A Good Man Is Hard to Find by Flannery O’Connor Essay

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 the short story, “The Good Man Is Hard to Find” the grandmother describes a “good man” vaguely. The grandmother pertains the label “good” broadly, putting a shadow over the definition

A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O’Connor challenges readers to look at life through a different lense and causes her audience to make connections to the modern world from the text. Throughout the entire story, O’Connor addresses issues that are still relevant to this day by thoroughly developing each character and using each character to bring up issues that are intriguing to the audience. A Good Man is Hard to Find is a story that challenges readers to make connections and think about the world through a different lense. These thought provoking qualities are the reasons why A Good Man is Hard to Find is a must read for readers of all ages.

In today’s society, several individuals have come across a point where they were on the verge of the death. Murder is constantly being thrown across headlines, news reports, and social media throughout America. It has become a disastrous factor throughout many individual’ lives. Viewing families suffer from their lost loved ones, as well as the murder of innocent lives have been tremendously relevant in today’s society. What many individuals fail to understand, is what actually happens during their last seconds on earth. Throughout the short story, “A Good Man Is Hard To Find,” O’Connor uses a Grandmother to convey to the readers the actually value of goodness an individual tends to gain when confronted with death. Just as revealed in the short story, violence frequently triggers an individual’s actions when presented with death. In “A Good Man Is Hard To Find,” Flannery O’Connor uses theme, conflict, and religion in order to portray the false acts of goodness projected by the grandmother.

     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

Exploring the idea that all men are born sinners, O’Connor demonstrates immoral indulgences entertained by various characters. Readers are introduced to grandmother, an elderly woman whose consistent unscrupulous behavior exhibits her inner motives. Grandmother uses subtle, indirect confrontation to get her way until she is faced with The Misfit, a runaway criminal who believes that crime is a justifiable. In “A Good Man Is Hard To Find,” Flannery O’Connor uses characterization to display a loss of morals, imagery to portray evil in society, and symbolism to emphasize the struggle of obtaining grace to prove how life is nihilistic without religion.

The concept of being a “good” person has painted the picture of how people have handled their lives throughout history. On the same note, this concept has also been the subject of much debate; such is the case in Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find”. The protagonist, the unnamed grandmother struggles to find the “good” in others and herself. O’Conner uses foreshadowing, characterization, and a distinct point of view to make her point. In my interpretation, her point is that only through conflict and turmoil can good truly be found.

The world is a massive place full of endless literature, beginning from ancient scrolls to daily news articles, filled with many secrets, perspectives and surroundings that help connect literature to an individual’s daily life. Some writers use the skills of literary elements to express and discuss an event that has happened to them or what has happened to others. This helps others to comprehend the perspectives of the author’s understanding toward an incident that one might experience. For instance in Flannery O’Connor’s short story, she uses many literary elements to express her views over most of her stories. O’Connor expresses her views in her short story, “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by using the literary elements of point of view, irony, and setting.

Additionally, the grandmother shows superiority in her actions and poor judgment towards others. In the story, the grandmother answer Red Sammy Butts question about why he let those guys fuel their tank without paying by saying he does it because he is a “good man”. Also, when she when she realizes that the Misfit is a threat to her life, she repeatedly tells him that he is a “good man”. This way O’Connor highlights the moral codes that the grandmother built on the characteristics she believes that make people “good”. Although, it seems that the grandmother sees the goodness in people and has an open-hearted

During the family trip in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” to Georgia, the grandmother attempts to exude a lady-like facade. The grandmother wears “white cotton gloves...a navy blue straw sailor hat with a bunch of white violets … a

Manipulation is a major theme in the story “A Good Man is Hard to Find”. In the story, the grandmother

In the short story, “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’ Connor, the major theme in this story to me is how religion plays such a larger role in some lives more than others. The grandmother, a prime example for this, shows throughout the story that having “faith” isn’t a saving grace and misplaced faith could possibly get you killed. The major confrontation in the story between the Misfit and the grandmother revolves around Jesus Christ. The grandmother brought up praying to Jesus to hopefully get the Misfit to spare her and only her by tending to his religious side. The grandmother soon finds out that the Misfit thinks about Jesus more seriously, at least, then her. The Misfit’s doubts in Jesus leads him to believe that there is no true meaning in life, and there is no right and wrong, stating at the end there’s “It’s no real pleasure in life” (O’Connor, 2012, P. 117). In the climax of the story, as the grandmother begs for her life to the Misfit, she seems to have a moment of divinity, which seems to have moved him. How the ending is perceived is a major question in the story that can only be answered by the reader personally. As it changes with each reader, so does how the ending is understood. It shows how much religion plays in to our daily lives and what people do and what for. I believe that the role religion plays in

Many people have a different definition of a “good” man. Flannery O’ Connor short-story “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” gives readers a brief view on the subject. In the story the foundation for what makes a good man seems to only come from the grandmother. However when she is faces with a disadvantage by Misfit, he puts a twist on her views, and shatters that foundation. “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” is neither a happy nor sad story, both characters have many flaws and seem undeserving, but through an unexpected encounter they both found grace and redemption.

This short story is called ?A Good Man Is Hard To Find? by Flannery O? Connor. It started off with a family from Georgia going on a trip to Florida. The members of this family include the grandma, the daughter (June Star), Bailey, John Wesley, and the mom. The grandma did not want to go. The story initially began after an introduction with the family getting in the car.

The short story entitled, A Good Man Is Hard To Find, by Flannery O’Connor is not a very difficult story to understand. The short story is about a family who is not like your typical happy-go-lucky family. They do not talk or listen to what each other have to say. The main character, the grandmother, does care for her grandchildren but later on shows that she is all about herself. The characters consist of a young brother named John Wesley, his sister named June Star, their parents, a baby and their grandmother. They decide to set out on a road trip because the grandmother wants to visit people she knows in East Tennessee. While on the road they do encounter different visual aspects of life that make them realize some people are not as fortunate as they are. They make a pit stop at a BBQ place and the grandmother talks with the owner about how times have changed after reading about a prison escape with a known convict named The Misfit. Once back on the road the grandmother begins telling her grandchildren about an old plantation she would visit back when she was younger. This caught the children’s attention and they begged Bailey, the dad, to go to that house. Before they make it things have turned for the worst. Grandmothers cat