“A Good Man is Hard to Find” written by Flannery O’Connor, is chock full of religion, bigotry, and karma. The dark nature of the short story engages the reader with many curve balls and a wild twist ending. The readers may begin to feel as if they know where the story is going and they follow along, maybe laugh along, critique humanity right along with the grandmother (and O’Connor) and think they know what is going to happen and to who. But in the end, many readers’ assumptions prove incorrect. O’Connor’s writing style is subversive and shocking, but honest to the realities of societal norms and expectations. Many readers could possibly find this story humorous if it were not so incredibly sad.
The setting of the story is the rural south and features a not-so-likable matriarch. O’Connor develops the plot of the short story through the grandmother’s southern-women thoughts which flicker back and forth between family, keeping up appearances, self-righteousness,
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religion, and justifying her own prejudices. Throughout “A Good Man Is Hard To Find”, Flannery O’Connor uses elements of fiction, including characterization and foreshadowing, to mock the merits of a good person. She chooses to incorporate foreshadowing from the beginning of the short story in order to help the readers develop expectations about events later into the story and also to offer little snippets of insight into the grandmother's moral character and concept of a good person. Flannery O’Connor offers a variety of foreshadowing techniques to hint at what is to come later including the dialogue between characters, the internal dialogue of the grandmother, and some of the events and actions in the beginning of the story. Even the title of the short story foreshadows the development of the grandmother's skewed perception regarding the qualities of a good person. The short story begins with a bickering family deciding where to go on vacation. In reality, it is only the grandmother who bickers about the destination, and it is her thoughts that the readers continue to hear throughout the story. She wants to go to “East Tennessee to visit some of her connections” (O’Connor 443) while the rest of the family ignores her complaints and continues with their plans to travel to Florida. Throughout the short story, the shrouded views on the merits of a good person are mockingly represented through the grandmother’s actions, thoughts, views, and comments. The merits of a good person, as believed and practiced by the grandmother, includes the art of manipulation in order to get what you want. Wanting to see an old plantation down an old dirt road, she successfully persuades her son Bailey to take a detour on their road trip by getting the grandkids all rowdy (O’Connor 448). The Grandmother’s moral character can be seen through her sense of pride (or arrogance), her behaviors and opinions, and even through her choice of clothing. Knowing that the family was going on a long car ride, the grandmother deliberately chooses to wear “a navy blue straw sailor hat with a bunch of white violets on the brim and a navy blue dress with a small white dot in the print”. Her collars and cuffs were white organdies trimmed with lace and at her neckline, she had pinned a purple spray of cloth violets containing a sachet” (O’Connor 444). In the event that she is killed in a car accident, being immediately identified as a lady was her primary concern. Another merit of a good person mocked throughout the short story was self-importance or narcissism. The grandmother’s wants and needs are of the utmost importance (to her) as seen by her decision to bring her cat along even though she knows her son did not want it on the trip (O’Connor 444). It is this selfish choice that brings about the family’s demise at the end of the story. Another mocked quality of a good person is self-righteousness. The grandmother, assuming she is of more importance and of higher breeding, displays this quality when she points out the Pickaninny standing in the doorway of a shack (O’Connor 445). The granddaughter notices that the boy does not have any pants on so the grandmother assumes he does not own any. The grandmother, taking nothing more than a glance at the young boy, passes judgment and then shares her sentiments with her grandchildren. Only individuals who are like her and share her sentiments and view of the world, fit the qualities of a good person. When in reality, her opinions, comments, and actions, are more harsh, and hurtful, than those individuals who did not fit into the grandmother’s skewed perception of a good person. The grandmother established a “moral code” for which she chooses to live by and by which she judges other people. Her code affects every aspect of her consciousness including her decisions, her actions, and her perceptions. Unfortunately, it is completely subjective and misguided. The idea of being a lady (or being a good person), is extremely important to the grandmother. The moral code by which the grandmother lives her life, and passes judgment on others, is tied to the notion of being a lady of the Old South. The Old South connotation has to do with the idea of family roots and family ties. The heritage of the Old South