I think that Flannery OConnors short story A Good Man is Hard to Find is written partially in order to convert people who have not yet fully accepted the Christian faith. OConner, herself being a strong believer in Christianity, probably thought that writing this story will help make people who arent really living by the Christian rules to seriously consider doing so. Flannery O'Connor was deeply concerned with the values and the direction of the youth at the time. She believed that Christ was no longer enough of a priority to the people of her generation. "A Good Man is Hard to Find" is representative of Flannery O'Connor's concern for the priorities and values of the 1940s. An example of this, in "A Good Man is Hard to Find," involves the grandmother's strong, southern heritage. She dresses with the intention that anyone who finds her dead on the road will know she was a lady, and she is always telling stories of southern gentlemen courting her. Then, the Misfit, whom she "knows" is of quality, southern blood, shoots her and her family, despite her belief in southern hospitality. Grandma is a woman who believes in God, but it seems that her belief isnt really strong up until her confrontation with the Misfit. From what I understand, most of her works follow a similar pattern. The main character(s) are in some kind of trouble and at the end they see the light of Gods ways and have their redemption. Christians have often criticized her works for being immoral but in actuality she uses these extreme situations and portrayals to express the power of God in a positive light. The immoral character of the Misfit is very skillfully portrayed, as is the enlightened character of Grandma. Most of the characters in A Good Man is Hard to Find and, probably her other works, go through some kind of methamorphosis, a change in their views of the world and in their perceptions about life and death. Such character in this particular story is Grandma and, in my opinion, the Misfit. I think that the Misfit is constantly experiencing a deep inner struggle and this is revealed in his conversation with Grandma. Of course, OConners skillful portrayal of his helps the reader to detect some obscure details of the Misfits behavior, which are key elements in determining the Misfits state of mind. Those details are his gestures, his speech, and his thoughts. Maybe, in a way, the Misfit represents the new generation of young and religiously misguided people, and Grandma symbolizes the old generation, which has grown somewhat distanced from religion. In my opinion this is a take on the missionary concept. Someone in the storyline is converted to stronger faith in God, and also there is a form of conversion of the reader by the author. Flannery OConnor probably hoped to provoke her readers and to make them re-consider their own spiritual notions and ideals. All said, A Good Man is Hard to Find is an exceptionally well-written short story with both tension and provoking religious content. The ending doesnt come as much of a surprise, though, it still is good for a short story. The plot may be a bit illogical when given more thought, but overall this is an exciting and interesting work, which can be enjoyed by non-Christian readers as well..
...dly evil character, The Misfit, is able to help the grandmother to find grace makes him redeemable as well. Whatever the reason was for Flannery O’Connor to write A Good Man Is Hard To Find, it will forever be one of her best works as well as one of the best and most unusual short stories of all time.
The granny and the misfit are two completely opposite characters that possess two different beliefs. The grandmother puts herself on a high pedestal and the way she calls the misfit ‘a good person’ based upon his family background gives the reader an idea of what the grandmother acknowledges to be considered as ‘good’. Self absorbed as sh...
The Misfit; is the epitome of the Godless man in a Godless society. He is a killer who is also raised without spirituality as the old woman's children. He is the representative of evil.
A Good Man is Hard to Find, there are two main characters whose faith should be analyzed: “the grandmother” and “the Misfit”. We can use Paul Tilloch’s six components to analyze their faith. The grandmother seems to have a great understanding of what faith is in five of the The Misfit is not “ultimately concerned” about his faith. The Misfit was confused as to why he was sent to prison and why he was punished in the ways that he was.
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, ...
There are three phases of thought for the Grandmother. During the first phase, which is in the beginning, she is completely focused on herself in relation to how others think of her. The Second Phase occurs when she is speaking to The Misfit. In the story, The Misfit represents a quasi-final judgment. He does this by acting like a mirror. He lets whatever The Grandmother says bounce right off him. He never really agrees with her or disagrees, and in the end he is the one who kills her. His second to last line, "She would of been a good woman," The Misfit said, "if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life," (O'Conner 152). might be the way O'Conner felt about most of us alive, or how she felt that God must feel about us.
