Essays On A Good Man Is Hard To Find
pdf
keyboard_arrow_up
School
Bay State College *
*We aren’t endorsed by this school
Course
758T
Subject
English
Date
Nov 24, 2024
Type
Pages
40
Uploaded by CommodoreValorOpossum28
A Good Man Is Hard To Find
I find myself missing the major hints or clues in a book, even if they are right in front of me.
Usually, I have to read a book twice to finally understand why the story ended that way. This is the
same way with "A Good Man is Hard to Find" by Flannery O'Connor's. The story is about a family
who wants to have a vacation in Florida. The grandmother, who is the focus of the story, wants to go
to Tennessee instead. She tries to convince everyone that there is a killer running loose down in
Florida; the Misfit. They all ignore her and drive to Florida anyway. Without telling her family
union, the grandmother brings her cat along for the ride. They drive for several hours until they stop
at a restaurant called Red Sammy's. She talks to the owner of the restaurant about how people are
not nice anymore and "good men are hard to find." They leave the restaurant and head back on the
road, but the
...show more content...
She convinces them to drive onto an abandon dirt road, but suddenly remembers that the plantation
is in Tennessee instead of George. Her sudden reaction causes her cat, who is under the seat, to jump
out and bounce on the driver. The driver loses control and the car smacks right into a ditch.
Everyone is okay until a truck pulls up and three guys jump out. The grandmother recognizes one of
them as the Misfit. He tells his two men to take the family into the woods, and one at a time shoots
and kills them. Meanwhile the grandmother tries to kiss up to the Misfit to save her life, but nothing
she says works. With being the only one not killed yet, she tries to talk to the Misfit about religion
and Jesus. The Misfit opens up to her about his past and how he has done some thinking about
Jesus. At that moment, she has some clarity and reaches out to touch him. He ends up shooting her
three times in the chest. When the other two men return from the woods, he tells them "She
would've been a good woman if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of
Get more content on StudyHub.Vip
Essay on A Good Man Is Hard to Find
Since the beginning of mankind there is been an unsolved issue of good verses evil. We see this
controversial issue in everyday life, Such as Television, Newspaper, etc. " It is not difficult to label
the agent of evil in Flannery O' Connor's signature story, "A Good Man is Hard To Find", says John,
Desmond. The family is described as a typical modern family, which has all type of problems.
Agreeing with each other is one of the biggest problems the family faces. The story starts of where
Grandma is in disagreement with her son about where they should plane there next family trip to.
After much discussion they decided on going to Florida. The story makes a twist when their car gets
into an accident and they have an encounter with Misfit,
...show more content...
The final comment of the story seams to be showing a change in misfits' life. Misfit seams to be
thinking about goodness and probably thinking that evil is not the answer to the problems in his life.
The story shows us that a lot of people are evil, but when they are in trouble they will think of god,
as grandma did in the story. At the end of the story Misfit regrets killing grandma, and says that "she
would have been a good woman if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life.
(O' Connor 318)." The story is trying to tell us that do not flight all the time and be evil, because you
never know what may happen to one. O' Connor is trying to tell us that every man has good and evil
in him, but some time we only see one side of them and forget that they have another side as well.
The final comment of the story implies that even though misfit seams evil, there still might be some
goodness in him. Misfit has gone thorough so many challenges in his life that have made him this
way, because he has no faith.
No one is born good or evil; it is one's environment and the people they encounter in life which
makes them good or evil. A lot of time it is not the individual's fault of the way they are, they might
have seen so many bad doings that, they are use to it and might think that it is right. One is not born
with a vision of knowing what is wrong and what is right in life, but learns when something happens
to
Get more content on StudyHub.Vip
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
- Access to all documents
- Unlimited textbook solutions
- 24/7 expert homework help
A Good Man Is Hard To Find Analysis
In the Flannery O'Connor's short story, "A Good Man is Hard to Find" we find out that the title
indicates of what the story is about. The title actually came from the lyrics of a song written by
Eddie Green in 1918. The title of "A Good Man is Hard to Find" by Flannery O'Conner is quite
ironic really. The reader expects to eventually find a good man in the story, but is quite surprised at
the ending of the story. The title "
A Good Man is Hard to Find
" is expressed clearly in this story by
introducing a variety of male personalities that all have one thing in common; they are not truly
good men. For example, Bailey, the father of the family, shows that he does not care too much about
anything and he treats his mother with much disrespect,
...show more content...
The title leads you to believe the story will go in another direction, which makes the ending a
surprise.
