Violence In A Good Man Is Hard To Find

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 “A Good Man is Hard to Find” O’Conner, tries to make us understand the meaning of grace. The Misfit and the Grandma are the two main characters that show us what grace is and how it can be applied to a person’s everyday life. In Flannery O’Conner’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” the Grandma tries to save her family by convincing them to visit a place she recommends to keep them away from the Misfit, whom with they later come in contact. Neither the Grandma nor the Misfit deserves grace but it is given to them anyway.

Another virtue the grandmother lacks is courage. Courage is “The state or quality of mind or spirit that enables one to face danger with self-possession, confidence and resolution” (Courage). When The Misfit arrives, the grandmother is nothing but a coward. She exhibits no self-possession, “Alone with The Misfit, the grandmother found that she had lost her voice” (O’ Connor 1116), displayed here when she can’t even speak. She also has no resolution to the situation but to give The Misfit her money, “‘I’ll give you all the money I’ve got!’” (O’ Connor

    “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” one of O’Connor’s best works, describes a family on a trip to Florida and their encounter with an escaped prisoner, The Misfit. Although “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” is an early work in O’Connor’s career, it contains many of the elements which are used in the majority of her short stories. The grandmother, a selfish and deceitful woman, is a recipient of a moment of grace, despite her many flaws and sins. A moment of grace is a revelation of truth. When the grandmother calls The Misfit her child and reaches out to touch him, the grandmother has a moment of grace that enabled her to see The Misfit as a suffering human being who she is obligated to love. The grandmother realizes that nothing will stop The Misfit from killing her but she reaches out to him despite this. The Misfit rejects her love and kills her anyway. This moment of grace is very important

The Grandmother identifies herself as having the best values. She completely overdresses for the trip in a "navy straw hat and collars and cuffs, so that if there was an accident, people would know she was a lady" (368). The narrator points out that she looks down upon other people as well. In the beginning of the story, she criticizes the mother for "not taking the children to different parts of the world and being broad" (367), and tells John Wesley that he "should be more respectful of his native state and his parents" (368). Despite being so judgmental, the Grandmother never criticizes her own dishonesty, hypocrisy, and selfishness. When she criticizes John Wesley about the state, she calls a little black boy "a cute pickaninny" (368) in the same sentence. She later says that little black kids do not have things like they do and that "if she could paint, she would paint that picture" (368). The Grandmother paints this picture later with a romantic story of the good old days on the Southern plantations. Her definition of a good man is even flawed. The narrator says she would have married Edgar Teagarden because "he was a gentleman who bought Coca-Cola stock, making him a rich man" (369). In the end, when the Misfit is killing her family members one by one, she tells him to pray for himself. But she never once prays for her own family or begs the Misfit to spare them. She is even dramatic when she pulls a handkerchief out to fan herself and tells the Misfit "you wouldn't kill a lady would you" (373), effectively trying to save herself instead of her family.

Flannery O’Connor’s short story, “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” focuses on the contrast between “good” and “evil.” Through the characterization of the Grandmother and The Misfit, O’Connor reveals that in reality there are no drastic differences between the two, only that one has already come to accept his fate and the other is still blinded by her own selfish ways. From the beginning, the true nature of the Grandmother begins to unfold. It is evident that she will say just about anything to get her way, only she’ll do it in a manner that illustrates her as one whose sole purpose is to look out for her family, “See here...this fellow that calls himself the misfit is aloose from the Federal Pen and headed toward Florida… I wouldn’t take my children in any direction with a criminal aloose like that… I couldn’t answer to my own conscience if I did.”(117) O’Connor’s use of the word “conscience” leads the reader to believe that the Grandmother has good morals and values, but upon further investigation it’s evident that this “good” only runs so deep. At first glance, this moment can be perceived as one filled with sincere fear on the grandmothers part, however, the chances of the family actually running into a loose criminal on a family road trip is one in a million. Which leads to the conclusion that the Grandmothers sole intention is to scare her son into submission, so that she may go to Tennessee to visit her old friends. Nearing the end of the family’s life, the Grandmother’s

O'Connor does the same thing here; the grandmother's first action was to convince her son, Bailey, into going were she wanted to go, a selfish act, not a trait that we see a grandmother having. Also she thought out a plan to get what she wanted by acting as if she cared about her family's safety. "Now looks here, Bailey........ see here, read this...Here this fellow that calls himself the Misfit is aloose from the Federal Pen and headed towards Florida and you read here what is says he did to these people(328)." The grandmother's relationship right away to the reader is one that can not be trusted. Throughout the story you now question the grandmother's intentions, are they honest or selfish.

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.

Violence, grace, goodness, punishment and forgiveness are all found in the short story “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor.

O'Connor's typical use of violence and humor in her literary work broadens the characterization of the grandmother and the misfit throughout her story. She uses these elements in an effort to establish the characterization of her two main characters through the many

O’Connor employs the grandmother’s selfish and manipulative character to reveal the true definition of justice. In the very beginning of the short story, the grandmother’s real nature evinces through her actions. The

The irony of the story is that it is under the directions of the Grandmother that leads the family into a run in with The Misfit, which is what she told her son she would never do. Throughout the trip we are given examples of the racism that was present during this period. The Grandmother makes multiple racist innuendos such as her observation of the “cute little pickaninny,” and her statement that “little niggers in the country don’t have things like we do” (O’Conner 2). During the ride, The Grandmother convinces Bailey to take a detour down an old, dirt road which supposedly leads to an old southern plantation home she once visited. The road leads them deep into the woods where an accident is caused by The Grandmothers cat, which leaves the car upturned and the family stranded. It is then the family encounters The Misfit, whom discovers them stranded as he was passing by. He approaches the family with two young men and shortly after The Grandmother lets out a scream as she realizes him. During their encounter, the readers are given a small glimpse into the deranged mind of The Misfit. It is apparent that he has an upturned moral compass. He gains pleasure from committing crimes and the meanness that goes along with it. During his conversation with the Grandmother, he slowly has his men take members of the family out

The grandmother demonstrates that she does not see things for how they truly are. We see this when they are driving down to Florida and she sees a Negro boy and goes “ Look at the cute little pickaninny!” (O’Connor 251). She then goes on about in the past, they never had pants because they were expensive, but she goes how cute at a poor boy. Not realizing that the little Negro was poor and had nothing. Also, when the misfit comes and attacks them, she tells him over and over again “ Listen,”... “ I know you’re a good man. You don’t look a bit like you have common blood. I know you must come from good people!” (O’Connor 259). She says this that based on his appearance, which he looks fair, but has strong white teeth, which was uncommon at the time and signifies wealth, that he will not kill a lady because she has manners and feel she is above everyone because of these

Doing so, she uses her grandchildren as a ploy to get her way, setting aside the wishes of her family. Speaking to O’Connor’s mother’s self centered behavior and lack of care for others, even in the face of adversity.

In the short story “A Good Man is Hard to Find” the author, Flannery O’Connor communicates literary symbols and prominence of Southern culture. Within the story, there are subtle yet important details that make the entirety of the piece as iconic as it is. The reoccurring theme of being a lady and moral codes both are important to the overall concept of the story.