A Good Man Is Hard To Find Irony Analysis

The grandmother believes The Misfit is “good” because he will not shoot a lady, which is a denial in her faith to keep her moral principles. Her theory proves to be false. The only thing “good” about the Misfit is his uniformity in living out his moral cipher of there is no pleasure but meanness in life.

In the short story, “A Good Man is Hard to Find” there is irony all through the pages. It shows how you should follow your gut instinct when you think you shouldn’t go somewhere, when you know something bad is going to happen. In the story it also talks about how the grandmother wore her nice clothes in case of an accident, she wanted to look like a lady in case anything bad was to happen. The grandmother was constantly talking about the good in people, but was she a good woman?

This story was taken place also when black Americans were set free from slavery and had just as much equal rights as any other white American did. They were preferred to not be called "niggers" but be called black Americans. During this time no matter what was said, she would not let go of the term "nigger" referring to black Americans because she thought that they did not deserve as many equal rights because she thought that they could do no better if they were turned from under the power of white Americans.

I’ll give you all the money I’ve got!” (O’Connor 355). She is pleading the Misfit for her life only by saying the word lady repeatedly and offering him the money. She is also praising the Misfit by calling him a good man and trying to save her life. She was also careless about her family. When her family is taken down into the woods, she continues to talk to Misfit. She ignores the sound of when her son and rest of the family were being shot. She is apparently oblivious to many things. She was ignoring everything but the Misfit. “The shirt came flying at him and landed on his shoulders and he put it on. The grandmother couldn’t name what the shirt reminded her of” (O’Connor 354). The grandmother doesn’t even realize that shirt was her son Baileys. She had no interest in knowing where that shirt came from and what happened to my family. For the concern of her life only, she tries to persuade the Misfit the same way she tried with her family. “I know you’re a good man. You don’t look a bit like you have common blood. I know you must come from nice people!” (O’Connor 352). She is trying to manipulate the Misfit and hopes that he will bear her. She is thinking about no one else but the sake for herself. However she fails once again to influence the Misfit.

In the Flannery O’Connor’s short story, “A Good Man is Hard to Find” we find out that the title indicates of what the story is about. The title actually came from the lyrics of a song written by Eddie Green in 1918. The title of “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Conner is quite ironic really. The reader expects to eventually find a good man in the story, but is quite surprised at the ending of the story. The title "A Good Man is Hard to Find" is expressed clearly in this story by introducing a variety of male personalities that all have one thing in common; they are not truly good men.

     Moments later The Misfit releases some of his stress when he tells two of his companions to bring two of the children back into the woods. The grandmother hears gunfire and shivers in pain, not knowing the two children were just killed. She then begins to ask The Misfit about his life, “I just know you’re a good man,” the woman said (O’Connor 688). The Misfit slowly began to tell the woman about his parents and his childhood. He explained how his father looked down upon him; “you’re a different breed of dog,” he once said (O’Connor 688). The grandmother waits with anticipation as The Misfit tells her about his life. After hearing about his hardships and misfortunes, tells The Misfit to pray for help. He listens to her and shows no response. The Misfit did not know what he was punished for: “somewheres along the line I done something wrong and I got sent to the penitentiary…I forget what I done lady. I set there… trying to remember what it was I done and I ain’t recalled it to this day!” (O’Connor 689). This statement by The Misfit supports the case that he is a very confused man. Could a mental defect be the cause behind his actions and not remembering his past? The Misfit then explained that a psychiatrist at the penitentiary said that he killed his father, “but I known that for a lie” he states (O’Connor

The use of figurative language in writing brings a story to life in the mind of the reader giving them a better grasp of the events taking place. Using hyperbole, simile and personification serves to develop the characters of a story as well as enhancing its theme (Kirszner and Mandell, 2012).

