O ' Connor 's `` A Good Man Is Hard For Find `` And `` Good Country People ``

As I read Flannery O’Connor’s short story “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, I find myself being completely consumed by the rich tale that the author weaves; a tragic and ironic tale that concisely and precisely utilizes irony and foreshadowing with expert skill. As the story progresses, it is readily apparent that the story will end in a tragic and predictable state due to the devices which O’Connor expertly employs and thusly, I find that I cannot stop reading it; the plot grows thicker with every sentence and by doing so, the characters within the story are infinitely real in my mind’s eye. As I consider these factors, the story focuses on two main characters; that of the grandmother, who comes across as self-centered and self-serving and

Flannery O' Connor, a native of Georgia was one of the most prolific writers of the twentieth century. As a strict Catholic, O' Connor often displayed a sense of spiritual corruption within the characters in most of her stories. One of O' Connor's famous stories, "A Good Man Is Hard to Find," reveals the image of spiritual deficiency inherent in the characters which foreshadowed a bloody end.

Southern family preparing to go on what seems to be a typical vacation. The story is humorous at first because the reader is unaware of how the story will end. The tone changes dramatically from amusing to frightening and plays an important part in making the story effective.

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.

Thesis Statement: In Flannery O'Connor's short story, "A Good Man is Hard to Find”, the grandmother's journey from being controlling and selfish to graceful symbolizes a Christian's journey toward salvation.

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.

The grandmother from a Good Man is Hard to Find handles a revelation in her own way. The grandmother happens to be very judgmental throughout the story of people that are in a lower class than her and African Americans. Toward the end of the story she is trapped on the side of the road with her family after they have just experienced a car accident and the misfit along with his crew pulls over to help them. The grandmother eventually realizes who he is. When she realizes that she has nothing left to live for, she connects with another human being and considers the misfit as an equal. She does this by saying to the misfit, “Why you’re one of my babies. You’re one of my own children!” (377). The grandmother finally

Flannery O’Connor’s short stories “A good man is hard to find” and “Revelation” share many similarities. While “A good man is hard to find” is about a family that goes on a vacation that ultimately results in all of their deaths. “Revelation” is about a woman who is very judgmental and looks down on people. In the end both characters have revelations that contrast with who they are and how they portray themselves to the world.

Flannery O’Connor gave a talk about “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” in 1963 at Hollins College, Virginia, which was published as the essay, “The Element of Suspense In ‘A Good Man Is Hard to Find.’” In this

O’Connor first expresses her views in her short story, “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by using the literary element of point of view. Point of view is an important literary element in O’Connor’s short story, because it expresses her views on the grandmother and her “role as grace-bringer” (Bethea 2006). Point of view is expressed in her story by the main character the grandmother, a woman who lives with her son and tries to convince her family to go to Tennessee to avoid the Misfit. Point of view is especially important in this story because it lets the reader know what the grandmother is thinking and her actions that involve the main conflict of the short story. For instance, in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”, the

Brutality, humor, religion, and violence are a few themes portrayed throughout many of Flannery O’Connor’s short stories. In many of her short stories, O’Connor exposes the dark side of human nature and implements violent and brutal elements in order to emphasize her religious viewpoints. In the short stores “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” and “Revelation”, O’Connor explicitly depicts this violence to highlight the presence and action of holy grace that is given to a protagonist who exudes hypocritical qualities.

In Flannery O’Connor’s short story, “A Good Man is Hard to Find” the grandmother and the Misfit become the main focus even though the other characters are involved in the story. Throughout the entire story, The Misfit is portrayed as the symbol of evil because he was in jail; he escaped from jail, and he committed murders. The grandmother believes to be greater than the people that she are around because of the “good” that she portrays. The conventional meaning of good, or possessing or displaying moral virtue, is not the particular good that the grandmother is trying to portray throughout the story. The grandmother believes that good

Mary Flannery O’Connor, the writer of many short stories known for their cruel endings and religious themes, wrote “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” in 1955. “Her works combine flat realism with grotesque situations; violence occurs without apparent reason or preparation.” (Roberts 429). “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” is about a southern family’s trip to Florida which takes a dramatic turn. This story was written in O’Connor’s first collection of short stories. “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” is a compelling story of tragedy that utilizes humor and irony to draw the reader’s attention, and two major characters to convey the authors central theme.

Flannery O’Connor is an American short story writer and her short story “Good Country People” depicts Hulga, a highly educated woman and has a PhD, is being jerked around by an immoral bible salesman. “A good man is hard to find”, also written by O’Connor, is a short story of a grandmother and her family murdered by a horrible man who called “the misfit” during the road trip to Florida. Although “Good country people” and “a good man is hard to find” are written by the same author, many elements in those two stories cause them have similar themes in religion, misplaced trust and protagonist and antagonist.

“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.