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Examples Of Biblical Allusions In A Good Man Is Hard To Find

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Many authors choose to use biblical allusions in their stories, but no one does it like Flannery O’Connor. Her complex but yet important allusions are very key to understanding a lot of her short stories. Especially in one of her most famous stories, “A Good Man Is Hard to Find.” In “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” Flannery O’Connor uses biblical allusions to allow readers to receive a deeper understanding of her short story. The Misfit’s characterization, the grandmother’s characterization, and the Timothy allusion are all major examples of these biblical allusions.

One way Flannery O’Connor uses biblical references in her short story “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” is by characterizing The Misfit to seem like a couple of different major …show more content…

“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (Bible). Jesus was publicly crucified because of his unwillingness to conform with the world’s beliefs. While The Misfit is not killed for his abnormal way of life, he is sent to prison. Although the world has an opposing opinion of what is right neither Jesus Christ or The Misfit back away from their own morals. Jesus Christ was a “misfit” in his own society.

On the other hand, Flannery O’Connor also characterizes The Misfit with Satan. The connection with The Misfit and Satan is clearly seen when The Misfit starts talking about the penitentiary, “The Misfit said in an almost dreamy voice, ‘but somewheres along the line I done something wrong and got sent to the penitentiary. I was buried alive’” (O’Connor). In this quote The Misfit represents Satan, and the penitentiary represents Hell, Satan’s banishment place. Satan was buried alive because God banished him from heaven to spend an eternity in a grave for the unsaved dead, Hell. An article by FINISH THIS states, “He was a gospel singer once, he fought in a war, he had been an undertaker, and he had ‘plowed Mother Earth.’ He claims that he was sent to a penitentiary, but doesn’t know what he did wrong. ‘I was buried alive,’ he says” (FINISH THIS). FINISH THIS continues with the idea of this biblical reference. The Misfit being a gospel singer that once

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