A Good Man Is Hard To Find Analysis Essay

1095 Words3 Pages

Pedro Ventura Mary Cook English 1302.54 13 February 2014 E1. Analysis Literary Analysis of “A Good Man is Hard to Find”- Worry about yourself instead of others!!! In today’s society, people are so concerned about others people life’s that they lose the real meaning to theirs. A Good Man is Hard to Find is a great example of that. The short story was about a grandmother that lived her life pointing out other people’s defects but had not realized her own. The short story was first published in 1959, and it all started with a family planning a road trip to Florida. Although, the grandmother wanted to go to Tennessee, her son, Bailey insisted in going to Florida. As they were traveling to Florida, the grandmother started to talk about an old house that she thought was close by. As a result, it caused the family to deviate the road they were on due to a tantrum the kids made. The grandmother then realized that the house was in Tennessee and not in Georgia, as a result it caused Bailey to lose control of the car and crash. As they were checking if everyone were okay a car pulled over besides them, and 3 men got out all carrying guns. Quickly, the grandmother recognizes the driver as The Misfit, as a result it led to everyone dying in the hands of the driver with his two accomplices. What I got from the literature is that life is too short to live pointing out others defects. Before people point out others defects, they might want to take into consideration and examine their defects. For example, the grandmother was too concerned about others defects that she did not realize that her defects were just as bad since she was selfish, racist, and arrogant. The grandmother showed many bad characteristics like her being racist. Throughout th... ... middle of paper ... ...ave begged for her son and grandchildren life instead of trying save her life. The type of literary element shown here is conflict. The type of conflict that is shown is man versus man because the grandmother is constantly trying to convince someone in doing something else. It also shows conflict because the grandmother was begging for her life, but at the end that did not work because she ended up getting killed either way. All in all, there will always be people that will judge every move everyone else does in life just like the grandmother did in the story. As a result, people will just have to learn how to deal with it because if others decide to judge them they are probably doing something right. However, if you decide to judge someone else before you do it turn the critical eye on yourself and judge your personal life and ask yourself how is your life doing?

Show More
Related

  • Irony and Foreshadowing in Flannery O’Connor’s A Good Man is Hard to Find

    1618 Words  | 4 Pages

    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 The Misfit, a man, who quite ingeniously, also appears to be self-centered and self-serving. It is the story behind the grandmother, however, that evidence appears to demonstrate the extreme differences between her superficial self and the true character of her persona; as the story unfolds, and proof of my thought process becomes apparently clear.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Egocentricism In A Good Man Is Hard To Find

    731 Words  | 2 Pages

    There are plenty of on this earth who are egocentric. They feel that as if every decision they make is important and feel as if they are more important than everyone else. Flannery O 'Connor explores this type of mindset in her short story A Good Man is Hard to Find. The story focuses on a family of six who are going on a trip from Georgia to Tennessee after the Grandmother reads an article about a serial killer heading to Florida. After stopping to eat, the Grandmother convinces her son Bailey to take a detour; the car crashes, afterwards; they encounter the serial killer and then he kills the entire family. Throughout the story, the Grandmother exemplifies that she may be egocentric, so O 'Connor 's character of the Grandmother feels that

    Read More

  • Essay On A Good Man Is Hard To Find

    575 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Paul Tillich’s 1957 work Dynamics of Faith, he mentions that there are six major components of faith. These six components of faith describe the Franciscan perspective of “faith”. According to Tillich, the first component of faith is “the state of being ultimately concerned”. The second component of faith is that it is supposed to be at the center of all of our personal lives and everything that we do throughout our own individual lives. The third component of faith is that we should have an awareness for “infinite” things such as God himself. The fourth component of faith is that we need to understand that faith can act as fear, fascination, or both of these qualities at the same time. The fifth component of faith is that doubt is a major product that will always exist with faith. The last component of faith is that we need a community in order to have a “language of faith”.

