in his article that † the Misfit acts under the delusion that his actions are somehow good, i. e.  good for him. Since he cannot make sense of his spiritual condition, he now tries to reduce ethical mystery to a perverse pleasure-pain principle†(Desmond135).Desmond's comment reveals the characteristic of The Misfit because The Misfit's demeanor exhibits that his values is tangled, and he has developed his own philosophy, which is evil and lawless. As a result, his philosophy blinded his conscience, and make his sinful actions look naturally appropriate to himself. Besides characterization, foreshadowing is also a significant literary element throughout the story .The author uses foreshadowing to give the story its air of suspense, and to hint the outcome of the story. At the beginning of the story, the grandmother refers to the news that â€Å"The Misfit is aloose from the Federal Pen and headed toward Florida† (O'Connor 402). Initially, the grandmother just wants to use this scary news to threaten Bailey, and tries to change his mind. The reference to a dangerous criminal raises a sign of hazardousness. The grandmother's dress on the day of departure also foreshadows the misfortune of the family.â€Å"[S]he had on navy blue straw sailor hat with a bunch of white violets on the brim and a navy blue dress with a small white dot in the print. Her collars and cuffs were organdy trimmed with lace and at her neckline she had pinned a purple spray of cloth violets containing a sachet†(O'Connor 404). In the book Short Stories for Students, the author of the article ‘Overview: â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ analysis that † as the family prepares to embark on their vacation, the grandmother plans her outfit with an eye toward tragedy†(Short Stories for Students 103).Wilson's analysis is fair because whe n people die, they usually are dressed in their best outfit, just like the grandmother is dressed in her best clothes, so its clear that the grandmother holds a pessimistic view on the family trip. On their way to Florida, the family â€Å"passed a large cotton field with five or six graves fenced in the middle of it, like a small island†(O'Connor 404).It is pretty disturbing for people who are on a family trip to see thing like graveyard, and the number of the graves clearly represent the six family members, including the baby. When the family are waiting for help after the accident, they encounter TheMisfit, who drives â€Å"a big black battered hearse-like automobile† (O'Connor 409). It is very obvious that the appearance of the car is a vigorous example of foreshadowing, which foreshadows the tragedy that is about to happen. In Arthur F. Bethea's article, he states that â€Å"O'Connor's villain is relentlessly associated with death: he worked as an undertaker, dri ves a black â€Å"hearse-like automobile,†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ(Bethea 239). Bthea's interpretation is vigorous because the image of a hearse-like automobile gives rise to a bodeful ambience which perfectly foreshadows the debut of The Misfit.Other than characterization and foreshadowing, irony is another essential literary element that helps to carry out the purpose and the theme of the whole story. Both verbal irony and situational irony are used by the author in this story to illustrate how the grandmother's manipulative behaviors lead the whole family into deadly situation.In the exposition of the story, the grandmother warns Bailey that she â€Å"wouldn't take [her] children in any direction with a criminal like that aloose in it â€Å"(O'Connor 402).Ironically, she is exactly the person who take the family into dangerousness when she deliberately excites the children in order to force Bailey to take them to see the plantation, where they meet The Misfit. In order to convince Bailey , the grandmother announces that taking the kids to the old plantation â€Å"would be very educational for them†(O'Connor 408). To educate the children is not the purpose of the trip to the plantation in the grandmother's mind, it is just a excuse that used to disguise her selfishness.In Stanley Renne's article he comments that the grandmother is a â€Å"blind old woman, a failed parent who has ruined her own offspring, with a false and destructive dream of the past and an equally false and destructive self-perception in the present†(Renner 127).Renne's analysis is reasonable because the grandmother always wants others to accept her idea, and force his family members to do what she thinks is right and what she thinks is good for them, but the grandmother doesn't perceive that herself is being selfish and nostalgic all the time.As a result of her selfishness and nostalgia, the grandmother ultimately brings misfortune to the family. After the car accident, the kid says: â€Å"But nobody's killed†(O'Connor 409) with great disappointment. It is very awkward that a kid could has this kind of horrible thought, and it is an example of verbal irony because at the end of the story every family member gets killed eventually. Another irony happens when the grandmother is giving her grandkids a lecture on respecting others.She announces that in the old times â€Å"children were more respectful of their native states and their parents and everything else†(O'Connor 404), but at the same time, she saw an African American child on the roadside and says: â€Å"Oh look at that cute pickninny† (O'Connor 404). It is ironic that the grandmother is teaching her grandkids the importance of respect while she calls an African American child pickninny, which is disrespectful.In Stephen Brandy's article he analysis and describe the grandmother as a old woman who † is filled with the prejudices of her class and her time† (Brandy 110). Brandy 's comment is agreeable because although the grandmother's conversations make her seems like a nice and traditional Southern old lady, her mindless insult on African Americans reveals that the racism is rooted in her mind for a very long time that even herself does not notice it, or she ignore this issue deliberately.I the short story â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find†, the author applies characterization, foreshadowing, and irony to illustrate the theme that the tendency to manipulate people's actions and thoughts may introduce tragic outcomes to the love ones. By using both direct and indirect characterization, the author is able to portray the characters in detail, and create a vivid image of interactions between characters.Foreshadowing is also a important literary element that the author applies in this short story because foreshadowing gives the story its air of suspense thus make the story more interesting and dramatic. Through both situational irony and verbal irony, t he author shows how the grandmother's character trait brings misfortune to the family, and unlock the theme of the story. Being manipulative not only distances a person from his or her family, but also could cause trouble to the love ones.