Flannery O'Connor's stories, though varied as to setting and characters, give even the casual reader a single impression. They all seem to say that she does not have a very great regard for her fellowmen….

Going deeper, the reader discovers that, disturbingly, more than contempt for the human race is involved. Running through the stories is one dominating theme: that of innocence versus evil, innocence victimized by evil.

A good illustration of this may be found in the story "A Good Man Is Hard To Find." Here, plainly underscored, we see the vivid allegory of unabashed Innocence destroyed by unabashed Evil. And here also the allegory is given depth and color by a companion revelation, an idea not often included in stories of the Light against the Darkness, namely, that often the Innocent and the Evil share a single set of values.

The impact of "A Good Man...