A Good Man Is Hard To Find Character Analysis Essay

If you were to ask someone what their definition of a happy life would be, they would probably give you an answer like, “having fun.” This is completely untrue in Aristotle’s terms. According to Aristotle, for a man to lead a happy life he must learn each of the intellectual virtues, and practice each of the moral virtues throughout his life. These moral virtues are justice, courage, temperance, magnificence, magnanimity, liberality, gentleness, prudence, and wisdom. With so many virtues to constantly abide by, a man cannot know if he has led a happy life until his life is nearly finished. In the story “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” by Flannery O’ Connor, the question is

Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find” is the story of a family’s vacation tragically ended by The Misfit and his gang. On the way to their vacation spot in Florida, the Grandmother remembers a plantation in Georgia she used to visit when she was a young lady and desperately wants to see it. She tells her son, Bailey, what road it is on and everyone is excited to see it. After a while, the grandmother realizes that she was wrong about where the plantation was and becomes so upset at herself that she knocks things over in the car which causes a car accident. A passing car stops to help the family but the Grandmother realizes that one of the men is a murderer, nicknamed, The Misfit. While one of

Since the beginning of mankind there is been an unsolved issue of good verses evil. We see this controversial issue in everyday life, Such as Television, Newspaper, etc. " It is not difficult to label the agent of evil in Flannery O' Connor's signature story, "A Good Man is Hard To Find", says John, Desmond. The family is described as a typical modern family, which has all type of problems. Agreeing with each other is one of the biggest problems the family faces. The story starts of where Grandma is in disagreement with her son about where they should plane there next family trip to. After much discussion they decided on going to Florida. The story makes a twist when their car gets into an accident and they have an encounter with Misfit,

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.

In the O'Connor story, "A Good Man Is Hard to Find," Southern Gothic literature is portrayed. Southern Gothic literature paints a picture of what life was like in the "Old South" and also includes bizarre turns of events and outlandish characters. The grandmother, is the protagonist, and the main character of O'Connor's story, about a family that travel on a vacation together and lose their lives by "The Misfit," a random man on the side of the road. The grandmother, who remains unnamed for the duration of the story, demonstrates a "her way or the highway" type of personality. The family is going on vacation to Florida, but she has relatives she wants to visit in Tennessee. So, instead of just asking her son, Bailey, if they could go to Tennessee instead, she cleverly attempts to trick him 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" (O'Connor). She then, continues her devious plot, by referring to the safety of Bailey's children, when she states, "I wouldn't take my children in any direction with a criminal like that aloose in it. I couldn't answer to my conscience if I did" (O'Connor). That didn't go as planned, so she tries again, implying that it has nothing to do with her, but the kids have already been to Florida. Throughout the story, Bailey's mother continues the same type of tactics to get her way. For example, she mentions that, at the old house in Tennessee, "There was a secret panel in this house," she said craftily, not telling the truth but wishing that she were, "and the story went that all the family silver was hidden in it when Sherman came through but it was never found . . ." (O'Connor).

The grandmother from a Good Man is Hard to Find handles a revelation in her own way. The grandmother happens to be very judgmental throughout the story of people that are in a lower class than her and African Americans. Toward the end of the story she is trapped on the side of the road with her family after they have just experienced a car accident and the misfit along with his crew pulls over to help them. The grandmother eventually realizes who he is. When she realizes that she has nothing left to live for, she connects with another human being and considers the misfit as an equal. She does this by saying to the misfit, “Why you’re one of my babies. You’re one of my own children!” (377). The grandmother finally

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

The line that summarizes the grandmother in the story “ A Good Man is Hard to Find” is “ she would have been a good woman if someone was there to shoot her all her life.”The grandmother is a typical human being. In many aspects she is selfish. She wants her way and is willing to do anything to get it. For example, once she knows that she is unable to convince her grandson to visit the house which she describes in the story, she shifts her attention to the grandchildren.

A Good Man Is Hard to Find is a story about an extremely unideal family going on a family trip to Florida. The story begins with the grandmother trying to convince her son to change their trips destination due to a criminal on the loose, not wanting to risk the possibility of running into him. Throughout the story there is a lot of foreshadowing seen, whether it be the grandmothers concern of running into the felon, the mentioning of Tennessee multiple times, and even the seemingly innocent cat being brought with them.

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.

“A Good Man is Hard to Find” tells a twisted story of a typical family going about a road trip embedded with ethical pit stops along the way. The story revolves around a cynical grandmother and how her unconventional attitude and habits set the stage for an interesting turn of events. Through manipulative antics, a prejudice character and an ironic story line, author Flannery O’Conner creates a captivating tale that shines a lights on readers’ own moral codes. The author does this by making an example of a woman completely unaware of her own immoral acts.

This is the most debated part of the story. The men get out and the Grandmother realizes that one of the men is the Misfit. One of the men takes the men from the family into the words to kill them. I have heard many of my classmates say that the grandmother shows no emotion in the killings of her family, but I disagree with these key statements made as they are taken away “Bailey boy!” the grandmother called in a desperate voice” or the instance where she tries to humanize him as stated “I know you’re a good man,” she said desperately.”

A Good Man Is Hard to Find is a narrative that has an entertaining tone, at least until the climax. The story about a vacation trip of a grandmother and his family - one son, three grandchildren, and one sister-in-law. The religion, in general, is a strong element present in the story, also violence reaches its moments. There is a twist in it, and the story ends up extremely violent with the tragic death of the family.

Flannery O'Connor's "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" has been critiqued over the past sixty years since its first release in 1953. It is the story of a manipulative, unnamed grandmother whose personality led to the demise of her entire family on their vacation to Florida. She endeavored manipulated her family to vacation in Tennessee, and attempted to manipulate The Misfit into not hurting or killing her, in which, she failed both. The grandmother's form of manipulation is persuasion.

Looking at “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, the reader is introduced to a family very early on in the story. With a particular character standing out, the grandmother. Her