A Good Man Is Hard To Find Grandmother Character Analysis

She was a lady through and through, so much that “In case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady.” The irony of that quote is simply that it becomes factual. Flannery O’Connor really paints a vivid picture of how self absorbed this character is. The grandmother’s personality might play a role in her self-proclaimed aristocrat outlook on society but the way that she was raised probably had a much greater impact on the way she view things as proper and right. Flannery O’Connor wrote A Good Man is Hard to Find in the 1946. From this, readers can assume that the grandmother would have grown up before the time of the booming 1920’s. After the 1920’s, many women’s outlook on what was proper and acceptable was drastically changed. The grandmother saw this drastic change in the morality of the American Society, which could have given her the idea that she was a more proper and sophisticated lady then the younger people who had completely different views on what was deemed expectable. She was surrounded with people that she was much older than her, which could have also given her the thought that she was among the hierarchy. This is because of the time period that she was brought up, she may have felt it necessary for her to teach other people the ways that to days younger people seemed to have lost. One could see the influence that her

In" A Good Man is Hard to Find" there are a variety of themes. The themes in this short story are: the grace of the grandmother and The Misfit, the vague definition of a “good man”, and the class of the grandmother. All of these themes are apparent to any reader, but it does not quite seem to match O’Connor’s depth style way of writing. The two characters, the Grandmother and the Misfit change from beginning to end. Even though they are both different as night and day, they both have principles and stand by their principles no matter what the circumstance.

Another virtue the grandmother lacks is courage. Courage is “The state or quality of mind or spirit that enables one to face danger with self-possession, confidence and resolution” (Courage). When The Misfit arrives, the grandmother is nothing but a coward. She exhibits no self-possession, “Alone with The Misfit, the grandmother found that she had lost her voice” (O’ Connor 1116), displayed here when she can’t even speak. She also has no resolution to the situation but to give The Misfit her money, “‘I’ll give you all the money I’ve got!’” (O’ Connor

She uses informal diction to help achieve the targeted theme and her slight use of a southern dialect is one brilliant component that helps her to do so. For example, when the family stops for barbecue sandwiches along their way to Tennessee, the owner’s wife compliments the granddaughter. “’Ain’t she cute?” Red Sam’s wife said, leaning over the counter. “Would you like to come be my little girl?”’ (1287). Adding this southern twist of diction as well as the southern setting helps to illustrate the culture the grandmother was raised in. This helps to bridge the gap between what the reader’s definition of a good man may be, based off of their cultural upbringing, and the grandmother’s definition of a good man. This gap reinforces the O’Conner’s idea that there cannot be a universal definition of a good man.

    “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” one of O’Connor’s best works, describes a family on a trip to Florida and their encounter with an escaped prisoner, The Misfit. Although “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” is an early work in O’Connor’s career, it contains many of the elements which are used in the majority of her short stories. The grandmother, a selfish and deceitful woman, is a recipient of a moment of grace, despite her many flaws and sins. A moment of grace is a revelation of truth. When the grandmother calls The Misfit her child and reaches out to touch him, the grandmother has a moment of grace that enabled her to see The Misfit as a suffering human being who she is obligated to love. The grandmother realizes that nothing will stop The Misfit from killing her but she reaches out to him despite this. The Misfit rejects her love and kills her anyway. This moment of grace is very important

From the outset of the story The Grandmother was concerned about her appearance and social status, as it pertains to perception. This behavior is displayed in the text — as well as in other places— when explaining why The Grandmother wore a particular dress: “In case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once she was a lady.” (357) A distinction she manifestly, not to mention earnestly, deeply regards. The preparation for such an eventuality isn't what corroborates the point. It is the purposeful choice to don a particular outfit in

The grandmother in the beginning seems to be a very curious, kind, and old fashioned woman. As the story progresses she turns into this self-centered selfish woman. She appears like this in times like when she tells story’s (old fashioned) about her past experiences and the excited way she points out things (innocence and kindness.). I dislike that her curiosity is what lead the family to their death. Overall she remained the only character I liked so when she was killed I was left disappointed.

