Vacationing with Grandma
In the short story "A Good Man Is Hard To Find" by Flannery O'Connor we are taking a road trip with a family going on vacation. The main character that we are going to explore is an old southern woman that lives with her son Bailey, his wife, their 8 year old son John Wesley and daughter June Star is Grandma. Wanting to get her way, we see her try to convince the adults why they should go to Tennessee instead of Florida for vacation. Grandmas interpretation of decency is more to do with one siding with her than it does with actual goodness. Some ways we see this is her interactions with the other charcters.
The family, discussing their vacation one day, when Grandma blurted out that she wants to go to
…show more content…
"Let's go through Georgia fast so we won't have to look at it much," John Wesley said. (Page #) Talking about Tennessee and how he thinks its a hillbilly place he goes on to say that he doesn't like Georgia much either. Grandma got very upset with John Wesley for talking about his home town and being disrespectful. "If I were a little boy," said the grandmother, "I wouldn't talk about my native state that way. "Children were more respectful of their native states and their parents and everything else." (Page #) As upset as Grandma she turned away and started to look out the window. She than spotted a little black boy standing out front of his home; "Oh look at the cute little pickaninny!" she said and pointed to a Negro child standing in the door of a shack. "Wouldn't that make a picture, now?" (Page #) The little girl looking surprised said look, he doesn't have any pants on. He probably does not have any Grandma added.
Still driving they soon pass a cotton field. Grandma sitting in the backseat between John Wesley and June Star, starts to tell them about the people who owned the plantation and that their bodies are buried in the middle of the field. She than starts to tell some jokes and June Star was not very fond of them. A little later after a couple of cat naps, Grandma says that she wants to tell the family some stories. The children don't
The story continues to have comical parts as the family continues traveling to Florida until the grandmother remembers of a time when she was young and decides she wants to visit an old home. She tells the children about a house and even lies to them and says that there are "secret panels" (324). They become very excited and Bailey decides to let them go see it and on the way there is when the tone and story line changes.
In addition to the grandmother being viewed as a traditional Southern lady, the grandmother also views good through her faith. In the article, “An Overview ‘A Good Man is Hard to Find’”. Author Elisabeth Piedmont-Marton states, “ an individual may not earn opportunities for grace by good works, but he or she may turn away from grace when it’s offered.” Basically, Piedmont-Marton is warning the audience that the Misfit had an opportunity of grace, when the grandmother touches his cheek, but turns the offer down, which to the grandmother is not how she views what a good man is to be. Another example from the same article, Elisabeth Piedmont- Marton writes, “ She also cautions the readers that they ‘Should be on the lookout for such things as
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 grandmother hid her cat in a basket, which she puts in the car with her on the day of the trip. The grandmother wears a floral hat and dress, because if she were to get into a car accident people would know she is “a lady”. The two kids June Star and John Wesley clearly dislike their grandmother, it is very clear because they often make remarks to suggest this. The family makes their way through Georgia and they Grandma reminisces about an old suitor she had back in the day when the family passes
The way the grandmother sneaks the cat into the car and lies about the secret panel brings irony to her beliefs of what it is to be a lady. Her views on the “old south” is established when she calls an African American boy a “cute little pickaninny.” June Star’s remark upon the boy not having britches on leads on to the grandmother’s remark on how he might not be able to afford shows her lack of sympathy towards the less fortunate. This also makes the reader wonder why she even says such a thing in the first place. Instead of reaching out to lend a hand the grandmother ends her statement by simply saying that she would like to “paint a picture” of the scene.
From the time they all got in the car to the time they got out, all the grandmother did was talk. She was trying to talk her way to Tennessee and she talked her way into them detouring to go see some house that the grandmother
“A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” by Flannery O’ Connor, is about a family going on a trip from Georgia to Florida. The grandmother, who is old-fashion in her beliefs, tells her grandchildren stories on the road trip; one story leads them down a dirt road to find a house on an old plantation, which produces an unpleasant outcome. The author uses the grandmother’s voice and language to give an old southern appeal to the story, which causes the impression that those who live like her are considered more acceptable.
