A Good Man Is Hard To Find

"A Good Man Is Hard To Find" and "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been"

In "A Good Man is Hard to Find" the Grandmother is a main character that symbolizes a savior. O' Connor

The reader is almost forced to look at the actions of the grandmother as being similar to that of a young child. There's not a quiet moment with her around and she never sits still. The reader tends to have a negative perception of the grandmother due to these personality traits. However, these traits are expressed in a comical way causing the reader to be annoyed by the grandmother, but also entertained.

Working Thesis: In “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, O’Connor uses the corrupt, manipulative character of the grandmother, as well as the story’s plot and theme in order to emphasize the flaws of the church and the need for grace.

In William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily,” and Flannery O’Connor’s “A good man is hard to find,” both authors present main characters who are contrasting to the people in their society. In Faulkner’s work, Emily Grierson is an outsider because she hides herself from the people in town for more than thirty years. They have no clue that she has kept homers body in her home for so long until the day she dies. Also, in O’Connor’s work, the grandmother describes herself as a Pure, good woman but her actions contradict her by proving she’s manipulative and evil. In this way, both characters are outsiders by choosing not to show their true identities to their respective societies.

“A Good Man is Hard to Find” and “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” share the same plot by having the protagonists in each of the stories end with death. Although their plots are the same, the landscape and imagery of the surroundings, leading up to the death of the characters are different. In these stories, there are different points like the unexpected deaths to make the ending the same. Each story consists of a different scenery/ landscape imagery to show the ultimate ending of death to the main characters.

In a Good Man is Hard to Find, this grandmother is very selfish, talkative and manipulative. Throughout this story the grandmother portrayed all of these different personality traits. She is like no grandmother that you have ever seen.

Both the grandmother from Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” and Mrs. Turpin from “Revelation,” encounter the same epiphany: that all men, ladies and kids are the same in God’s eyes. The comical depictions of these two southern ladies, O’Connor demonstrates the old methods of the south, with its pretenders and fakes, are better left in the past. In both stories, the grandmother and Mrs. Turpin’s appearances are subtly mocked by description. The grandmother in “A Good Man is Hard to Find” wears white cotton gloves on a family trip, carefully places her purse in the car, and pins “a purple spray of cloth violets containing a sachet” in the hope that “anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady” (O’Connor “Good Man” 357).

When someone compares any two stories, we must contrast them as well. The main character in both "A Rose for Emily," by William Faulkner, and "A Good Man Is Hard to Find," by Flannery O'Connor have many things in common, but just as they have many things in common they are also very different. Emily, from "A Rose for Emily" and the Grandmother, from "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" are very used to getting their way, and when they don't things turn for the worst and they try everything to ensure that they get what they want. The Grandmother wants to convince her son Bailey, to go to her home state of Tennessee rather than to Florida for a vacation, her excuse being her grandchildren have already been to Florida but never to Tennessee.

However, the image of the typical grandmother is shattered as the author reveals details of the Grandmother’s character. The Grandmother self identifies as a sweet, proper, old woman while her behavior further supports the theme of sin and guilt. Did the Grandmother’s selfish and thus, stubborn and manipulative

In Flannery O’Connor’s short story, “A Good Man is Hard to Find” the grandmother and the Misfit become the main focus even though the other characters are involved in the story. Throughout the entire story, The Misfit is portrayed as the symbol of evil because he was in jail; he escaped from jail, and he committed murders. The grandmother believes to be greater than the people that she are around because of the “good” that she portrays. The conventional meaning of good, or possessing or displaying moral virtue, is not the particular good that the grandmother is trying to portray throughout the story. The grandmother believes that good

Flannery O 'Connor is a Christian writer, and her work shows Christian themes of good and evil, grace, and salvation. O’Connor has challenged the theme of religion into all of her works largely because of her Roman Catholic upbringing. O’Connor wrote in such a way that the characters and settings of her stories are unforgettable, revealing deep insights into the human existence. In O’Connor’s Introduction to a “Memoir of Mary Ann,” she claims that Christians live to prepare for their death. This statement is reflected in her other works, including her short story “A Good Man is Hard To Find.” After reading “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” many questions remain unanswered

"A Good Man Is Hard to Find" shows a hidden religious meaning through the story. It might be considered allegorical because when the grandmother and The Misfit have their encounter, they talk about Jesus and religion. She asks him if he prays, hoping he might reconsider taking her life. Violence in the story symbolizes change. For example, it seemed like the grandmother was not super religious, but when she was in a violent situation when her life was in someone else's hands, she becomes spiritual and seeks a moment of grace.

In Flannery O'Connor's eccentric short story, “A Good Man is Hard to Find” the reader is introduced to her fundamental theme of Identity through a typical southern family. O’Connor’s exceptional use of fictional elements such as characterization, point of view, and setting further develop this theme in her work. She does so by familiarizing the use of violence, humor, and salvation along with point of view and setting to create a deeper connection between her work and the reader.

The grandmother is the central character in the story "A good man is hard to find," by Flannery O'Connor. Ironically, being the central character, the grandmother also feels a need to be the center of attention throughout the majority of the story. The grandmother is a manipulative, deceitful, and self-consumed woman. She also relies heavily on the importance of titles, when it comes to other people. For example, she speaks highly of a man she considered “good” only because of his title.