    Read More

  • Symbolism In A Good Man Is Hard To Find

    1452 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...articular particularly symbolic aspect of A Good Man is Hard to Find is the fact that O'Connor is a great deal more elusive in her interpretation than in her other works. The author relies considerably more upon intangible ideals and concepts in which to make her point, which is readily obvious by the style and tone she adopts for the story. "She had her own distinctive, totally unsparing voice, and this novella about a tough old lady and a tougher escaped convict is as black as it gets" (Anonymous 182). In one way, she is trying to encourage both her readers and her characters to take control of their lives, to become empowered by the very events that serve to break down the people in her tale. Yet in another way, she recognizes the fact that people will always be the way they are, and nothing that anyone can say or do will ultimately save them from themselves.

    Read More

  • A Good Man Is Hard To Find Literary Analysis

    1119 Words  | 3 Pages

    The story of A Good Man Is Hard to Find begins as a family road trip, but tragically ends when a family of six cross paths with an escaped convict. Set in rural Georgia around the 1940s, Grandmother, her son Bailey, daughter-in-law and three grandchildren plan a vacation to Florida. While en route, they’re involved in a car accident that leads to a chance encounter with a murderous convict, The Misfit, and his two companions. Confronted with their own mortality, can this somewhat dysfunctional family escape with their lives from these unfavorable circumstances? Dictionary.com defines the word mortality as the state or condition of being subject to death; mortal character, nature or existence. The idea of mortality in this story not only signifies physical death, but also calls into question the condition of the character’s virtue. The writer of A Good Man Is Hard to Find, Flannery O’Connor, explores the concepts of mortality and salvation through her use of foreshadowing, characters, and symbolism.

    Read More

  • The Darkness of Irony in Flannery O'Connor's Short Stories

    1328 Words  | 3 Pages

    O’Connor, Flannery. "A Good Man Is Hard to Find.” The Story and Its Writer. Charters, Ann. Compact 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/ST. Martin's, 2011. 676-687. Print.

    Read More

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

    1616 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the short story A Good Man Is Hard to Find, written by Flannery O’Connor, the theme that the definition of a ‘good man’ is mysterious and flawed is apparent. The reader must realize that it is difficult to universalize the definition of a good man because every person goes through different experiences. Thus, these experiences affect his or her viewpoint and in turn flaw ones view on a good man. O’Connor conveys this theme through her excellent use of diction, imagery, foreshadowing, and symbolism as well as through a creative use of repetition and an omniscient point of view.

    Read More

  • Flannery O Connor Criticism

    981 Words  | 2 Pages

    If O’Connor wanted to present the South as strong and righteous, she probably would have chosen a character more like Red Sam to be the main character, but nonetheless the grandmother is the main character and that provides enough criticism by itself. Throughout the bulk of the story, the grandma doesn’t seem much different from any other elderly grandmother. She is stubborn, as evidenced by her unwillingness to admit her wrongdoing after the car accident. She is also forgetful, forgetting what state she is in and the appearance of the Misfit, despite fawning over his image in the newspaper. Because of her relation symbolically to the South as a whole, the reader associates these negative qualities with the South as a

    Read More

  • A Good Man Is Hard To Find Short Story Analysis

    734 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Flannery O’Connor’s story, “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, words of affirmation, such as, “a good man”, are sometimes used in an inappropriate context. O’Connor writes, “Two fellers come in here last week,” Red Sammy said, “driving a Chrysler. It was a old beat-up car but it was a good one and these boys looked all right to me. Said they worked at the mill and you know I let them fellers charge the gas they brought? Now why did I do that” (142)? Grandmother tells Red Sammy that he let the men charge the gas because he is a good man. In this situation, Grandmother is defining the term “good man” as a man that is gullible and trusting. In this quote Red Sammy also defines the old beat-up car as a good car and chooses to believe that the men are good because they claim they have jobs. The different interpretations of words of affirmation shows how individuals feel they have the authority to judge people based on their own moral standards.

