Explication of Theme in Flannery O'Connor's A Good Man is Hard to Find

Two more pertinent points are made by the author, in regards to the grandmother, follow in quick succession; both allude to further yet-to-be seen gloom within the story. O’Connor writes of the grandmother “[s]he didn’t intend for the cat to be left alone in the house for three days because he would miss her too much and she was afraid he might brush against one of the gas burners and accidentally asphyxiate himself” (1043) and of the way she is dressed “[i]n case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady” (1043). These two observations are innocent enough on the surface but provide true intent on the foreshadowing that O’Connor uses throughout the story. It is these two devices, irony and foreshadowing, that I feel are prominent and important aspects of the story and are evidenced in my quest to decipher this story.

In" A Good Man is Hard to Find" there are a variety of themes. The themes in this short story are: the grace of the grandmother and The Misfit, the vague definition of a “good man”, and the class of the grandmother. All of these themes are apparent to any reader, but it does not quite seem to match O’Connor’s depth style way of writing. The two characters, the Grandmother and the Misfit change from beginning to end. Even though they are both different as night and day, they both have principles and stand by their principles no matter what the circumstance.

O’Connor also explains how the Grandmother dressed for the trip; she wore a navy dress, white gloves, and a formal hat. The reading states “In case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady.”(O’Connor 496). Not only is this foreshadowing, but the grandmother’s outfit can also be seen as a symbol of her skewed moral code and selfishness. When the grandmother carefully chose the outfit for this trip, she was solely concerned with how she would appear in the event that she died on her trip. She was not at all disturbed by the fact that, in the event that there was an accident, her son and grandchildren would die as well.

For example, the first time death is symbolized in this story is when the family passes a graveyard. “They passed a large cotton field with five or six graves fenced in the middle of it, like a small island. ‘Look at the graveyard!’ the grandmother said, pointing it out. ‘That was the old FAMILY burying grounds.’” (99). O’Connor purposely mentions the specific number of graves, one grave for each person in the car. She also mentions that it was a “family” burying ground. This symbolism foreshadows that the family will soon face death. When the family is driving through the town, the grandmother remembers the old plantation is called “Toombsboro”. This plantation’s name is brought up to remind the reader of death. Toombsboro sounds like the tomb, symbolizing the family will soon face their tombs. Another description that is given to symbolize the deaths is that of the Misfits car. “It was a big black battered hearse-like automobile” (103). A hearse is a vehicle designed to carry coffins for funerals. This description also foreshadows the death of the family before the Misfit arrives. Lastly, the “woods, tall and dark and deep” (105) represent the family’s death. The woods symbolize the unknown and fear we have for death, which is considered dark and deep. The Grandmother stood in front of the woods reminding us that death is always near and behind us. Just like the woods, death can be a scary thing

Foreshadowing is a vital ingredient to any suspenseful story. It hints at the idea that something is off-kilter, without ever revealing exactly what that something is. This leaves readers with an uneasy feeling about the plot, but they can’t quite figure out why. Because of that suspicious feeling, readers are left with a burning desire to find out what happens on the next page. Foreshadowing can be achieved many different ways, such as through eree names, unpleasant conversations, and odd occurrences.

In the short story A Good Man Is Hard to Find, written by Flannery O’Connor, the theme that the definition of a ‘good man’ is mysterious and flawed is apparent. The reader must realize that it is difficult to universalize the definition of a good man because every person goes through different experiences. Thus, these experiences affect his or her viewpoint and in turn flaw ones view on a good man. O’Connor conveys this theme through her excellent use of diction, imagery, foreshadowing, and symbolism as well as through a creative use of repetition and an omniscient point of view.

These are elements of random foreshadowing that helped the reader understand why the grandmother believed so strongly that a good man is hard to find. This would be a prelude to the horrific events that would later unfold when the grandmother encounters the misfit who by all intense purposes was not believed to be a good man.

