Societies standards are what everyone wants to fit into it is the norms that are used as a guide to living life. The grandmother and the misfit in O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find” follow the way of social values, thoughts, and way society sees one another closely in 1953. Both the grandmother and the misfit are different in many ways, but have one common value of society’s views are important to them. The way society views and judges people causes both the misfit and the grandmother to act differently but subtly makes them more alike than either of them could tell. The shared value of society’s point of view on a human being can explain both characters views, behaviors, and actions because of how heavily it weighed on the grandma and …show more content…
The grandmother’s moral view is that without a hat you are not a lady. O’connor references the hat serval times throughout the story, showing that there is significance to the hat. She gets dress “[in] 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” (O’Connor428) to go on a car ride from Tennessee to Florida, showing she was prepared that if anything was to happen she was going to viewed as a lady. When the accident happened the grandmother had no concern her grandchildren might be dead, but her concern was with being a lady. After the accident happened with her broken hat in hand, “she stood staring at it and after a second she let it fall to the ground” (O’Connor434) in that moment she realized the concern of being a lady had been destroyed as her hat …show more content…
Society’s norms are widely accepted rules and customs in this story the act of being a lady is shown with wearing a hat represented societies highest class and the misfit represented the lowest class. This makes the characters alike because they both were trying societies norms of a high class lady and the misfit was doing as society depicted him as. The relationship between the two characters was stronger than they knew because they shared the beliefs of society. when society says one thing the people follow what was said, if society say beautiful is a size two and someone is a size twelve it can cause harms from eating disorders but can make someone who is a size two feel great. In the case of “A Good Man is Hard to Find” this is what happened with both characters the grandmother being a size two and the misfit being a size twelve trying to fit in society’s
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.
George starts with the example of the Christian schoolgirl outfit, once meant to represent sexual purity and chastity, it now has been fetishized to the point where it represents sexuality bursting at the seams. She states that it does not help that older women are now wearing promiscuous outfits adorned with childlike slogans and logos. The increasingly scantily clad nature of grown women acting as role models for children causes them to dress like their role models. That is, in a provocative manner. George says that such clothing blurs the line
“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.
She is a manipulator when it comes to any aspect of her life. Ideally, the grandmother was selfish and care about herself. For instance, when the author has her saying “In case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady (O’Connor). The author let it be known at that second that the grandmother was only thinking about herself. As if she was traveling with a group of strangers. Throughout the story, the grandmother shows that she can be dishonest towards her family. “She woke up and recalled an old plantation that she had visited in this neighborhood once when she was a young lady” (O’Conner). The grandmother did this to manipulate the situation causing the ride to be delayed. Thus, she was lying to the children about the secret panel in the house. Therefore, she caused chaos in the car. The author made it seem that the grandmother was very content with that she has caused. Even when she realized that the location of the house that she was referring to was not up that road at all. But she remained quiet or did she know this along. She was quick to judge and tell someone what not to do. But she never turned her eye on herself. That she was selfish and dishonest to her
In her well-known short story, “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” Flannery O’Connor skillfully describes the difficulty of finding a morally upright human being, whether it is a man or a woman. No one is perfect, everyone has inadequacies and shortcomings, and she presents this cleverly in her story. She is able to support this view of mankind through her characters. They are self-centered, egotistical human beings who can be judged by their words and actions. This is especially true of the protagonist (the grandmother) and the antagonist (the Misfit). The grandmother tries to portray herself as a virtuous woman, but in the end O’Connor shows that her actions are always self-serving and that morally, she is not that different from the Misfit.
Our society today has an unspoken rule that nobody can be trusted. Different views cause people to drift further and further apart, therefore becoming “strangers”. Flannery O’Connor addresses this logic in her story “A Good Man is Hard to Find”. The Misfit is at first considered to be a stranger by the characters and the readers, however it is then made clear that both know him all to well. The Misfit symbolizes the modern man that is vulnerable and indecisive. The Misfit’s physical characteristics, motivation to be a criminal, and lasting impact he leaves on the grandmother all illustrate the modern man.
