A Good Man Is Hard To Find By Mary Flannery O Connor

As I read Flannery O’Connor’s short story “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, I find myself being completely consumed by the rich tale that the author weaves; a tragic and ironic tale that concisely and precisely utilizes irony and foreshadowing with expert skill. As the story progresses, it is readily apparent that the story will end in a tragic and predictable state due to the devices which O’Connor expertly employs and thusly, I find that I cannot stop reading it; the plot grows thicker with every sentence and by doing so, the characters within the story are infinitely real in my mind’s eye. As I consider these factors, the story focuses on two main characters; that of the grandmother, who comes across as self-centered and self-serving and

In "A Good Man Is Hard to Find," Flannery O'Connor represents her style of writing very accurately. She includes her "themes and methods - comedy, violence, theological concern - and thus makes them quickly and unmistakably available" (Asals 177). In the beginning of the story O'Connor represents the theme of comedy by describing the typical grandmother. Then O'Connor moves on to include the violent aspect by bringing the Misfit into the story. At the end of the story the theme changes to theological concern as the attention is directed towards the grandmother's witnessing. As the themes change throughout the story, the reader's perception of the grandmother also changes.

These are elements of random foreshadowing that helped the reader understand why the grandmother believed so strongly that a good man is hard to find. This would be a prelude to the horrific events that would later unfold when the grandmother encounters the misfit who by all intense purposes was not believed to be a good man.

These are also proven through this story by the way she portrays her character's speech and actions in this story. She used these to guide people, for example the Grandmother and the misfit to provide them with guidelines for their lives that are indicative of Christians. Her family and the society she lived in, in the South weighed heavily into her faith and the way she delivered her message through her writing.t is says that every author is allowed and encouraged to express their views using their literary works as media. Flannery O'Connor took full advantage of this fact and incorporated her religious beliefs into the short stories "A Good Man is Hard to find" and "Good Country People." that she wrote shortly after.

     In the short story, 'A Good Man is Hard to Find', the main character is the grandmother. Flannery O'Connor, the author, lets the reader find out who the grandmother is by her conversations and reactions to the other characters in the story. The grandmother is the most important character in the story because she has a main role in the stories principal action. This little old lady is the protagonist in this piece. We learn more about her from her direct conversation with the son, Bailey, her grandchildren, June Star and John Wesley, and the Misfit killer. Through these conversations, we know that she is a lady raised from a traditional background. In the story, her attitude changes

Flannery O’Connor, undoubtedly one of the most well-read authors of the early 20th Century, had many strong themes deeply embedded within all her writings. Two of her most prominent and poignant themes were Christianity and racism. By analyzing, “A Good Man is Hard to Find” and “Everything that Rises Must Converge,” these two themes jump out at the reader. Growing up in the mid-1920’s in Georgia was a huge influence on O’Connor. Less than a decade before her birth, Georgia was much different than it was at her birth. Slaves labored tirelessly on their master’s plantations and were indeed a facet of everyday life. However, as the Civil War ended and Reconstruction began, slaves were not easily assimilated into Southern culture. Thus, O’Connor grew up in a highly racist area that mourned the fact that slaves were now to be treated as “equals.” In her everyday life in Georgia, O’Connor encountered countless citizens who were not shy in expressing their discontent toward the black race. This indeed was a guiding influence and inspiration in her fiction writing. The other guiding influence in her life that became a major theme in her writing was religion. Flannery O 'Connor was born in Savannah, Georgia, the only child of a Catholic family. The region was part of the 'Christ-haunted ' Bible belt of the Southern States. The spiritual heritage of the region profoundly shaped O 'Connor 's writing as described in her essay "The Catholic Novelist in the Protestant South" (1969). Many

In the religious drama within the story, the Misfit acts as both Christ and anti-Christ figure. He compares himself to Christ, saying, "It was the same case with Him as me, except He hadn't committed any crime and they could prove I had committed one because they had the papers on me" ( ). Even though the Misfit cannot dedicate himself to either path, he recognizes that there are really only two alternatives in life: belief and disbelief. Inattention and indifference to faith, the position held by most of the characters in "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" and many in O'Connor's other stories, are unacceptable and ultimately untenable responses. There can be no question, however, of O'Connor's intent. The Misfit and his gun create a moment of redemption for the grandmother, albeit against her will. Despite his amorality, his actions extract from her a recognition born out of