The Misfit is a complex character created by Flannery O’Connor. He is talked about first when the Grandmother reads his criminal background at the breakfast table. Right when the Misfit meets the family the Grandmother starts questioning his faith and past, and through the Grandmother’s persistent behavior that you find out the truth behind the Misfits hard exterior. The reader understands that the Misfit was brought up by parents who were the “finest people in the world” (O’Connor 1312). With this type of background, how can one expect the Misfit to be such a cold blooded killer? Because of his kind nature in the beginning of the story, it’s almost impossible to understand how he could just kill. Through deeper analysis one can

Flannery O’Conner, a Gothic literature writer, has written several short stories throughout her life. Among these stories, two of them being A Good Man is Hard to Find and Good Country People, she has included some of the most fleshed out and grotesque characters I have ever read. O’Conner brings her characters to life throughout her writing in near flawless and subtle detail with ironic humor. For example, O’Conner makes skillful use of ironic names for her characters. The titles and names such as grandmother, the misfit, Joy/Hulga, and the bible salesman are used ironically. These subtle characterizations help guide the reader to the final, and often times ironic, conclusions all her characters deserve.

She tries making him feel empowered in hopes that he will spare her her "innocent" life saying, "you shouldn't call yourself The Misfit because I know you're a good man at heart. I can just look at you and tell" (O'Connor 433). Despite her efforts, The Misfit, with the help of his partner, Hiram, murdered the entire family, including the grandmother, who so willfully tried to convince them otherwise. Not only did the old lady's manipulation not work on The Misfit as it had for her son, it initially cost her the life of herself and her entire

One of the first main acts of symbolism in “A Good Man is Hard to Find” is the Misfit and the grandmother lack of spiritual faith and saving grace. The Misfit tells us that he came from a good family, but he was from a different breed of dog from his brothers and sisters. Here he tells the grandmother how he came from a good family and how he is different in a bad way, but further educates her on his mother and father. The Misfit is one of God’s very own children, but he went against him and therefore he was punished for his actions. “I never was a bad boy that I remember of, “The Misfit said in an almost dreamy voice, but somewhere along the line I done something wrong and got sent to the penitentiary. I

The Misfit was sympathetic towards the family after they had their wreck. Sympathetic means feeling, showing, and expressing compassion towards another in times of destitution. O’Connor makes this possible

Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find’ tells of a seemingly normal family with a bit of dysfunction. Throughout this tale, the author fabricates a number of characters, some inconsiderable, others full of depth and history that present themselves wildly open to interpretation. Looking into O’Connor’s past, it is clear to see her relationship with a number of these fictional minds and pull from these the meaning behind her hidden pain and anguish. We are therefore presented with a mother and sons family who are prisoners in a manipulative, destructive relationship.

The short story “A Good Man is Hard to Find” does not tend to have a lot of characters with society and class. It is mainly The Grandmother who has a higher social class than the rest of the characters. The Grandmother’s actions, comments, and descriptions of her character says it all. The family lives in Atlanta, Georgia around the mid-century,(around the late 40’s or early 50’s, based on when this short story was published,) when WWII ended. One of the main characters of the story, the theme of the class structure is displayed throughout the symbols of The Grandmother’s hat, The Misfit’s car, and The Grandmother’s death.

As the story goes on everything is going on just like a regular ride would go from Atlanta, Ga. The grandmother was sitting between the two oldest children who really didn’t want to be sitting in the back with their grandmother. As the ride progresses on and on the children begins to get restless and so does the grandmother. The story is passed on Connor’s Christian beliefs and his moral code, and it is definite in this story as you go through the entire story. A moral code is a part of the behaviors and beliefs of that the people in the story will abide by for fulfilling lives. The feeling of being a lady is one of the biggest concepts that the grandmother goes by. At the first glance of the Misfit’s code is misguided, it’s actually the code that the grandmother goes by that proves to be inconsistent and flimsy. The grandmother finds herself unable to pray during a crisis even though she is a devote Christian. This begins to question the power and divinity of Jesus. However, the Misfit’s moral code seems to be rather consistent and strong from his experience with being a convicted criminal. Punishments and crime will always go hand in hand because in the end, it doesn’t really matter. The ending of the story and the tragedy that has happened was sought out from the very beginning of the story, and it all went to demise when she realized who