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A good man is hard to find flannery o'connor introduction
Analysis of Flannery O'Connor's Story, "A Good Man Is Hard to Find
Literary analysis of "a good man is hard to find
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Flannery O’ Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find” unravels the tale of a family vacation. The main character, the grandmother, attempts to sway her family into traveling to Tennessee instead of Florida by telling them that there is a serial killer roaming that area. She fails, and decides to join them on their journey to Florida. Along the way, she mistakes an area they pass for one that is actually in Tennessee, and tricks them into going that way. Once she’s realized her mistake, she accidently frightens her cat, who she wasn’t supposed to have brought along, and they get into an accident. This accident leads to the encounter with the serial killer, the Misfit, and the family’s death. Many readers interpret the encounter between the Misfit and the grandmother in various ways. One reader may interpret the meeting in relationship to Christianity and salvation, and another reader may not. Both interpretations are right with enough evidence. Arthur E. Bethea’s “O’ Connor’s ‘A Good Man Is Hard to Find’” disagrees with the interpretation of Stephen C. Bandy’s “’One Of My Babies’: The Misfit And The Grandmother.” In this Bethea finds evidence throughout the text that insinuates the presence of the Divine. First, in the title, “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” he finds suggestion “that the story involves a search for a good man among no …show more content…
apparent candidates; that goodness can be found here is a mystery faintly intimidating the unearthly” (Bethea). Bandy argues against this idea of the Divine’s presence saying that it would create “serious violence to the story” (Bandy). However, O’Connor is well-known for writing her work based on the Catholic influence of her upbringing, so this idea of the presence of the Divine would not be hard to believe. Many Catholics and Christians believe that God has a way of being higher, greater, and more powerful than any other being. What He does, and how He works in people’s lives, by placing them in certain situations, is only understood by Him. Bethea disputes Bandy again when he says that the dialogue between the Grandmother and her son, Bailey “[speaks] to a higher power” (Bethea). He points out the instances where the symbol of the Trinity is pointed out: the two men and The Misfit, making three men, and when the grandmother gets shot three times. Bethea describes The Misfit as an anti-Christ who is contrasts with Christ himself. Although “Jesus sacrificed himself so that his true followers could enjoy everlasting life,” The Misfit contradicts Jesus’ actions by “[driving] a black ‘hearse-like automobile,’ and [murdering] the innocent” (Bethea). Bethea continues and tells his readers “Those who find no pleasure in the earthly are, of course, vastly more likely to seek it in the Divine, as do prophets,” when he analyzes the dialogue from The Misfit: ’[If Jesus didn’t raise the dead], then it’s nothing for you to do but enjoy the few minutes you got left the best way got left the best way you can—by killing somebody or burning down his house or doing some other meanness to him. No pleasure but meanness’ yet after murdering the grandmother, he says in the story’s final sentence: ‘It’s no real pleasure in life’ Bethea states that this means that there is only temporary pleasure in this life. During a split second there is a connection between the grandmother and The Misfit when he states that if he would have seen Christ rise from the dead then he would be a different person. The grandmother, feeling as if she has gotten through to him, touches him and is immediately shot dead. He finishes by stating that the ends in salvation for both the Misfit and the grandmother, and that this story reflects O’Connor’s “’deeply sacramental view of life’ and conviction that mystery ‘everywhere pervades human experience’” (Bethea). Flannery O’ Connor writes her stories based on her belief of God, her influence stirring from being Catholic.
Her short story, “A Good Man is Hard to Find” undeniably displays the presence of Satan in The Misfit, and also the presence of God when salvation is achieved. Despite its ambiguous meaning, the title “A Good Man is Hard to Find” suggests that none of the characters in the story aren’t entirely “good” and that it is hard to find a person who is genuinely always “good.” The label “good” is constantly stated by the grandmother and at the same contradicted by her. She tries convincing her family to go to Tennessee instead of
Florida: I wouldn’t take my children in any direction with a criminal like that aloose in it. I couldn’t answer to my conscience if I did. (O’ Connor 678) Her reason for wanting to go to Tennessee is for her own benefit. She tries using this argument just because she thinks she can scare them into getting her way. She says she “couldn’t answer to [her] conscience if [she] did”, but she has no choice when the family ironically meets their fate, encountering The Misfit.
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 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.
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, ...
Flannery O’Connor's perception of human nature is imprinted throughout her various works. This view is especially evident in the short stories, “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” and “Revelation.” She conveys a timeless message through the scope of two ignorant, southern, upper class women. In “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” O’Connor presents readers to a family who is going on a road trip with their selfish grandmother. She is a religious woman who does not follow the set standards that she preaches. Similar characteristics are exposed in “Revelation.” As the self centered Mrs. Turpin sits in the waiting room, she contemplates on her own status with God. Nevertheless, she still commits the sin of judging others. In both of O’Connor’s short stories, these controversial protagonists initially put up a facade in order to alienate themselves from their prospective societies. Although the grandmother and Mrs. Turpin both believe in God, O’Connor utilizes theme to expose that they also convince themselves that they can take on His role by placing judgement on people who, at the most fundamental level, are in the same category as them.
Flan nary O’Connor’s short story “A good man is hard to find” shows a family on their way to Florida for a short vacation met there untimely dead in the hands of a known notorious criminal called “misfit” as the title suggest the men in the story were short tempered, violent and murderous in nature. From the story it was seen that a good man was indeed difficult to find, as the author portrayed the character misfit to be terrible and that alone changed the story to be about the survival of the grandmother in the hands of a fierce criminal. The violence in the story was used to mask the purest moment of the grandmother. The confrontation between the grandmother and misfit were centered on religion (Jesus). The grandmother used prayer to appeal
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.
"A Good Man is Hard to Find" by Flannery O'Connor is a short story that depicts a family's vacation to Florida that turned into an abysmal tragedy when they met with the Misfit, a convict who escaped from prison. This story is meant to be interpreted as a parable, whereby O'Connor made skilful use of symbolism to bring about messages such as the class-consciousness and the lack of spiritual faith that exist amongst human.
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.
Flannery O’Connor’s short story “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” is about the misfortunes a family experiences while embarking on a vacation, but it goes further to depict the divergence between the superficial conflict in everyday life and the true battles in life threatening situations. O’Connor’s use of tone, syntax, and diction helps to develop the characters and illustrate the struggle of good versus evil, shedding light on the harsh reality of the prevalence and depth of real evil.
In Flannery O 'Connor 's short story, A Good Man is Hard to Find, the theme of good vs. evil unravels throughout the series of tragic events. The Grandmother’s epiphany introduces the idea of morality and the validity is left to the interpretation of the reader. By questioning the characteristics of right and wrong, morality and religion become subjective to personal reality and the idea of what makes individuals character good or bad becomes less defined.
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,
Flannery O’Connor’s religious background influenced almost all her stories. She received criticism for her harsh representation of religion. Richard Giannone describes “A Good Man is Hard to Find” as “God’s transforming love by confronting the reader with a condition of true goodness amid the stark brutality of serial murder” (46). In “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, Flannery O’Connor frequently references religious symbols to describe the characters and their actions. Toward the end of the play the grandmother frantically tries to persuade The Misfit to pray and that Jesus would help him. The Misfit replied stating, “Jesus was the only One that ever raised the dead, and he shouldn’t have done it. He thown everything off balance. If He did what He said, then it’s nothing for you to do ...