In the Flannery O'Connor story “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” the author introduces us the grandmother’s characteristics in the beginning. The grandmother thinks she is superior to everyone else because she is a “lady." She judges others and criticized Bailey wife because she believes the mother doesn't take the children somewhere abroad. She is dishonest, dissimulation, and selfish. The Misfit appears at the end of the story. He is showing that he doesn't care about anything or believes in Christ or religious matter. The grandmother tries to influence him that he can be a good person. The grandmother is a contributing factor that tries to show the Misfit that he can be a good man. The grandmother was in fault of being selfish. The moral
With the road trip resumed, grandmother thinks she has visited a plantation in the area. A successful effort to visit the plantation has its best chance by enticing the children’s interest in the plantation. Continued conversation suggests the presence of a secret panel, a ploy surely to arouse curiosity from the children.
“A Good Man is Hard to Find,” written by Flannery O’Connor tells the story of a dysfunctional family headed to vacation and their inevitable death. The family, including their matriarch, the grandmother, represents the delusion perfection that many modern Christians have. The family displays an extreme sense of vanity, self-centeredness, and disobedience during the first half of the story. The first half of the story does not follow a specific pattern nor does it hold significance to the family’s lives. O’Connor uses the first half of the story to show her audience that the family is heading down a path of destruction due to their narcissism and current lifestyle. In the second half of the story, O’Connor quickly introduces the
After riding along a little further, the family is involved in a car accident. The main reason that the family is involved in the car accident is due to the grandmother. The grandmother remembers a mansion that she visits as a young girl. She is eager to go, because she wants the children to see how she grew up. This further states how the grandmother social class, because she lived in a mansion. During the time of the grandmother’s life, only plantation owners and their family lived in mansions. This also stressed the social class of the grandmother, because you can tell from this that the
After reading “A Good Man Is Hard To Find“ the irony of the story is very clear. The first sentence in this short story is “The grandmother didn’t want to go to Florida.” In fact, the grandmother goes on to try to persuade her son Bailey and is wife not to take their trip to Florida but Tennessee instead. The grandmother informs her family about the fellow, the misfit, and all the horrible things he says he has done to people. “Just you read it I wouldn’t take my children in any direction with a criminal like that a loose in it. I couldn’t answer to my conscience if I did.” Ironically, that is exactly what she does when she convinces her son Bailey to take the family down a deserted road to see a house with secret panels. The grandma’s sudden recollection
The children and the ways of the grandmother symbolized the division between the generations in the story. The children, June Star and John Wesley, represent a new generation of unruly and disrespectful people. On the other hand, the grandmother represents the strong, southern heritage and stubborn godly beliefs. The two conflict when they discuss going to Tennessee rather than go to Florida, which is what the grandmother wants to do. June Star, who can read the grandmother like a book, remarks after John Wesley told his grandmother to stay at home if she did not want to go to Florida, "She wouldn't stay at home for a million bucks. Afraid she'd miss something. She has to go everywhere we go." This is a prime example of the loss of respect the children had for the grandmother. The grandmother does nothing but reply, "Alright, Miss." The generation gap creates a stir, but the outcome of the two coinciding might be positive.
The family stops at a restaurant to get a bite to eat, and we find out that the two parents, Bailey and his wife, do not really care for the Grandmother. The Grandmother asks Bailey to dance, but he just declines and ignores her. Bailey’s wife does not seem to care either. They then continue on the road, and the Grandmother begins to tell the story of a house that she really enjoyed passing. She really wanted to go there, so she persuaded the children to want to go as well. After a long time of complaining, they finally convince their father to head back toward this house. They go down this road when all
Spending quality time with family is one of my favorite childhood memories, whether it was spending time outdoors, playing ping pong, or watching a movie. My most meaningful family memory came from our vacation to Colorado back in 2004; yes, 2004. Although I don’t remember all of the events that transpired, I’m able to recall most of the memorable events that took place. It was a cool, misty morning in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, and I could distinctly hear the unmistakable elk calls that echoed through the mountains. The breeze gently scraped my face as I got into the car to begin the first day of our family vacation in Colorado. I could hear the car tires gently humming on the road during this cool, foggy, Colorado morning. As I looked past the lanky pine trees, glistening drops of dew formed on the tall grass, dancing with the wind. As we moved further down the road, I could see the tip of the sun barely begin to peek over the steep, snowy mountain peaks; however, the sun was soon covered by the misty Colorado clouds. This was it: our family vacation!