The character grandmother in O’Connor’s story has grounds the reality of the events and drives the family into tragedy. She is a central character in O’Connor’s story and is depicted to be a dynamic character stuck in the old ways. Through her actions and the idea of being stuck in the old ways of thinking, she leads her family into tragedy. Being the main character in the story, Grandmother significantly adds to the development of the plot. The author manages to win the attention of the reader from this character owing to the manner in which she shapes the storyline. Grandmother’s reminiscing of the old ways claims a distinctive curiosity from the reader and helps in

The grandmother is the central character in the short story “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” by Flannery O’Connor. She is also a very well rounded and dynamic character. She shows various characteristics and reveals various remarks as they story progresses. Some of her qualities include selfish and a pushy person. She is also kind of manipulator in a way that she insists her family to change the plan. At the beginning of the story when we first realize her desire to visit her childhood house, she is being a very selfish person. Examining her conversation with her son Bailey, the grandmother is moreover a pushy person. She is convincing Bailey to change the trip plan according to her need only and which will

     In the short story, 'A Good Man is Hard to Find', the main character is the grandmother. Flannery O'Connor, the author, lets the reader find out who the grandmother is by her conversations and reactions to the other characters in the story. The grandmother is the most important character in the story because she has a main role in the stories principal action. This little old lady is the protagonist in this piece. We learn more about her from her direct conversation with the son, Bailey, her grandchildren, June Star and John Wesley, and the Misfit killer. Through these conversations, we know that she is a lady raised from a traditional background. In the story, her attitude changes

Additionally, the grandmother shows superiority in her actions and poor judgment towards others. In the story, the grandmother answer Red Sammy Butts question about why he let those guys fuel their tank without paying by saying he does it because he is a “good man”. Also, when she when she realizes that the Misfit is a threat to her life, she repeatedly tells him that he is a “good man”. This way O’Connor highlights the moral codes that the grandmother built on the characteristics she believes that make people “good”. Although, it seems that the grandmother sees the goodness in people and has an open-hearted

Mary Flannery O’Connor, the writer of many short stories known for their cruel endings and religious themes, wrote “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” in 1955. “Her works combine flat realism with grotesque situations; violence occurs without apparent reason or preparation.” (Roberts 429). “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” is about a southern family’s trip to Florida which takes a dramatic turn. This story was written in O’Connor’s first collection of short stories. “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” is a compelling story of tragedy that utilizes humor and irony to draw the reader’s attention, and two major characters to convey the authors central theme.

Throughout the short story, “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” a grandmother goes on vacation in Florida with her son and his family. She is wary of an escaped criminal who may possibly be there, but no one takes her worry into consideration. The family eventually comes face to face with the criminal and lose their lives because of it. In “A Worn Path,” an elderly woman begins a long and tiresome journey in an effort to reach a town to acquire medicine for her sick grandson. The stories “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” written by Flannery O’Connor, and “A Worn Path,” by Eudora Welty, have distinctly different writing styles that impact the story and how they utilize certain literary devices throughout them. The setting, point of view and imagery

In doing so she develops a detached narration in which her characters can only be judged by their actions. Being told in third person “A Good Man is Hard to Find” is not delivered directly by one of the characters involved in the action. The first sentence of the story indicates an objective narrator. For example, “The grandmother didn’t want to go to Florida” (Roberts 575). Although the reader is aware of the Grandmother’s thoughts and no one else’s. Even the names of the characters illustrate the story’s point of view; Bailey’s wife, the Grandmother’s daughter-in-law, is referred to generically as “the children’s mother.” This reveals that the Grandmother thinks of her only in terms of being her son’s wife and her grandchildren’s mother disregarding her as an individual (Bouchard). O’Connor is attentive, however, not to enter completely into the Grandmother’s thoughts and feelings, he keeps an “authorial distance” in an effort to establish a specific point of view for her literary work (Bouchard). O’Connor is often praised for being “detached” in her narration, allowing readers to come to their own conclusions about the characters. The idea of detachment is seen through her decision to never give the Grandmother an actual name during the story (Bouchard). This method keeps the reader from identifying too closely with the Grandmother, or recognizing her as an individual. As a result, she is just a typical antebellum elderly woman. This device allows O’Connor to present characters who must be judged by their actions, rather than on insignificant criteria in the story. O’Connor’s strategic use of the fictional element of Point of view phenomenally creates a connection to her overall theme of Identity in her short story “A Good Man is Hard to

The Grandmother is depicted as someone that holds high regards for herself by constantly referring to everything she does as being a “lady,” and she doesn’t seem to have any conviction