Foregrounding of Feminism in A Good Man is Hard to Find

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Foregrounding of Feminism in “A Good Man is Hard to Find," by Flannery O'Connor
“A Good Man is Hard to Find," by Flannery O'Connor, shows a family trip to Florida which end to an unexpected death at the end of the story. In the progression of this story, O’Connor has presented women as naïve with graceful images. Women are presented as the weaker sex while men are given more importance and powerful roles. In this regard this story can be viewed as feministic point of view. Feminism is self-awareness among women about women’s rights on the base of political, social, and economic equality to men (Thompson 18). Feminist Criticism offers a Unique understanding of Flannery O'Connor’s short story A Good Man is Hard to Find because it reflects powerless, nameless and dependent position of women in male dominant society.
Male and female were treated differently in terms of gender still in the year 1955, when this story first publish. People were living with the mentality where male were given a high position in society. Perhaps this was the cause of same mentality, male characters in the story don’t treat women as their equal. Gender discrimination has deep roots in history and was still exist in 1955. In this regard, there was an article published in New York Times dated February 16, 2013 by Stephanie Coontz named “Why Gender Equality Stalled”; she writes, “In 1963, most Americans did not yet believe that gender equality was possible or even desirable”. For this reason, one can conclude that gender discrimination was present in 1955 when women were consider as the one who should always look after children, do household stuff and were powerless regarding their social position. Men, on the other hand, held a high social and economic statu...

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...e New York Times, 16 Feb. 2013. Web. 24 Apr. 2014..
Michaelson, Evalyn Jacobson, and Leigh, M Aaland. “Masculinity, Feminity, and Androgyny.” Ethos 4.2 (1976): 251-270. JSTOR. Web. 27 April. 2014.
Schilb, John, and John Clifford, eds Making Literature Matter: An Anthology for Readers and Writers. 5th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2012. Print.
Thompson D. Radical Feminism Today [e-book]. London: SAGE; 2001. Available from: eBook Collection (EBSCOhost), Ipswich, MA. April 5, 2014.
Tyson, Lois. Critical Theory: A user friendly guide. Florence, USA: Routledge, 9. Print.
Ward, Dawn, and Jack Balswick. "Strong Men and Virtuous Women: A Content Analysis of Sex Roles Stereotypes." The Pacific Sociological Review 21.1 (1978):45-53. JSTOR. Web. 27 Apr. 2014.

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