entails a long line of family or a long bloodline for which you were born into. In the eyes of the grandmother, whose family had a plantation, believes that the qualities of a good person are innate at birth. If you are born into the right family, or of the right color, you are capable of being a good person. If you are not privileged with a good bloodline, like the pickaninny, you are deemed a lesser breed, or of lesser quality, of person and therefore not good or moral (O’Connor 445). The reader sees these well-bred-ladylike ideas coming to the forefront in her encounter with The Misfit, a situation in which her moral code seems completely misguided: "Listen, the grandmother almost screamed, "I know you're a good man. You don't look a bit like you have common blood. I know you must come from nice people!" (451 O’Connor) The development of the two primary characters and multiple minor characters foreshadow the family’s demise in the end of the story and demonstrate the subjectiveness of humanity. The readers get a sense of the primary characters personalities through their thoughts and dialogue. The minor characters are brought to life through their actions because they do not have a lot of depth. The nature of the grandkids is demonstrated through the horrible comments they make towards their grandmother and complete strangers and also through the tantrum they throw to get their way. Their comments are exaggerated and childish. On the other hand, The Misfit and the grandmother do a lot of talking and are given more depth. The Misfits down-home southern speech and dialogue is in contrast with the grandmother’s proper English. The unraveling of the grandmother's belief system, and her notion of a good person, as the plot develops throughout the short story, foreshadow the events that occur later in the story. It is her actions that lead to the accident and their untimely deaths. Conclusion In the short story, “A Good Man is Hard To Find”, both the grandmother and the misfit live by moral codes that are completely subjective and misguided.
It would be normal to assume that the Misfit, because he is a criminal, lives by a corrupt moral code and the grandmother, who is an innocent old lady, would be morally honorable. However, as the story progresses, the reader begins to realize that it is the grandmother’s self-righteous moral code that proves flimsy and inconsistent with the values of a good person (which is also completely subjective). Her moral code has been built around the characteristics of what she feels makes up a good person and not from qualities established elsewhere. Her need to be seen as a lady demonstrated the importance she placed on looks, or appearance, as opposed to substance, or reality. Throughout the story, the grandmother was deceiving and condescending to her family and strangers and her grasp on her own moral code wavered in order to fit her own needs and
wants.
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.
“You wouldn’t shoot a lady, would you?” the grandmother said while dabbing her eyes with her handkerchief. Looking at the ground, the Misfit says, “I would hate to have to.” “Listen,” the grandmother almost screamed, “I know you are a good man. You don’t look a bit like you have common blood. I know you must come from nice people.” It all happened so fast. The car had rolled and wrecked. A murderer was in the family’s presence. The grandmother was begging for grace from the Misfit in every way possible. The character of the selfish grandmother, in Flannery O 'Connor 's short story, “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” tries to use her manipulative ways to fight
In "A Good Man Is Hard to Find," Flannery O'Connor represents her style of writing very accurately. She includes her "themes and methods - comedy, violence, theological concern - and thus makes them quickly and unmistakably available" (Asals 177). In the beginning of the story O'Connor represents the theme of comedy by describing the typical grandmother. Then O'Connor moves on to include the violent aspect by bringing the Misfit into the story. At the end of the story the theme changes to theological concern as the attention is directed towards the grandmother's witnessing. As the themes change throughout the story, the reader's perception of the grandmother also changes.
Lessons are learned through mistakes and experiences, but to completely understand the lesson, a person must be smart enough to profit from their errors and be strong enough to correct them. However, this was not the case for the main character in the short story; A Good Man is Hard to Find written by Flannery O’Connor. In this tale of manipulation and deception, O’Connor depicts the main character, the grandmother, as a shrewd self-centered woman, who considers herself morally superior than the other individuals. Throughout the entire story, she is seen using her manipulative tactics on everyone, which brought her to a sinister ending. O’Connor expertly portrayed the grandmother as a character that did not correct her negative characteristics throughout the story. To prove this statement, the use of time will be applied to help focus on the main idea of the grandmother not changing her deleterious ways throughout this story.
