A Good Man Is Hard To Find Short Summary

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

At the end of the story, the grandmother only pleads for her life and never for her son Bailey or his family. “You wouldn’t shoot a lady, would you?” (O’Connor 192).The mother never showed no remorse of her son’s death even after the other two men came back with Bailey’s shirt and then took his wife and daughter. She never pleaded for the men to stop and spare their lives. The daughter June Starr selfish characters are observed when she believes her way of living is right by stating to Red Sammy’s wife “I wouldn’t live in a broken-down place like this for a million bucks! (O’Connor 189). For a very young girl she carried an arrogant attitude that was never fixed by her parents.

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 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 the beginning of the story the grandmother disagrees with her son Bayley on going to Florida, she preferred on visit some friends. The grandmother shows him an article in the newspaper trying to convince him to change is mind so she say’s “Here this fellow that calls himself The Misfet is aloose from the Federal Pen and headed toward Florida and you read here what is says he did to these people” (O’Conner352). The grandmother is unable to convince Bailey so on the next day she dresses nicely with, “a navy blue straw sailor hat with a bunch of white violets on the brim and a navy blue dress with a small white dot in the print. Her collar and cuffs were white

Bailey, the son of the character known as the Grandmother, decides to go to Florida anyway. Along their way to Florida with Bailey’s wife, the baby, and the two disobedient children; June Starr and John Wesley, the Grandmother is characterized as a senile, racist woman of bad judgment. This can be seen when along the ride she sees an African-American young boy and states, “Oh look at the cute little pickaninny!...Little niggers in the country don’t have things like we do. “ (O’Connor 12). The climax of the story occurs as the family leaves Red Sammy’s Famous Barbecue and gets in a car accident with the Misfit himself. It is then safe to say that the assumption of the senile Grandmother is accurate due to the thought that runs through her mind, “A horrible thought came to her…the house that she had remembered so vividly was not in Georgia, but Tennessee,” (19). The Grandmother’s forgetfulness is in turn the direct cause of the accident and run-in with the Misfit.

A family has decided to go to Florida for vacation but, the grandmother tries to convince her son to go Tennessee instead. Afterwards, she shows him that an article saying that a convicted felon called The Misfit has escaped and moving towards Florida. The grandmother never-the-less comes along and hides her cat with her. During their trip, the grandmother wakes up from a nap and says a plantation she has visited once is close. She convinces her son to go there and shows him the way. After driving into the woods, she then realizes that the house she visited was in Tennessee, not in Georgia. Startled by her mistake, her cat jumps and scares Bailey who then crashes the car. A car that happened to be passing by, stops and three men, with guns

Bailey is the grandmother's son. He does not listen to Bailey about the Misfit and Makes hasty decisions because of whining and griping. He was a driver for the family vacation or trip. In his mind, he's in charge, and he cannot let you forget it. I understand that he was highly addicted by drugs and cannot control himself, much less his family. He tries to keep the appearance of being in control but really isn't. Although it is his idea to go to Florida, it is unclear why he wants to go on a vacation at all. When the family has its unfortunate experience with the Bailey loses it. Even before he knows who Misfit is, the accident itself has already shows the effect of strain in his nerves. Bailey is the grandmother's

Being raised in a Roman Catholic household, Flannery O’Connor usually writes stories involving religious themes or ideals. Her short story, “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” is based around the concept of “Original Sin;” that humans are born sinners due to the fall of Adam. With original sin being the theme of the story, O’Conner suggests that individuals use religion in their times of need for selfish reasons, much like how modern people do today. Mark T. Mitchell’s 2005 article in Perspective of Political Science, “The Melancholy Tyrant,” agrees with this idea of self regard.

“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.

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

And that is one of the point O’Connor talks about subliminally. In the passage “Bailey Boy! The grandmother called in tragic voice but found she was looking at The Misfit squatting on the ground in front of her. I just know you’re a good man, she said desperately. You’re not a bit common!”

Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find’ tells of a seemingly normal family with a bit of dysfunction. Throughout this tale, the author fabricates a number of characters, some inconsiderable, others full of depth and history that present themselves wildly open to interpretation. Looking into O’Connor’s past, it is clear to see her relationship with a number of these fictional minds and pull from these the meaning behind her hidden pain and anguish. We are therefore presented with a mother and sons family who are prisoners in a manipulative, destructive relationship.

With his violent killing, the Misfit seems an unlikely source to look to for guidance, but he demonstrates a deep conviction that the other characters lack. Unlike the grandmother, who simply assumes that she is morally superior to everyone else, the Misfit seriously questions the meaning of life and his role in it. He has carefully considered his actions in life and examined his experiences to find lessons within them. He has even renamed himself because of one of these lessons, believing that his punishment didn’t fit the crime. He reveals a self-awareness that the grandmother lacked and questions it. He knows he is not a great man, but he also knows that there are others worse than him. He forms rudimentary philosophies, such as “no pleasure but meanness” and “the crime don’t matter.” The Misfit’s philosophies may be morally corrupt, but they are consistent. Unlike the grandmother, whose moral code falls apart the moment it’s challenged, the Misfit has a steady view of life and acts according to what he believes is right. His beliefs and actions

O’Connor uses the setting of the story to illustrate the theme of good versus evil. Upon meeting the Misfit he mentioned that he “‘[doesn’t] see no sun [or clouds],’”and the grandmother responds by stating “‘it’s a