Southern literature, specifically southern Gothic literature, is distinct with its perceptions and observations on the American South. Death, mental illness, and oppression are just some of the common themes found in Southern Gothic literature, making it quite different from other American literary texts. Two celebrated authors, Flannery O’Connor and William Faulkner, put the themes of the Gothic South to great use. Flannery O’Connor’s A Good Man Is Hard to Find, which tells about the quietus of a Southern family at the hands of a killer, and William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily, an elderly woman found to have her lover’s body rotting in the bedroom, are both commendable examples and show the antiquated views on southern culture and expectations. A Good Man Is Hard to Find and A Rose for Emily share many views on the brainwashed mindsets of the south, southern archetypes, and morbid outcomes. An important theme that can be seen throughout both stories are the outdated views on etiquette and culture. In O’Connor’s A Good Man Is Hard to Find, the grandmother is the character that displays the most naiveté. As the story progresses, readers learn that she remains true to the values from old southern culture, while the rest of society pushes forward to modern views. “‘In my time,’ said the grandmother, folding her thin veiled fingers, ‘children were more respectful of their native states and their parents and everything else. People did right then. Oh look at the cute little pickaninny!’ she said, and pointed to a Negro child standing in the door of a shack’” (O’Connor 424). This quote shows a lot about the grandmother’s beliefs. She believes that in the old days, people used to be respectful, but today, people are no longer following ... ... middle of paper ... ...end in death, the characters deaths are ended in different ways. The grandmother from A Good Man Is Hard to Find is an annoying character and wouldn’t receive as much sympathy from the reader as Emily from A Rose for Emily, who was born into a sheltered life and would be considered a victim of loneliness. Overall, both O’Connor and Faulkner expressed their disapproval of the attachment to the old south in creative ways. A Good Man Is Hard to Find and A Rose for Emily both symbolize the outdated mindsets of the south, the typical southern archetype, and the horrific conclusions of southern gothic literature. Both stories question the traditions of the old south and the attachments regarding it. Altogether, A Good Man Is Hard to Find and A Rose for Emily are great examples when looking at southern American literature and make a strong impact on the writing community.
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.
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 the Misfit’s urge to kill her. She is unrelenting in her actions to control those around her. Grandmother portrays a stubborn, devious character who wants what she wants and is going to see that she gets it.
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.
The Grandmother’s deviousness and immorality is evident in the beginning of the story. While reading the newspaper article about the Misfit, the Grandmother brings it to Bailey’s attention. In Short Story Criticism, Mary Jane Schenck writes “For Bailey, the newspaper story is not important or meaningful, and for the Grandmother it does not represent a real threat but is part of a ploy to get her own way” (Schenck 220). “A Good Man is Hard to Find” begins with an innocent road trip, however, due to coercion by the Grandmother; it soon turns into a fatal nightmare. In Short Story Criticism, Martha Stephens writes “… it is true that in a trivial sense everything that happens is the Grandmother’s fault…” She continues with “It is in the conscious of the Grandmother that we continue to experience the action of the story…” (Stephens 196).
Southern gothic is a type of literature that focuses on the harsh conflicts of violence and racism, which is observed in the perspective of black and white individuals. Some of the most familiar southern authors are William Faulkner, Flannery O’Connor, and Cormac McCarthy. One author in particular, Flannery O’Connor, is a remarkable author, who directly reflects upon southern grotesque within her two short stories, “A Good Man is Hard to Find” and “Revelation.” These two short stories are very similar to each other, which is why I believe that O’Connor often writes with violent characters to expose real violence in the world while tying them in with a particular spiritual insight. The first short story that O’Connor refers to with southern grotesque and violence is in “A Good Man is Hard to Find.”
The grandmother character in A Good Man is Hard to Find is the Christian icon of the story, while the Misfit represents all that is evil. True to her southern roots, ...
Elmore Leonard once said “I don’t judge in my books. I don’t have the antagonist get shot or the protagonist win. It’s just how it comes out. I’m just telling a story.” “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”, written by Flannery O'Connor, is one of the most interesting stories that we have read in this class. The protagonist in this story is the grandmother and the antagonist is The Misfit. In any other short story, the protagonist and the antagonist would not have much in common, but that is not the case in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”. The three major similarities between the grandmother and The Misfit is that they are both the oldest one in their groups, they are both hypocrites, and they both are missing important spiritual relationships.
“A Good Man Is Hard To Find” and “Good Country People” are two short stories written by Flannery O’Connor during her short lived writing career. Despite the literary achievements of O’Connor’s works, she is often criticized for the grotesqueness of her characters and endings of her short stories and novels. Her writings have been described as “understated, orderly, unexperimental fiction, with a Southern backdrop and a Roman Catholic vision, in defiance, it would seem, of those restless innovators who preceded her and who came into prominence after her death”(Friedman 4). “A Good Man Is Hard To Find” and “Good Country People” are both set in the South, and O’Connor explores the tension between the old and new South. The stories are tow ironically twisted tales of different families whos lives are altered after trusting a stranger, only to be mislead. Each story explores the themes of Christian theology, new verses the old South, and fallen human nature.
The two stories A Rose for Emily and A Good Man Is Hard to Find differ more than they do correspondingly. Although they have similar endings, both have morbid thoughts both in the story itself and at the end. They share similarities in their thoughts of Blacks/ African Americans, but have their differences when it comes to their image as a lady. In conclusion, both Miss Emily and the grandmother can not let go of the past and go into the present which does not allow them to accept change easily. This further complicates their lives ending up in their melancholy deaths.
This story takes place in the South somewhere around the 1940’s or 50’s; thereby, providing the reader with a plot rich in historical, cultural, and social aspects. Throughout the narrative, many other places are mentioned and the characters’ insights on them are explained, thus an emotional attachment to places like Tennessee and Georgia are evident. However, the importance relies on what each character’s emotions and reactions reveal about themselves and about the society at that time. In “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” Flannery O’Connor uses symbolism and diction to contrast the good and evil nature of humans through a hypocritical, morally-driven old lady and a criminal that embraces his evil acts by placing the blame on society.
...person, unlike A Rose for Emily, it is safe to say that The Narrator is in fact insane. With the old man dead The Narrator would have been able to live a happy life, or so he thought. Although her reason was never stated in the story, one can safely assume that Miss Emily was happy lying in the arms of her dead lover. Both Faulkner and Poe show us in their stories that even if there are different characters, points of views or reasons for killing a loved one, there are still similarities.
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
However, not all characteristics of the characters are bad; it is that a mixture of good and bad is found in most of the characters. Two authors who express the Southern Gothic writing style are William Faulkner, who wrote “A Rose for Emily,” and Flanner O Conner, the author of “Good Country People” and “A Good Man is Hard to Find.” A great example of this type of writing is “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O' Conner. It is a story about a family trip gone that has turned out bad, a selfish grandma causes her entire family to be stranded after the car crashes and is put into a ditch.
In "A Rose for Emily," William Faulkner's use of setting and characterization foreshadows and builds up to the climax of the story. His use of metaphors prepares the reader for the bittersweet ending. A theme of respectability and the loss of, is threaded throughout the story. Appropriately, the story begins with death, flashes back to the past and hints towards the demise of a woman and the traditions of the past she personifies. Faulkner has carefully crafted a multi-layered masterpiece, and he uses setting, characterization, and theme to move it along.