“A Good Man is Hard to Find,” written by Flannery O'Connor tells a story of a dysfunctional family on a roadtrip to Florida to illustrate the theme of self-awareness. The main protagonist in this story is the self-centered Grandmother whose lack of self-awareness is the reason why her family, including herself, are murdered by The Misfit (the Floridian convict). Throughout the story, the Grandmother considers herself as a good woman; however, it is through dialogue that reveals her true self. In reality, she is selfish, manipulative, inconsiderate, and dishonest. No matter how much she attempts to manipulate others into thinking she is full of integrity and a good example to follow, her actions contradict everything she wants people to believe.
Flannery O’Connor’s A Good Man Is Hard to Find is one of the most well-known short stories in American history. A Good Man Is Hard to Find is a disturbing short story that exemplifies grace in extremity as well as the threat of an intruder. The story tells of an elderly grandmother and her family who embark on a road trip to Florida. The grandmother is a stubborn old woman with a low sense of morality. While on the trip, the grandmother convinces her son to take a detour which results in a broken down car and an encounter with a convicted fugitive, The Misfit. Although the grandmother pleads for mercy, The Misfit kills off the rest of her family. Through the grace she finds in her extreme circumstance, the grandmother calls The Misfit her own and implores him to spare her life. The Misfit does not oblige her and states after her death, “She would have been a good woman if it had been someone to shoot her every day of her life.” Through Flannery O’Connor’s disturbing and shocking display of the grandmother’s demise, she gives the reader a sense of the threatening power of an intruder and the idea of extreme situations bringing about a state of grace. The reason for such a powerful work may have resulted from Flannery O’Connor’s religious upbringing as well as the state of the nation at the time.
“A Good man is hard to find,” is about a family who decide to go on a trip to Florida. The story revolves around a self absorbed grandmother who loves to talk about how everything used to be back in her day and takes the time to dress herself so that “In case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady (358).” She sneaks the family cat with her despite her son’s disapproval of bringing the creature along violating her boundaries to how a lady would act. The family encounters an accident along the way and happens to come across ‘The Misfit,’ a runaway criminal. Using ‘The Misfit’ as a tool, O’ Connor sends a message to her readers of how hypocritical a person can be when it comes to belief.
At the beginning of the story we are led to believe that the grandmother is morally superior to the other characters in the story, especially The Misfit. Who we are led to believe is an evil criminal, but in fact the rolls are reversed. The Grandmother sits lower on the moral ladder than The Misfit. She looks judgmentally on other people but never turns that look toward herself. She believes this until the end of the story right before she is killed. Even though The Misfit commits horrendous crimes, he still admits that he is not a good man.
The grandmother has never truly understood what being saved means. She is also ignorant to what salvation is. The Misfit is missing the ability to empathize and bind with other people. He does not hold respect for human life. In “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”, it says “She would of been a good woman, The Misfit said, if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life” (430). In “‘One of My Babies’: The misfit and the grandmother”, written by Stephen C. Bandy, it says “The Misfit has already directed the execution of the Grandmother’s entire family, and it must be obvious to all including reader and the Grandmother, that she is next to die” (108). These example justifies that The Misfit does not have any regard for human life. The only people that he has are the two goons that help him murder people. The grandmother sees that The Misfit has never had anyone to take care of him. At the end of this story she tries reach out to him on a spiritual level, but he shoots her three times in the chest as soon as she touches
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.
Bandy, Stephen C. "One of my babies": The Misfit and the Grandmother in Flannery O'Connor's short story 'A Good Man Is Hard to Find'. Studies in Short Fiction; Winter 1996, v33, n1, p107(11)
“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.
Just some of the last pleading words of the grandmother in the story, “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor. In the story, the author uses colloquialism, point-of-view, foreshadowing, and irony, as well as other rhetorical devices, to portray the satire of southern beliefs and religion throughout the entire piece.
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
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 ...