Good vs. Evil in “a Good Man Is Hard to Find” 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

Flannery O’Connor’s story, “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” shows a family vacation to Florida that ends in tragedy. The major characters in the story include the grandmother; Bailey, her son, his wife, the children’s mother, and the two children, John Wesley, and June Star. Other characters include Red Sammy, his wife, the Misfit, and his two accomplices. Although the grandmother plays the leading role in the story, the actions of other characters, some innate, also play a role in the family problem.

In the short story “A Good Man is Hard to Find” Flannery O’Conner introduces the story with the characters, the grandmother, her son Bailey, his wife, his two children June Star and John Wesley, and the baby, on the way to Florida for a vacation. Soon after the trip begins, the grandmother states that she wants to go Georgia to see a friend, but with her awful memory, she remembers it is actually in Tennessee. Her son then becomes angry and veers off the road, where they are welcomed with a well-known criminal named, The Misfit. The mystery behind the grandmother’s instinct to keep her alive truly makes the reader wonder about the author’s motives. In “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, Flannery writes this short story in a structured and meaningful way that can keep the readers and writers interested about the grandmother’s troubles.

Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find” is a perfect example of how one wrong turn can change a person’s life for better or worse. O’Connor’s story is about a family taking a trip from Tennessee to Florida, and while on their trip they have the unfortunate encounter with a man named “the Misfit”. This man had recently escaped from prison and was very dangerous. During the trip the Grandmother expressed her memories of a home she used to visit as a child, which peaked the interest of the two young children in the car. However, memories can be deceiving and the Grandmother’s memory failed her in this instance.

Bryant observed: “The numerous ways in which the content of this book of the New Testament dovetails with the characters and theme of ‘A Good Man is Hard to Find’ could not be a complete accident” (Bryant 162). O’Connor often uses her writing as a way to share her Christian message with the world. After reading, “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” it is clear that O’Connor does not accidentally insert biblical references, but thoughtfully places them throughout the work. In “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, O’Connor’s Christian ideals resonate throughout the writing. O’Connor explores the Christian belief that all beings will receive a chance at redemption. For example, though it may seem as though the only character who deserves an untimely death is the grandmother, it becomes apparent that every character needs forgiveness. The children are rude and unkind to their grandmother. They also evidence the sin of greed when they begin to “yell and scream that they wanted to see the house with the secret panel” to the annoyance of their family (O’Connor 143). The parents fail to respect the grandmother or in Christian terms “their elder.” For example, the grandmother wanted to go to Tennessee, but when she told her son Bailey, he “didn’t look up from his reading” and the family ends up vacationing to Florida (O’Connor 138). To make the religious message of the short story stronger, O’Connor makes the grandmother’s death the most dramatic, or as literary critic Rebecca R.

"A Good Man Is Hard to Find" is a short story written by Flannery O’ Connor that was published in 1955. The passage mixes elements of both Southern Gothic literature and suspense to unfold a dark, moralistic narrative. The story is an ironic tale that follows a pessimistic grandmother who is traveling with her family down south to visit Florida. She is unsettled by the news of a recent escape convict escape and tries to convince the family by changing course but to no avail. The strong use of foreshadowing present in the story is a tool used by the author to build tension as the readers follow the passage. Events soon transpire for the worse after a car accident which was ultimately caused by the miss care of the grandmother occurs. From this

“A Good Man is Hard to Find” tells a tale of a family of five, on a journey to Florida. When a series of unfortunate events begin to take place, the families runs into the “Misfit”, and are murdered. Flannery O Conner’s story challenges the idea of morality, and what drives a person’s actions, decisions, and perceptions on life choices. The ethical message

Jacie Meier Professor Lee Friederich English 250 -- Introduction to Literary Studies July 7, 2015 Use of Literary Techniques in “A Good Man is Hard to Find” The confrontation between good and evil detailed in Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find” wouldn’t be nearly as vivid without the use of various literary techniques such as similes, personifications, imagery, foreshadowing, and irony. While all of the aforementioned literary techniques contribute to the central confrontation, they are also used to create the distinctive tone of the entire account. Ultimately, the most influential techniques are the meaningful use of imagery and foreshadow along with the significant use of irony throughout the tale. O’Connor uses

Kids These Days In the short story, “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” Flannery O’Connor creates a family of six that displays many cultural conflicts. This dark short story follows the family along the way of their eventful trip to Florida. The main character, the grandmother, seems to have conflict after conflict with all of the members of the family.

Flannery O’Connor’s short story, “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, centers around a vacationing family of six. When the father of the household attempts to take the family to Florida, their trip is derailed by the grandmother’s desire to visit her childhood home. The grandmother leads the father down a back road in a heavily wooded area and at one point a wrong turn is taken and the family ends up crashing into an isolated ditch. After attempting to signal for help, the family is murdered by a wandering group of escaped convicts. The three most important elements that the author uses in this story are the elements of setting, characterization, and style.

According to the story, what does it mean not to be good, and what does it mean to be evil? Response to the story, “A Good Man is Hard to Find.” “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” is regarded as the O’Connor’s most popular story. As much as it gained attention from the readers, many critics criticized the story as a “grotesque” based on the repulsive type of characters of it.

In Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, racism and religion are the prominent themes. The setting of the story takes places in the 1950’s Georgia. The short story can be seen as Southern Gothic Literature, where the characters are flawed and grotesque. The characters flaws helps the reader see common weaknesses and changes need by society. “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, is a story about a world where innocent people are eliminated.

In “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” Flannery O’Connor relays, through the main characters, that life is unfair, and in the past people demonstrated trustworthiness and respect that are lacking in people found in today’s society. O’Connor succeeds in relaying this message through several different conversations and interactions between the characters to support that,“A Good Man Is Hard to Find.”

As Martin Luther said, “Good works do not make a good man, but a good man does good works; evil works do not make a wicked man, but a wicked man does evil works” (On Christian Library). The media is constantly flooded with a consistent stream of negativity. Currently in our small world we are fighting wars, preventing nuclear fallouts, and even protecting citizens from terrorist attacks. Notice that all of these instances share one common type of conflict: man versus man. The most common misconception is the difference between good and bad. What makes someone good; what makes someone bad? To some extent, there is good and bad in every person. Lead singer of the rock band The Animals, Eric Burdon, agrees. Burdon was quoted once saying, “Inside each of us, there is the seed of both good and evil. It’s a constant struggle as to which one will win. And one cannot exist without the other” (BrainyQuote). The fact of the matter is the following: there are both good and evil in the world, but there is more than just one determining factor on whether a person or thing is good or bad.

Throughout human existence, questions have arisen concerning the nature of good and evil. Many scientist, philosophers, and theologians have been intrigued by these questions. Through Augustine’s Confessions and E. O. Wilson’s In Search of Nature, one is accessible to two distinct perspectives concerning the nature of good and evil.