A Good Man Is Hard To Find: A Literary Analysis

A story, of any type, is greatly affected by the characters’ outlook on life. A bright, hopeful main character will give the narrative a more lighthearted feel, and cause the reader to feel encouraged and satisfied. If the character has a negative perspective, however, it can elicit sadness, pity, or even irritation from the reader. In Voltaire’s Candide and Tolstoy’s Death of Ivan Ilyich, two characters with very different worldviews are displayed. The lighthearted Candide maintained an attitude of cheerfulness and perseverance even through the hardships of his life, which stems from his deep love and care for others, while the coldhearted despair of Ivan Ilyich is only intensified into anger by the feigned optimism of those around him.

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

This paper will present a rhetorical context for the use of violence in the short story, "A Good Man Is Hard to Find," as she presented in her essay "The Element of Suspense." The form of classical tragedy in this story will also be analyzed from the critical theories of Aristotle and Longinus. Tolstoy will be used to examine the use Christian symbolism. Nietzsche will provide a more well-rounded universal conclusion to the uses of tragedy and spiritual elements in this classic story.

In the story “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor starts out by giving a look at a dysfunctional family on a vacation, but ultimately, gives insight into ourselves as well as the nature of good and evil, how they can clash, and how they can co-exist, even in the same person. The setting, which plays a critical role in this short story because the grandmother shows her selfish wants and views on people and society and believes that things were much better in her early years. As the story unfolds the setting provides insights to the where the dysfunctional family will eventually meet their doom, which is

This paper will present a rhetorical context for the use of violence in the short story, “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” as she presented in her essay “The Element of Suspense.” The form of classical tragedy in this story will also be analyzed from the critical theories of Aristotle and Longinus. Tolstoy will be used to examine the use Christian symbolism. Nietzsche will provide a more well-rounded universal conclusion to the uses of tragedy and spiritual elements in this classic story.

Even though Ivan is judge for seeming different from others I can relate to him. Like one of the many things I enjoy Ivan loved to read and that passion for it comes in handy when he’s training to be a scholar. As a child, Ivan loved to run around because he wanted to be a runner when he grew up, and of course people found his running a waste of time. Like Ivan I did things as a child that had to pertain to what I want to be, and it did catch the attention of the people around me who found it annoying. In the book Ivan shows how much he cares for Katerina even though he wasn’t that into the fact that he was forced to marry her. I find it so fascinating how he becomes so protective over someone he wasn’t very fond of. I can relate to Ivan because I too feel like I’m left out of things or I don’t fit in. However the fact that Ivan was able to do save his princess and defeat the evil witch, shows how you can be an outcast but still do amazing

At the beginning of A Good Man is Hard to Find we meet The grandmother and her family. The family is taking a trip to Florida but The grandmother wants the family to go to east Tennessee. She lived with her son, Bailey, who was her only child. As the two were sitting in their home, The grandmother is reading an article about ?The Misfit? and how he escaped from the Federal Pen and was heading to Florida. The grandmother continues to tell everyone in the family that she does not want to go to Florida, because The Misfit is going there. The next day the family gets in the car and The grandmother is the first one to get in the car. The woman snuck her cat, Pitty Sing, in the

The ironic part of this novel is that, Ivan Ilych dies from the love and effort he put in to making sure that his family would have a comfortable home to live in, and that his company (friends) would enjoy being entertained at his home as well. The fact, that his family and friends show no love or moral support to him during his dying days. Makes him feel like everything he’s done and worked so hard for in his life means nothing.

Ivan felt isolated as he neared death. Most people who knew Ivan acknowledged his illness but not the fact that he was dying which aggravated him, “What tormented Ivan Ilych most was the deception, the lie, which for some reason they all accepted, that he was not dying but was simply ill” (40). Ivan felt deceived by everyone else because no one accepted that his days were limited. Ivan felt secluded since many people ignored the gravity of his condition and did not pay much attention to him.

Manipulation is a major theme in the story “A Good Man is Hard to Find”. In the story, the grandmother

Immanuel Kant’s moral philosophy radiates throughout Leo Tolstoy’s short story “The Death of Ivan Ilyich.” The story begins with the death of Ivan Ilyich. Rather than morning his death, Ivan’s friends and family look for ways that they can benefit from his death. The narrative proceeds to portray the life of Ivan Ilyich leading up to his death. From a young age, Ivan displayed rather ordinary characteristics. He followed basic norms in an effort to attain a good job and uphold a family. He cozied himself next to people in high positions of power in order to advance his career. Ivan eventually married, not because he loved his wife, but because that is what other people expected of him. The feeling of indifference between him and his wife was eventually mutual. Later, Ivan is struck by a mortal illness. Ivan becomes swallowed by depression and isolation. He recognizes that the people around him are reaping rather than weeping over his death, and that the latter is masked by the former. Eventually, Ivan realizes that his life would have been more fruitful if he had had genuine relationships with other people.

The novella reminded me of my own experiences with death. In the summer of 2014, my family and I struggled with a difficult death in our family. My grandmother, after a long fight with sickness passed away. Like Ivan, she was not ready to leave this life, and I remember sitting with her at her tiny dining room table in her tiny home, just a few months before her passing. A pile of papers was littered on the table, old utility and doctor bills mixed in with newer, unopened envelopes. Her oxygen machine noisily whirled next to the table filtering

In “The Death of Ivan Ilych”, Leo Tolstoy purposely focuses on Gerasim, the assistants Butler, to establish a transformation in Ivan Ilych that makes him realize the true meaning of life. Gerasim is used as an important tool through the events that lead up until Ivan’s death. Through Gerasim, the author conveys the themes of death, family, and propriety by emphasizing the impact that he brings upon Ivan’s life. Gerasim acts as a guide in the shift of Ivan’s perception by helping Ivan change his views and perspective towards death which no other person could have done if Gerasim was removed from the novelette.

Ivan is a true Karamazov, he is violent and lustful just like the other men in his family, but he knows what he is doing is not good. Ivan has a plan that after his thirtieth year he will “tear himself away for the cup” (231.) So there is something stirring in his heart that he doesn’t wish to live his base life forever, but for now, he is content with it. This sets the stage for how troubled Ivan is,

Unfortunately, ivan dies an unhappy man. He still doesn't love his wife and still isolates himself from almost everyone. They didn't find a cure and he was the grumpy old man he always was. This is a life lesson. Do what makes you happy, not others. Be yourself not what society makes of you. Don't act like you’re perfect and the best and be nice, kind, and have courage; it will get you farther in