Flannery O'Connor's short story, “A Good Man is Hard to Find,”(367-377) imparts the idea that because of circumstances, free will can often lead to an ugly truth. Each person has the freedom of choice, however; there are times when that choice leads them to an unpleasant reality. Clair Katz, explains that O'Connor uses violence in a way that “jar[s]... her character's...
back to what she calls 'reality'”(411). This can be seen in O'Connor's use of irony to express how simple choices turn into extreme circumstances. In the case of the “grandmother, Bailey, and The Misfit,”(367) their choices lead to a deadly outcome.
The grandmother's selfish decisions play a significant part in the family's demise. Specifically, the grandmother is “afraid” (367) to leave her “cat, Pitty Sing,... in the house alone for three days”(367). She worries that the cat would “miss her too much... [or would] asphyxiate... [if] he brushes up against one of the gas burners”(367). These, of course, were valid worries for the grandmother; however, she knows her son Bailey would not be pleased. She doesn't want to leave the cat behind and hides it in the “car”(367). Additionally, by making this particular choice, the grandmother sets into motion the reason for the tragic car “accident” (370) that puts the family's lives in The Misfit's path. Pitty Sing is released when the grandmother realizes she made a mistake about the location of an “old plantation”(370). She, incidentally, believes it is down a “dirt road”(371) in “Georgia”(372) but is really in “Tennessee”(372). This memory lapse “embarrasse[s]” (370) her and causes her “jump”(370) and that jostles the cat's “basket”(367). Unfortunately, the cat leaps on Bailey's “shoulder”(371) and he loses control ...
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...and their family's death. The Misfit's choice of becoming what others say he is, though having the freedom to choose otherwise, make him the worst he's able to be and will eventually put him back in the prison he believes he can escape. Freedom of choice seems to be a great gift however, as hard as people try, they always come to a point where they realize that there is something greater that overrides that choice and they end up where they were meant to be all along.
Works Cited
Hendin, Josephine. “On O'Connor's Refusal to 'Do Pretty.'” Meyer. 410.
Katz, Clair. “The Function of Violence in O'Connor's Fiction.” Meyer. 411.
Kessler, Edward. “On O'Connor's Use of History.” Meyer. 412.
O'Connor, Flannery. “A Good Man is Hard to Find.” Meyer. 367-377.
Meyer, Michael. The Bedford Introduction to Literature. 9th Ed. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin's,
2012. print.
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 murderer was in the family’s presence. The grandmother was begging for grace from the misfit in every way possible. The character of the selfish grandmother, in Flannery O’Connor’s short story, “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” tries to use her manipulative ways to fight the Misfit’s urge to kill her. She is unrelenting in her actions to control those around her. Grandmother portrays a stubborn, devious character who wants what she wants and is going to see that she gets it.
In "A Good Man Is Hard to Find," Flannery O'Connor represents her style of writing very accurately. She includes her "themes and methods - comedy, violence, theological concern - and thus makes them quickly and unmistakably available" (Asals 177). In the beginning of the story O'Connor represents the theme of comedy by describing the typical grandmother. Then O'Connor moves on to include the violent aspect by bringing the Misfit into the story. At the end of the story the theme changes to theological concern as the attention is directed towards the grandmother's witnessing. As the themes change throughout the story, the reader's perception of the grandmother also changes.
The narrator starts the story giving background information about the grandmother and her son, Bailey. The narrator explains that the "grandmother didn't want to go to Florida" (320). Although a major conflict could result from her dislike of the family's choice of vacation spots, it does not. When the grandmother first speaks she asks Bailey to read a newspaper article that she has found. She attempts to change his mind about not going to Florida, by saying, "Here this fellow that calls himself The Misfit is aloose from the Federal Pen and headed toward Florida and you read here what it says he did to these people..." (320). Bailey does not ...
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.
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.
Although the misfit is commonly portrayed as evil or mental, he can be also presented as an ironic Jesus. In a way the misfit can be seen as a savior to the unbalanced world, in this book, where there is no good person to find. He even compares himself to Jesus, “The Misfit said as if he agreed.
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
Everyone is faced with decisions and choices in life, and sometimes they are combined with impelling and inevitable consequences. Flannery O'Connor’s religiously symbolic short story "A Good Man is Hard to Find" portrays a family of unappreciative adults and children traveling to Florida for a vacation. While traveling the family has an unfortunate accident and encounter a wanted and deadly criminal named The Misfit. As they are forced to face their own destruction, the grandmother attempts to find some mercy in the misfit to prevent her own death and subsequent Judgment. O’Conner in “A Good Man Is Hard To Find”, skillfully uses noticeable foreshadowing, elaborate symbolism, and dramatic irony to portray the message that people sometimes experience
O’Connor, Flannery. "A Good Man Is Hard to Find.” The Story and Its Writer. Charters, Ann. Compact 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/ST. Martin's, 2011. 676-687. Print.
As they speak with one another The Misfit collectively sends members of the family into the woods. Before long the family is all killed and only the grandmother remains. At this point the reader can sense what will happen next. The grandmother is becoming deeply religious as her death nears her. Finally the grandmother realizes she is no better than The Misfit and touches him on the shoulder. O’Connor demonstrates the dominant grandmother finally does not get her way. She is shot three times and thrown into the ditch soon after (Bloom
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.
The Misfit tells the reader “My daddy said I was a different breed of dog from my brothers and sisters. ‘You know,’ Daddy said, ‘it’s some that can live their whole life out without asking about it and it’s others has to know why it is, and this boy is one of the latters. He’s going to be into everything!’ ” (O’Connor 1312). The Misfit never backed down from anything which is why his life is the way it is. The Misfit was the one, not good but not the worst either, person to make a stand and to ask why to justice system and his religion. These are the two belief systems that most won’t ever question, which is why the Misfit is such a controversial character. He will never stop asking, and will go against whatever to do what he sees fit, whether it be killing a man or changing his tire.
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 conclusion, Flannery O’Connor used violence in her short stories in order to give her characters an event that changes their entire viewpoint, beliefs, and actions in life and shows them the reality of it. These acts of violence can be seen in A Good Man is Hard to Find, Good Country People, and Everything that Rises Must Converge.