O'Connor Character Traits

1027 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Literary analysis on A good man is hard to find by flannery o'connor

O'Connor Character Traits In Flannery O'Connor's short stories, "A Good Man is Hard to Find", "Revelation", and "Greenleaf", the main character in each share similar traits. Though the grandmother, Mrs. Turpin, and Mrs. May differ from each other in many aspects, there are three notable traits that each clearly possesses. Each of these individuals is highly conscious of their own social status, is socially prejudiced, and is extremely racist. Each of the women is revealed as being highly conscious of their own social status. Not only are they aware of where they exist socially, they are quite proud of their ranking. A perfect example of this occurs in "A Good Man is Hard to Find" when the grandmother dresses herself in such a fashion that "in case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady." She has purposefully dressed herself in nice, classy clothing so, in the rare case of an accident, people would know that she did not die a woman from the lower class. She also pleads with the Misfit, "You wouldn't shoot a lady, would you?" when she is held hostage. This desperate plea proves ludicrous because he would have killed her even if she were poor. In "Revelation" Mrs. Turpin is extremely cognizant of her place in society. While ranking the classes of people in her head she describes, ."..and above them the home-land owners, to which she and Claud belonged." The fact that she actually spends her nights carefully constructing in her mind a class ranking system proves that she places a strong emphasis on her own social status. Also, her feeling of superiority toward the lower class is evident when she thinks, "Help them you must, but help them you couldn't." She fool... ... middle of paper ... ...ntly to her workers, "Idiots! You could never say anything intelligent to a nigger." Mrs. May in "Greenleaf" shows her disgust toward African Americans when she asks her son, "What nice girl wants to marry a nigger-insurance man?" She is appalled that her son sells insurance to African Americans for a living and is convinced that no decent woman would ever consider marrying him with this sort of career. "A Good Man is Hard to Find", "Revelation", and "Greenleaf" depict these three characters as haughty, self-righteous females who view everyone around them to be inferior beings. Of course, the different and similar histories and experiences of their lives shaped them all. Sadly though, the sum total of all they had lived amounted to nothing more than overflowing bitterness and hatred; obviously, ignorance was in splendid supply during O'connor's writing.

Show More
Related

  • Irony and Foreshadowing in Flannery O’Connor’s A Good Man is Hard to Find

    1618 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Flannery O Connor's Short Story: A Good Man Is Hard To Find

    985 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Mrs. Turpin in Flannery O’Connor’s Revelation

    636 Words  | 2 Pages

    Mrs. Turpin in Flannery O’Connor’s short story Revelation, is a prejudice and judgmental woman who spends most of her life prying in the lives of everyone around her. She looks at people not for who they are, but for their race or social standing. In fact, Mrs. Turpin is concerned with race and status so much that it seems to take over her life. Although she seems to disapprove of people of different race or social class, Mrs. Turpin seems to be content and appreciative with her own life. It is not until Mrs. Turpin’s Revelation that she discovers that her ways of life are no better then those she looks down upon and they will not assure her a place in Heaven.

    Read More

  • Manipulation and Deception in A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O’Connor

    1487 Words  | 3 Pages

    Lessons are learned through mistakes and experiences, but to completely understand the lesson, a person must be smart enough to profit from their errors and be strong enough to correct them. However, this was not the case for the main character in the short story; A Good Man is Hard to Find written by Flannery O’Connor. In this tale of manipulation and deception, O’Connor depicts the main character, the grandmother, as a shrewd self-centered woman, who considers herself morally superior than the other individuals. Throughout the entire story, she is seen using her manipulative tactics on everyone, which brought her to a sinister ending. O’Connor expertly portrayed the grandmother as a character that did not correct her negative characteristics throughout the story. To prove this statement, the use of time will be applied to help focus on the main idea of the grandmother not changing her deleterious ways throughout this story.

    Read More

  • Flannery O Connor Grandmother

    1168 Words  | 3 Pages

    A brilliant storyteller during the mid-twentieth century, Flannery O'Connor wrote intriguing tales of morality, ethics and religion. A Southern writer, she wrote in the Southern Gothic style, cataloging thirty-two short stories; the most well known being “A Good Man is Hard to Find.”

