The short story, “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, written by Flannery O’Connor, depicts the cold-hearted murder of a family by a group of escaped convicts led by an infamous killer, The Misfit. O’Connor leaves the readers waiting for good to overcome evil, but never lets them have their envisioned ending which gives this story its intriguing draw. Flannery O’Connor uses literary techniques such as conflicts, foreshadowing, imagery, simile, and irony to create unusual characters and a twisted plot. In “A Good Man is Hard to Find” there are a few characters who are in constant conflict. The grandmother, as all other grandmothers, can run a person’s ear into the ground with her eccentric views and aimless ramblings. She is never direct and spins her conversations into long detailed stories. Her inability to stop talking is what ends up getting her killed (959). Every so often there is peace and quiet, but not that often. Bailey her son often shows discontent for his mother. She apparently gets on his nerves, but there is probably still love for her although the story never quite expresses it. The children wonder why the grandmother came along, but they know she would not have stayed at the house even if she could have been “‘queen for a day’” (948). The grandmother’s clothing makes her stand out as a prominent old lady so much that if she were to be found dead on the side of the road, people would at once recognize that she is a lady (948). The reader can tell the grandmother is
In “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” the Grandmother is the protagonist. She is the focus of the narrative and the character whose reactions we encounter the most. More importantly, the third person narrative focuses strongly on the grandmother’s point of view, which establishes her in the reader’s mind much more than any other character. Nevertheless, the grandmother views herself as a rather dignified and traditional woman who appears to judge everyone, but manages to constantly overlook her own flaws. This appears various times such as when she conveys her ideas about the upcoming vacation and June Star states “She has to go everywhere we go” (O’Connor 567), in which merely displays the Grandmother as unwanted by the family. This can be compared to that of the Misfit in the story who also appears to be unwanted by his family. Despite this, the Grandmother continuously positions herself in the family’s everyday activities while imposing her judgment every chance she gets. Moreover, she is censorious of her son and daughter in law for not allowing their children to “see different parts of the world and be broad” (O’Connor 567). She is also critical of her grandchildren for not being like children “In my time” (O’Connor 569) who “were more respectful” (O’Connor 569). By doing this, O’Connor presents a strong characterization of the woman and her virtually unbreakable mindset. However, this story reflects on how through any conflict you can find the good in others, but sometimes it is too late for them to realize their own mistakes. Eventually, the Grandmother confronts evil in the form of The Misfit and seems to show a completely different side of
The grandmother, the main character of the story, is manipulative. Her definition of a ‘good man’ refers to the characteristics that a ‘good man’ should possess.
Flannery O’Connor shows her readers a realistic look at their own mortality in “A Good Man is Hard to Find.” The story is about a family of five, a father, mother, grandmother, and two children, starting out on a vacation to Florida from Georgia. The family, on their way to a routine vacation, takes a detour that will change their lives forever. Through the use of literary elements like symbolism and characterization, O’Connor creates a theme of good vs. evil, which can be felt throughout the story by tapping into the audience’s emotions.
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
O’ Connor’s “A good man is hard to find” is a short story about a grandmother who causes her family to get into a car accident and end up in a deadly predicament with, The Misfit, who had escaped from the federal pen. The characters are clear, with both motivation and credibility. O’Connor’s use of third person is brilliant, even though there’s one weakness with the point of view. The theme is enlightening; changing from evil to good. Not only is this short story enlightening, but it is also entertaining and keeps the attention of the reader throughout the entire story.
“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.
In the story, A Good Man is Hard to Find, the grandmother is the main protagonist in the story. She claims to be a “good lady” who supposedly has the impression she can judge other’s moral codes. She manipulates the people she supposedly loves and because of this, she is instrumental in their demise. The grandmother’s name is never mention, and I believe the author did this purposely to show that the character was erratic and perplexing. This story is not light heartened by and means. The story ends tragically and my opinion has a quite morbid outcome. I was shocked by the ending, I felt the deaths of the parents and children to be heartbreaking. The grandmother’s assumption that she can save her own life by implying that the Misfit character was a good man is outrageous. Her only sense of morals she has are the ones that aligned with the rules she has made up in her own mind. The theme of this story is
“A Good Man Is Hard to Find” is a short story written by Flannery O’Connor and published in 1953 for the first time. Due to its unusual plot, it instantly achieved a great success and a notable popularity among the readers of different age. However, the most distinctive feature of this story is its characters, who seem to be bright, extraordinary, intriguing, and captivating, and the grandmother is probably the brightest and the most controversial person in this text because she is the key reason for every bad thing to happen.