Foreshadowing is another main element. One example appears when the grandmother is talking to Bailey stating that she would not take her kids anywhere that there is such a deranged killer on the loose (O 'Connor 276). Later as the grandmother is talking to John Wesley, she asks what he would do if he ever did run into the Misfit. He replies, ‘I’d smack his face” (O’Connor 277). As the family is riding, they see a large cotton field with five or six graves fenced in the middle of it “like a small island” (O’Connor 278). This simile represents a sense of foretold death.

In today’s society, several individuals have come across a point where they were on the verge of the death. Murder is constantly being thrown across headlines, news reports, and social media throughout America. It has become a disastrous factor throughout many individual’ lives. Viewing families suffer from their lost loved ones, as well as the murder of innocent lives have been tremendously relevant in today’s society. What many individuals fail to understand, is what actually happens during their last seconds on earth. Throughout the short story, “A Good Man Is Hard To Find,” O’Connor uses a Grandmother to convey to the readers the actually value of goodness an individual tends to gain when confronted with death. Just as revealed in the short story, violence frequently triggers an individual’s actions when presented with death. In “A Good Man Is Hard To Find,” Flannery O’Connor uses theme, conflict, and religion in order to portray the false acts of goodness projected by the grandmother.

     You can also tell a lot about the old woman by what she is wearing. In the car, she wears white gloves, a sailor hat, and a navy blue dress. She states that the prominent clothes are worn so that if anything happens, the people that find her body will know that she was a lady (Page 427). I think she wore this outfit so that she could think she was something she was not. It is clearly seen that in her youth, she lived in prosperity. She had everything from youthfulness to money and to love. Now, she almost dreaded life because her beauty and youthfulness were gone. She would talk about her past because it would take her away from the misery of the present.

The concept of being a “good” person has painted the picture of how people have handled their lives throughout history. On the same note, this concept has also been the subject of much debate; such is the case in Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find”. The protagonist, the unnamed grandmother struggles to find the “good” in others and herself. O’Conner uses foreshadowing, characterization, and a distinct point of view to make her point. In my interpretation, her point is that only through conflict and turmoil can good truly be found.

The world is a massive place full of endless literature, beginning from ancient scrolls to daily news articles, filled with many secrets, perspectives and surroundings that help connect literature to an individual’s daily life. Some writers use the skills of literary elements to express and discuss an event that has happened to them or what has happened to others. This helps others to comprehend the perspectives of the author’s understanding toward an incident that one might experience. For instance in Flannery O’Connor’s short story, she uses many literary elements to express her views over most of her stories. O’Connor expresses her views in her short story, “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by using the literary elements of point of view, irony, and setting.

The story “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, by Flannery O’Connor, is about nuclear family in the 50’s who decided to go to East Tennessee for vacation instead of Florida. The grandmother said that the way Tennessee opposes the Misfit, a criminal who escaped from jail, was one of the main reasons for her choice. On the way, the grandmother suggests going to an old mansion she once visited by deceiving the kids to force Bailey to seek out the place but the grandmother made a mistake with the location. Embarrassed, the grandmother jerks her feet and Pitty Sing, the cat, escapes the basket and surprises Bailey, who wrecks the car. Later, the family meets the Misfit and his partners and the Misfit kills them all after the

During the family trip in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” to Georgia, the grandmother attempts to exude a lady-like facade. The grandmother wears “white cotton gloves...a navy blue straw sailor hat with a bunch of white violets … a

A strong foreshadowing imagery can be read into these lines. Knowing the definite ending of the story, the grandmother?s elaborate dress symbolizes a preparation for her coffin. When a person dies, they usually are dressed in their best outfit, just like the grandmother was dressed in what seemed to be her Sunday best. A stronger foreshadowing is when O?Connor states the reason for the grandmother?s immaculate dress, "in case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady." She herself predicts her own death. Unfortunately, she doesn?t know this yet. Although this is beyond the parameters of this essay, it is interesting that in the grandmother's mind wearing her best clothes prevent any misgivings about her status as a lady IF she was to die. But as the Misfit later points out, "there never was a body that gave the undertaker a tip." The grandmother's perceived readiness for death is a stark contrast to her behavior when she encounters the Misfit; for she shows herself to be the least prepared for death.