The grandmother feels that God provides the answer to any underlying problems, and the Misfit knows and feels that all of the horrible things he has done are truly not considered morally wrong from his perspective. Towards the end, when the grandmother experienced an epiphany before the Misfit shot her in the chest she stated, “Why you’re one of my babies. You’re one of my own children” (11). This made the grandmother realize that she was expressing the true Christian belief that we are all seen as equal in the eyes of God, no matter how murderous someone may be. O’Connor’s use of spiritual insight stripped away the grandmothers self-centeredness, and helped her discover the ability to see others with compassion and understanding. Nonetheless, within “A Good Man is Hard to Find” O’Connor provides great amount of spiritual insight in her short stories mainly as a way to connect her characters with God and to make them recognize the true meaning of individual equality.

Similarly, the grandmother, one of the central character in “a good man is hard to find”, believes the misfit’s conscience did not quite go out of him. Although the grandmother tells the Misfit that he is good and won’t kill woman couple of times and she tries to persuade the misfit not to kill her, the grandmother and her family murdered by the inhumane and deadly man in the end of the story. There is the doubt that trust is one of the most important element to affect this story.

O’Connor keeps her writing focused throughout “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” as she consistently reiterates the theme of the short story that despite how a person may appear, everyone has a sinister side to their personality. This is especially true for the criminal in the story, The Misfit, as he appears to be like any other typical person. However, despite the appearance he has, he is unlike most others with his sinner-like behaviors. The Grandmother introduces The Misfit early into the story when reading about his recent escape from prison as part of her attempt to convince her son to change the trip destination. " '

In the short story “A Good Man Is Hard To Find,” O’Connor brings in the focus of the the Misfit, and how he displayed a perception of good vs. evil, when he and the grandmother had a conversation. During the conversation with the grandmother, the grandmother convinced the Misfit that he may be one of her own bringing out an emotional side in him. O’Connor states,

A Good Man is Hard to Find is one of the most controversial short stories written in the 1950s. Written by Flannery O’Connor, the story is about a family who takes a roadtrip to Florida when it takes a turn for the worst. During their trip, they get into a car accident and encounter a dangerous fugitive. The story deals with many themes, but there is one theme that is more prominent than the rest. The theme of moral decay is exhibited throughout the story through the characters of the children, the grandmother, and The Misfit.

Flannery O’Connor was born March 25, 1925, in Savanah, Georgia. She went to what is, now Iowa University and majored in literature. She’s primarily known for her short stories but was a novelist. Flannery O’Connor passed away in 1964 after losing a battle with lupus. The piece of writing that I will be discussing is titled: “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” she wrote this work in 1953 along with several other short stories (Biography.com Editors). To summarize an individual’s life is not what is being established in this writing. What will be discussed, however, is the titled piece: “A Good Man is Hard to Find.” Analyzing the writing, looking with a critical eye about what the writing

The Misfit has his own perception on what is evil in the world. The gradation of the mystery of evil as he sees it ranks him high up on the scale, but not the worst. A good person can mean a lot of things to a lot of different people. To the grandmother in the story. She wants to believe that the Misfit is good in nature. But throughout the story, we as readers would not think the same as her. We are given no hints as to why the Misfit would be a good person, but the grandmother seems to think so. This is only since she feels threatened and is desperately trying to appease the mind of the Misfit. The Misfit thinks that the grandmother is not a good person and she ranks on the scale as more so evil than him. “She would of been a good woman," The Misfit said, "if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life” (O’ Connor 425). The interpretation of that quote meant that if someone were there to correct her wrongs every moment of her life then she wouldn’t be the person that she is now. Since the Misfit never thought what he was doing was wrong, he never needed

Religion can be interpreted in many different ways depending on the believer. In fact, people have different ideas and believe of grace and redemption. Many writers and artists exert their religious values and beliefs in their work. “A Good Man is Hard to Find” is a short story written by Flannery O’Connor in 1953. Her ideas and beliefs of grace and violence are reflected throughout the whole story. The theme of violent versus grace is represented by the character of grandmother’s family, the Misfit, and the grandmother.