    Read More

  • Human Nature In A Good Man Is Hard To Find

    1425 Words  | 3 Pages

    “A Good Man Is Hard To Find” by Flannery O’Connor explores the complexity of human nature. The unnamed grandmother is a perfect example of how contradictory a person’s beliefs and standards can be. She is indirectly manipulative, yet she holds herself to a higher, purer standard than the other characters. Not to mention, the grandmother is not as she first appear, and she is stuck on the views of the past and how they apply to her as a lady, whether the views are correct or not.

    Read More

  • Irony In 'A Good Man Is Hard To Find'

    1148 Words  | 3 Pages

    The title “A Good Man Is Hard To Find”, by Flannery O’Connor, uses irony to show perception on what it means to be good. The grandmother deems many men as good, “Now why did I do that’...’Because you’re a good man!”(O’Connor 1215). However, not all these men are good men and she uses the term ‘good man’ very flippantly. The Misfit is another one of the men she deems as good, in the end, the grandmother dies upon believing this. The Misfit states, “She would be a good woman...If it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life.” (O’Connor 1222). Where the grandmother believes everyone is a good man, the Misfit believed that only in death, can one be good. A simple perspective determined

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Flannery O Conner's A Good Man Is Hard To Find

    818 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Flannery O’Conner’s, “A Good Man is Hard to Find” the story begins with the family going on a road trip to Florida. The Grandmother who is very critical, selfish, judgmental, forgetful, and dishonest and almost enjoys manipulating others to get her way. The Grandmother holds herself in very high regard and

    Read More

  • Themes of A Good Man Is Hard to Find by Flannery O´connor

    877 Words  | 2 Pages

    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 of a “good man” until it loses its meaning completely. She first applies it to Red Sammy after he furiously complains of the universal untrustworthiness of people. Red Sammy states, “Two fellers come in here last week, driving a Chrysler. It was an old beat-up car but it was a good one and these boys looked all right to me. Said they worked at the mill and you know I let them charge the gas they bought? Now why did I do that?” (1,045). The grandmother said he did this because he is “a good man.” She next relates the label “good” to the Misfit. After she identifies him, the grandmother asks, “You wouldn’t shoot a lady, would you?” (1,049). Even though he hates to admit it, The Misfit says, “I would hate to have to” (1,049). Because being a lady is such a meaningful part of what the grandmother believes as being ethical, the Misfit’s answer confirms to her that he does not share the same moral principles as she does. The grandmother begins to desperately call him a good man and that he comes from ...

    Read More

  • Literary Analysis Of A Good Man Is Hard To Find

    1459 Words  | 3 Pages

    In “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” the readers are lead to believe that the Grandmother is a good Southern woman who lives her life by God’s grace, and the Misfit is a horrendous, murderous, mad man that believes in nothing. Although these first impressions seem spot on at a first glance, the actual characteristics and traits of these characters are far more complex. The Grandmother and Misfit have a very intriguing conversation before he murders her, but in the short time before her death, the readers see the grandmothers need for redemption and how the murderous Misfit gave her the redemption she so desperately needed,

    Read More

  • A Good Man Is Hard To Find Analysis

    489 Words  | 1 Pages

    A Good Man Is Hard to Find is a very good story and becomes intense and thrilling as it ends. Many would pose the question asking, “What happened?” as the story came to an end. My answer to them would be even the good must die. As odd as it may sound, yes—it is true, we will all die one day and no one-- good or bad—is exempt. I think the Misfit felt a little compassion as him and the grandmother talked but then remember that we have all sinned and come short of the glory. I feel that God was in play throughout the whole situation. My reason for saying this is because she was a courageous woman to come face-to-face with the Misfit and tell him that she cared for him and not judge him for his past encounters. If anyone received “grace” it should have been the grandmother because she was still a sweet, talkative

    Read More

More about A Good Man Is Hard To Find Analysis Essay

Open Document