    Read More

  • Flannery O'Connor's A Good Man Is Hard to Find and Revelation

    1421 Words  | 3 Pages

    ... This epiphany was a wake up call for Mrs. Turpin, and this identified the importance to her that everyone is viewed as equal in Gods eyes, no matter how poor, murderous, or prosperous an individual may be. O’Connor powerfully made the reader realize that having an epiphany opens up our mind to a clearer insight, and this was seen with the grandmother in “A Good Man is Hard to Find” and Mrs. Turpin in “Revelation.” Nonetheless, O’Connor also created characters that obtained a certain type of violence deep within their personality to show the importance of real life experiences within our society. These two short stories show a great amount of emotion and life lessons towards the reader, and O’Connor successfully conveyed her point while using her powerful Southern gothic writing technique.

    Read More

  • Lily Owens Philosophy

    1289 Words  | 3 Pages

    Lily interrogates the rift between blacks and whites, this time Tiburon. “Staying in a black house with black woman….it was not something I was against….I thought they could be smart, but not as smart as me, me being white,” (Kidd 78). Lily is taken aback when August is so refine considering everything she determined about black women

    Read More

  • Perceptions of Human Nature in Flannery O'Connor's A Good Man Is Hard to Find and Revelation

    1617 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Similarities Between The Misfit And A Good Man Is Hard To Find

    813 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Symbolism in A Good Man Is Hard to Find by Flannery O'Connor

    1046 Words  | 3 Pages

    In this part of the essay, I will show how O'Connor made use of symbolism through her characters to symbolise an abstraction of class-consciousness. The issues of class consciousness was brought up through the rounded character of the grandmother, who is the protagonist of the story. On the surface, we see the characteristics of the grandmother portrayed as a "good" woman, having faith in God and doing right in her live. However, the sin lies within her, whereby she thinks she is better than others around her. Viewing appearance and self-image as important, which is reflected through her gentility, the grandmother wears "white cotton gloves, straw sailor hat with a bunch of white violets on the brim, navy blue dress with a small white dot in the print and the collars and cuffs were white organdy trimmed with lace" (p.2117). Through her attire, the grandmother implies that people who looked at her will know that she is a respectable and noble lady. Repetitive use of the colour white is symbolic as it reflects the way the grandmother perceives and associates herself with - perfection, goodness, and purity. The grandmother also predicts that she would have done well if she had married Mr. Teagarden, "who had died a wealthy man few years ag...

    Read More

  • Religion and Racism in A Good Man is Hard to Find and Everything that Rises Must Converge

    3390 Words  | 7 Pages

    Bandy, Stephen C. "One of my babies": The Misfit and the Grandmother in Flannery O'Connor's short story 'A Good Man Is Hard to Find'. Studies in Short Fiction; Winter 1996, v33, n1, p107(11)

    Read More

  • Irony in a Good Man is Hard to Find

    954 Words  | 2 Pages

    The following day the family heads off to Florida. Another major point of irony happens as the story revolves around the grandmothers traditional southern values of respect for other people; especially elders, respect for your home and country. At the same moment as the grandmother is lecturing her grand kids about respecting their home state she sees a young Negro boy and says: “Oh look at the cute little pickaninny!” (Pg 208). Her hypocrisy becomes evident as she wants the family to do what she says not what she does.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Flannery O Conner's A Good Man Is Hard To Find

    818 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Flannery O’Conner’s, “A Good Man is Hard to Find” the story begins with the family going on a road trip to Florida. The Grandmother who is very critical, selfish, judgmental, forgetful, and dishonest and almost enjoys manipulating others to get her way. The Grandmother holds herself in very high regard and

    Read More

  • The Theme Of Good And Evil In A Good Man Is Hard To Find

    1075 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Formalist Criticism

    1204 Words  | 3 Pages

    Flannery O’Connor is best known for her Southern Gothic writing style and grotesque characters. Dorothy Tuck McFarland states that “O’Connor created bizarre characters or extreme situations in order to attain deeper kinds of realism” (1). This writing style is seen in Flannery O’Connor’s short story “A Good Man is Hard to Find”. Flannery O’Connor uses many techniques to gain the reader’s attention and keep them captivated. One way that O’Connor does this is by revolving her stories around symbols and integrating religious elements into her works. O’Connor is widely recognized for incorporating her Catholic faith into her stories. “She was a devout Roman Catholic, with a Southern upbringing” (Whitt 1). There are many types of ways to interpret “A Good Man is Hard to Find”. One method is by using formalist criticism. Formalist criticism exists when a reader can approach, analyze, and understand a story by using elements like the setting and symbolism.

    Read More

More about O'Connor Character Traits

Open Document