Analysis Of A Good Man Is Hard To Find By Flannery O Connor

Novelist, Flannery O’Connor, in her short story, “A Good Man Is Hard To Find,” describes the adventure of a southern family and their confrontation with an outlaw. O’Connor conveys a theme that suggests it is impossible to create a generalized definition of a goodman and that each reader withholds his or her own views of a good man; being derived from his or her own personal experiences. She establishes this indefinite idea by appealing to her readers with her impeccable use of details.
The grandmother comes across as a manipulative old lady. Her definition of a ‘good man’ refers to the characteristics that a ‘good man’ should possess. She, similar to most southern people, believes that a good man is a southern gentleman: respectful, chivalrous,

and courageous when necessary. From the beginning, the reader is given the indication that the grandmother is determined to get what she wants and will do whatever she can to do so. And O’Connor also suggests that anything the grandmother says might have an alternative motive. “The grandmother didn’t want to go to Florida. She wanted to visit some of her connections in east Tennessee and she was seizing at every chance to change Bailey’s mind” (O’Connor). This is relevant to the theme in that a person may have alternate motives, even if they seem to be doing things selflessly from the reader’s perspective. When the grandmother mentions that she doesn’t want to go to Florida, her son Bailey assumes it’s because of the Misfit killer who has escaped from prison. However, in actuality, she wanted to visit other family and friends in Tennessee showing that she was using her old lady innocence in order to manipulate Bailey into doing what she wanted.
Throughout the story, O’Connor uses creative words and phrases as well as figurative language to help keep the reader engaged. For example, when the family is driving, O’Connor makes it a point to thoroughly describe the area, which they are passing through.
The grandmother “pointed out interesting details of the scenery: Stone Mountain, the blue granite that in some places came up to both sides of the highway; the brilliant red clay banks slightly streaked with purple; and the various crops that made row of green lace-work on the ground. The trees were full of silver white sunlight and the meanest of them sparkled.” (O’Connor)
She uses informal diction to help achieve the targeted theme and her slight use of a southern dialect is one component that helps her to do so. For example, when the family stops for barbecue sandwiches along their way to Tennessee, the owner’s wife compliments the granddaughter. “Ain’t she cute?” Red Sam’s wife said, leaning over the counter. “Would you like to come be my little girl?”’ (O’Connor). Adding this southern diction as well as being in a southern setting helps to illustrate the culture the grandmother represents. This contrast helps to draw a connection between the grandmother’s view of a good man and the reader’s view of a good man. These contrasting views reinforce O’Conner’s idea that there cannot be a universal definition of a good man.
Imagery helps to develop many details in this story. O’Connor uses descriptive adjectives fairly often to paint a picture in the reader’s mind. She uses sensory imagery throughout the text to justify the belief that everything is not always as it seems and can easily be skewed. The image of the sky at first glance appears to lack significance, but with deeper reading, the sky is actually very significant. O’Connor writes that the sky does not have a cloud in it for as far as the eyes can see. In modern culture, a cloudless sky is considered to be part of a perfect day, yet this family is brutally murdered on a dirt road miles off the beaten path under conditions that would typically depict a perfect day. Being murdered on a day as described definitely takes away from the perfect day mindset. O’Connor juxtaposes the beautiful day with the unfortunate and horrific events that the family experiences. The grandmother states that she thinks it’s a beautiful day shortly thereafter the Misfit mentions the sky. “Ain’t a cloud in the sky,” he remarked, looking up at it. “Don’t seen no sun but don’t see no cloud neither”’(O’Connor). When the image of the sky is mentioned again at the end of the story, the grandmother has completely lost her voice. This is symbolic because it is a turning point where she has lost all hopes of her and her family surviving. “There was not a cloud in the sky nor any sun. There was nothing around her but woods” (O’Connor). This paints a precise picture for the reader and is significant because it shows that what may appear to be beautiful on the outside looking in may not always be, just as the perspective of a good man is easily flawed.
O’Connor foreshadows the upcoming events at the beginning of the story. While describing the children’s mother and her apparel, she contrasts her choice of clothing to what the grandmother is wearing. O’Connor is careful to make the descriptions seem inconsequential at the time while also mentioning that the grandmother is concerned with people knowing she is a woman in case something is to happen. O’Connor describes the grandmother’s outfit, which is very apparently southern, and then says, “in case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady” (O’Connor).
As fate would have it, when the family is involved in the car accident, ultimately caused by the grandmother, her hat falls apart, which represented her identity as a lady.

The hat falling apart is significant because the grandmother’s morals stem from her beliefs in what a lady is and in turn when the hat falls apart her morals do as well. Therefore, she realizes that what she viewed as a good man may not be so genuine after all.
At the end of the story, The Misfit tells his accomplice “the grandmother would have been a good woman…if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life,” (O’Connor). This in a sense is foreshadowing, but because it is after the main events, it seems to be less significant. The Misfit’s comment regarding the grandmother and her lack of being a good woman comes across as heartless and rude, yet truthful. His comments about a ‘good man/woman’ help to strengthen the theme by giving the reader another idea of a ‘good man’ other than the grandmother’s and their

own.
O’Connor uses repetition of the number three throughout the story in order to help support the overall theme. “Flannery O'Connor was known to be a devoutly pious Roman Catholic” which denounces a clear understanding for her clean repetition of the number three that is directly correlated to the religious imagery of the trinity and is abundant throughout the story (Bouchard). The number three is symbolic and relates to the theme because it helps strengthen the idea that a ‘good man’ must be represented in a religious sense as well as a literal sense. The number three is mentioned subtly but often enough for a reader to realize there must be significance behind this. O’Connor introduces June Star, John Wesley, and the baby, the three grandchildren in the story. She also introduces The Misfit and his two accomplices, which equals three antagonists. Another mention of the number three is when the family is murdered in the woods. The grandmother hears three gunshots, and then not too long after, the Misfit murders the grandmother herself by shooting her three times in the chest. The reader may also realize that there appears to be the mention of only three good men in the grandmother’s opinion: The Misfit, Red Sammy, and Edgar, the boy who took her watermelons when she was a young woman. The grandmother’s opinion of the three good men also ties back into the idea that the definition of a ‘good man’ is in fact referring to her belief of what characteristics a ‘good man’ possesses, which in turn helps to convey the theme that the definition of a good man is skewed and vague.
Point of view is possibly the most important device used in achieving a specific successful theme.

It draws the reader in and evokes a number of possible emotions. In this story, the point of view is third-person limited omniscient, meaning that the reader is only aware of one character’s thoughts and emotions. Generally, this point of view urges emotional involvement between the reader and character by which the story is being told. However, in this story, it is difficult to become emotionally attached or sympathize with the narrator. This is because with having the narrator as the grandmother, a manipulative woman who is selfish and interested in only acquiring her needs, the reader is likely to mistrust her and realize the flaws in her view of a good man. Nancy L. Nester, an author from Roger Williams University, views the grandmother as very selfish and manipulative through the quote, “she makes a feeble attempt to infuse the Misfit with appreciation for some vague worth that he possesses”

(Nester).
O’Connor gives undeniable support to her theme. She writes in a way that “reminds the reader that evil does exist in the world and the Day of Judgment is always just around the corner” (Bouchard). Because of which, defining a ‘good man’ is impossible due to the individualized reader to reader personalization of the word. This short story is realistic and through its theme illustrates just how the flaws of society can affect anyone, including a southern grandmother.