The hardest thing to do in any type of short story is development, or, more specifically, theme development. Developing a good theme in a good short story is hard to do because it has to be short. However, O’Connor does a great job with developing similar themes in both “A Good Man is Hard to Find” and “Revelation”. The way O’Connor does this in both stories is by having a character that can sort of symbolize that theme for us. It’s way easier to develop a character than a theme, but if you have a character represent that theme, then it becomes a lot easier to not only write, but it is also easier for the readers to identify.
Within the text written by Flannery O’Connor, a family finds themselves on a vacation heading south from Atlanta to Florida with intentions of a family vacation. The grandmother, who is found to be predominant in the text shows concern as she reads an article of a man on the loose known as the “Misfit”. Throughout the text, readers find that the families vacation that they intended on soon becomes one that they want to escape. Illustrated throughout this text are many forms of literary structure and aspects of heroism.
Pride is the topic expressed in both “A Good Man is Hard to Find “by Flannery O’Connor and “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant. The grandmother in “A Good Man is Hard to Find” and Mrs. Loisel in “The Necklace” are the main characters. They would not admit to themselves that they made a mistake and affected those loved ones in their life. Instead of admitting they have been wrong their pride caused both different consequences; however, their lives were ruined because of pride.
O’Conner’s short story ‘A Good Man is Hard to Find’ challenges the themes of life for many individuals, and begs the question that leaves the reader wondering: ‘What would I do and how would I act if I were to be held at gunpoint?’ The story leaves the individual to psychoanalyze themselves and their actions in their everyday life, leaving them with a feeling of unease. This story exemplifies that death is always there, looming over everyone, and life is very short, begging the reader to question if they are living the life they would want to have been living if they were to die. The themes of the story; right verses wrong, and moral standings; are all brought up in an unconventional way, with the Misfit having no sense of neither moral standings, nor right or wrong. This story brings up hard questions many readers scarcely think about, and it does it in the most chilling way possible.
In “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” Flannery O’Connor subverts the grandmother's definition of “good” to show the reader that her perception of herself as a “lady” merely leads to stubbornness and arrogance. The grandmother’s eagerness to show her superiority through her appearances and past adventures eventually leads to the Misfit murdering her and her family. Automatically, the reader assumes that the Misfit is the main antagonist, causing many disturbances throughout the story. Even though he has committed multiple crimes, he is the one still alive at the end, challenging the idea that good things only happen to good people. Towards the end, the grandmother has an epiphany that makes her realize she is not that better than the people she has looked down upon her whole life. In this text, O’Connor dismantles the superficial characteristics of what “good” men or women are actually like.
As people grow they begin to believe that they understand more about how the world works. These individuals begin to criticize others because the way they were raised was just better. There are people that live in the past and believe that their generation was a better time. The world is a place full of judgment and sometimes these judgmental people view others as the bad man. They even question themselves if there are any good men left in this universe. In “A Good Man is Hard to Find” the audience is introduced to a grandmother in which one can see she is a bit judgmental. The readers can only view this story through the eyes of the grandmother and her thoughts. Flannery O’Connor makes use of a judgmental grandmother to demonstrate the darkness of human nature.
Flannery O'Connor in “A Good Man Is Hard To Find” uses characterization to develop her theme; there is no such thing as a good man. She reinforces this idea throughout the story by using characterization, repetition, and foreshadowing to convey an overall feeling of moral corruption. What classifies an act as evil? Is murder the most unforgiving deed? Religion plays a key role in understanding the degrees of sin as well as the human beings who commit them. Grandmother and Misfit are the two characters that are each on the opposite spectrum of sin.