According to Ellen Douglas, the "evil in human hearts, and the possibility of grace, the gift of love, are made terrifyingly and magnificently real" when the grandmother, at gunpoint, admits that The Misfit really is, in her standards, a good man at heart (381). He is better able to express his beliefs about religion, but she has no firm foundation. When he says, "She would [have] been a good woman, if there had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life," he is revealing the fact that her pride, instead of her faith, has carried her through life (O'Connor, "A Good Man" 392). She has merely acted out the life of a typical Southern lady of he...
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
In all four of the mentioned stories, this presence of Christian signs-of-the-times can be seen. Set in the early fifties, "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" tells of the murder of a vacationing Georgia family by an escaped felon called the Misfit. ...
Flannery O’ Connor’s story: “A Good Man is Hard to Find” is the tale of a vacation gone wrong. The tone of this story is set to be one irony. The story is filled with grotesque but meaningful irony. I this analysis I will guide you through the clues provided by the author, which in the end climax to the following lesson: “A Good Man” is not shown good by outward appearance, language, thinking, but by a life full of “good” actions.
I think that the Misfit is constantly experiencing a deep inner struggle, and this is revealed in his conversation with Grandma. Of course, O’Conner’s skillful portrayal of his helps the reader to detect some obscure details of the Misfits behavior, which are key elements in determining the Misfit’s state of mind.
“A Good Man is Hard to Find” is a 1953 short story by Flannery O 'Connor. There are a lot of literal techniques that the author uses in order to make sure that the story has the desired effect on the audience, but realism and cultural adaptation standout from the lot. O’Connor heavily relies on information from his own cultural setting to forge out characters and the plot of the story, which increases the purpose and relevance of “A Good Man is Hard to Find.” Among the social issues that the story captures so well is multicultural diversity. One this that remains ever-present in the history of mankind is culture. Different communities and individuals however embody different cultures and Flannery
Good Man Hard to Find O'Connor's "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" In "A Good Man Is Hard to Find," Flannery O'Conner really puts the reader in the middle class mode and throws a little religion at us. By this I mean that she takes us to an important part of her mind and soul. One could even say that she lets the Devil come out in her own little way. In reading, "A Good Man is Hard to Find," we find ourselves in a setting of a lower middle class family with a dominant mother, annoying grandmother and a whinny mother-in-law.
Flannery O 'Connor utilizes multiple biblical references, such as Jesus raising the dead, to create a foundation for what the Grandmother and Misfit believe in terms of morality. The Grandmother references Christianity in a positive and redeeming sense while the Misfit claims that “Jesus was the only One that ever raised the dead, and He shouldn 't have done it. He shown everything off balance” (O’Connor 151). Her reality before the incident was the people such as the Misfit were evil, while those similar to her who grew up in the classic traditions of the south were better off. Although she was raised in a highly religious and proper setting, she does not realize the fault in her logic until she is staring down the barrel of a gun. The grandmother attempts to use this religion to save her life by telling the Misfit about prayer and salvation. By asking the Misfit "Do you ever pray?" and then repeatedly saying “pray, pray, pray”, she is attempting to show him the fact that he does not have to do evil acts because of his past (O’Connor 149). Because the Misfit does not view himself as evil, his reality is that his actions and beliefs are morally
The Nationalist party went to Taiwan after they lost the Chinese civil and with them, they brought their ideas and through those ideas, they carried the ideology of Sun Yat-Sen's three fundamental principles of the people. This investigation investigates: Why were Sun Yat-Sen’s three principles of the people fully achieved after 1988? My investigation will focus on why it was achieved by analyzing the Three Principles and comparing them to the government that was established in Taiwan. The end of martial law in Taiwan assists in analyzing this question because that is when all three principles were achieved. The source Taiwan: A New History written by Murry A. Rubinstein provides analysis of Taiwan's socioeconomic status and relates to the principle of welfare, the last of the three principles to be achieved. This study also uses China A New History by John King Fairbank, this resource is provides great insight on politics and nationalism that developed in Taiwan post the Chinese Civil war which were the other two principles of Sun Yat-Sen.