...e culture does not support free-thinking or expression, as seen by the banning of books and mindless entertainment. In the novel, people who express individuality and question life, they are seen as a threat. Clarisse McClellan, who was one of these people, eventually disappeared. In the novel, those go against conformity are in danger. Our society, while less drastic, processes in a similar way. Due to the spread of media, conformity is more widespread than ever before. Now with a touch of a button, everyone knows what is popular around the globe. We have encouraged ourselves to conform to certain ways in order to be favored by the masses. While we still express individuality, we express it in a narrow spectrum that will not cause others to ridicule or question us. In our society, conformists are normal, and those expressing individuality may be seen as outcasts.
Humans are social creatures‒they form groups, communities, and societies that have varying degrees of requirements for a person to be accepted. For many, the question of whether to conform to society 's unspoken rules and garner acceptance or to reject them and be alienated is to be thoroughly examined and contemplated over. A facet of this question is answered in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s historical novel, The Scarlet Letter, as the characterization of Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale reveals that forcibly molding oneself or another to fit the rigid expectations that society implements rescinds the rights of an individual to an identity and a life.
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.
For this assignment we were required to attend an event that had something to do with the women culture. The event that I choose to attend was called “ More than a Few Good Men: A Lecture on American Men and Violence against Women” and it was presented by Jackson Katz. And although I missed the first 30 minutes of the event, the whole topic of conversation was interesting and fascinating. The event consisted of two parts, the first one being about domestic violence and the second being about the by-standard effect as well as the way that media and movies give young boys their ideas of masculinity. All the information provided was helpful and useful when it comes to trying to understand the reason why men act in a dominant and sometimes an intimidating way towards women.
The grandmother’s selfishness and over concern about her appearance is a sign of her being of upper class status. She is portrayed as a silly woman, selfish, vain and racially prejudice, all of which are stereotypical characteristic of upper class women. It is very important to her that people would know she was a lady by her hat and her dress in the event that she might die. In the story, the speaker states “…the grandmother had on 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 collar and cuffs were white organdy trimmed with lace and at her neckline she had pinned a purple spray of cloth violets containing a sachet. In case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady” (pp. 1285-1286). The grandmother also says “You wouldn’t shoot a lady, would you? And “You don’t look like you have common blood, I know you must come from nice people.” implying that The Misfit must come from the upper class and the upper class would not do such a thing as shoot a lady. He obviously does not come from the upper class and this was simply an attempt from the grandmother to save her own life.
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 ...
Currently, there are many discussions regarding society’s views on how a “good” person should act. For example, in one society going to war may be viewed as a patriotic act, while in another society it may be viewed negatively because it can be seen as an act promoting violence. Furthermore, there are flaws in always conforming to society’s standards because it takes away one’s individuality. These topics are raised in the “Unknown Citizen” which is a poem by W.H. Auden that describes a man who is viewed by society as a perfect person and also in “Do Not Go Gently” by Dylan Thomas where he urges society to not accept death and fight it. As a result, there are actions that society declares as being righteous, but it is also important that people follow their own intuition because that way they become their own person.
The short story, “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” by Flannery O’Connor, is a gruesome and pessimistic view of man’s ability to possess goodness, but shows that when faced with death a person can be redeemed. The author illustrates this lack of goodness through the portrayal of the main character’s moral hypocrisy, self-centeredness and transformation to relay a message of redemption. O’Connor’s depiction of a southern grandmother's flimsy display of virtues, while interacting with her family, changes during the final stages of her life when she encounters a violent criminal. This story shows that people have the choice to display moral excellence, but that option is often exercised only when a person is faced with a burgeoning pressure, such as
It is this fate in which a character pits him/herself against that we have seen in our study of the American novel. Faulkner has used perhaps the most obvious "absent" character to drive the standard, the dead mother. The family must react to the conflict, yet the conflict is set by someone who dies early in the novel. Social standards are apparent in James's world, and perhaps the father is the cause of these social standards. Yet they often seem outrageous to us as readers, as there seems not to be a moral cause driving the doctor's decisions, only stubbornness. In Munro's stories, we see the poor react to the standard of the rich. Munro provides an example of the rich, but the character's come across as flat, underdeveloped. This is not a criticism of Munro's technique; it furthers the development of each character who holds themselves against this standard. Vonnegut provides an outrageous world in which the standards that life imposes seem absurd. And who has created this absurd world in which the characters seem forever at odds with? The creator we are provided is admittedly a lie. Yet the absurdities force the reactions from the characters.