The title is ironic because it has the reader thinking that the story will include an ending of finding a
good man, rather than finding one of the worst. The reader is searching the story for a good man,
when there in fact is not one in this story. "A Good Man is Hard to Find" by Flannery O'Conner was
designed to make the reader think the ending will include the finding of a good man, when the
ending actually includes the exact opposite; not a good man nor a good woman. Reading the title of
the story, the reader can foresee what the story will be about, just that, how finding a good person is
indeed difficult to come upon. Many search the story for a good man, but what about a good
woman? For example, in the beginning of the story, the grandmother was more concerned about
looking like a good Christian than actually being a good Christian. This is shown by her selfish
longing to go to Tennessee instead of Florida and, more importantly, by her attempts to save her own
life, even as her family continued to die around her. In the end, it is proven throughout the entire
short story that not only is a "Good Man Hard to find" but also, a good woman.
In conclusion, "A Good Man is Hard to Find" by Flannery O'Conner was designed to make the
reader think the ending will include the finding of a good man, when
Get more content on StudyHub.Vip
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
- Access to all documents
- Unlimited textbook solutions
- 24/7 expert homework help
A Good Man Is Hard To Find Essay examples
Flannery O'Connor's short story collection A Good Man is Hard to Find has many elements of a
southern gothic work. Images of ancient castles with sliding panels create suspicious themes and
settings that lead the readers into the dark and gloomy world of the southern United States. With all
of the violence, horror, and dismal surroundings presented in O'
Connor
's stories there is too a moral
message given. Later gothic work did not always explain horror like this, holding little moral value
to contrast their grotesque images (notes, November 1). O'Connor's stories do include a strong moral
element, frequently in the form of religious explanations. The characters within A Good Man is Hard
to Find are usually
...show more content...
If Sammy is not a good man is he evil? Could he represent Satan, Red Sammy is a fitting parallel
name. Sammy then states that "a good man is hard to find." Could this be forewarning to
the grandmother's confused values of what is right or wrong (good or bad)?
Soon the family is on their way again but the grandmother forces her way by using the children.
Getting the kids exited enough to annoy their father so much that he breaks down and changes the
route and seeks out the old gothic house. We soon learn that the grandmother has made a
geographical mistake thinking Georgia for Tennessee. Her ignorance starts a chain of events which
will result in all their deaths: Brining the cat along even though she knew it wold not be allowed,
forcing her will even when unsure if it was right (O'Connor, 2, 11). The grandmother's uncertainty
of geography could be read as mirroring her spiritual uncertainty.
After the car crashes we see that the grandmother is self–serving. She uses gender roles ("you
wouldn't shoot a woman") and religious images to try and save herself and to make the Misfit
to look well upon her (O'Connor, 14–19). This plea seems very self–serving. Why not ask–
"you wouldn't shoot a family, would you?" The argument of religion as a reason to be
good is rejected by the Misfit (O'Connor, 21). By dismissing Christ's history the Misfit also rejects
the grandmother's self–serving values.
Get more content on StudyHub.Vip
A Good Man is Hard to Find Essay
A Good Man is Hard to Find I firmly believe that people reap what they sew. In the story, " A Good
Man Is Hard to Find," the grand mother is a prime example of this scenario. Her pathetic ploys and
acts of deviance cause harm to the family throughout the story and it ends up coming back to her in
the end. You can tell that harms is inevitable for the family by some of the clues that are found in the
grandmother's behavior. For example, in the opening paragraph of the story, she is complaining
perversely for the family to go on vacation in East Tennessee instead of Florida. The rest of the
family wants to go to Florida but yet she is determined for them to do as she says. I believe that this
is an early indication as to
...show more content...
She should have been grateful instead of hateful because the family didn't have to drag her along if
they didn't want to. I know that Bailey is her some, but why does she constantly aggravate him? My
mother picks on me occasionally but never to the extent of the grandmother.
The grandmother was a very dishonest person. She began telling little John
Wesley ( her grandson), about a plantation she used to visit. She pointed to an old grave yard visible
to the road. The more she thought about it the more she wanted to go back and see it. She knew that
the family would not be up for seeing an old run down hat. What does she do? She begins to lie
profusely, telling John Wesley about a secret trap door that has never been found to this day. This, in
turn, cause the children to want to go visit the house and after constant ridicule the father turns the
car around.
They begin to go down a narrow dirt road. The cat jumps out of the bag and in turn causes the car to
wreck. When they get out of the car she decided not to tell them that the plantation she was thinking
about was in Tennessee, not Georgia. By her bringing the cat along and insisting that they go see the
house, causes them to wreck. Her childish behavior was the cause of all of this.
When they have an encounter with the misfit, she constantly pleads for him not to harm her or her
family. She tells him to believe in Jesus. Fearing for her life she
Get more content on StudyHub.Vip
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
- Access to all documents
- Unlimited textbook solutions
- 24/7 expert homework help
'A Good Man Is Hard To Find'
The story I will work on is "A Good Man is Hard to Find", I choose this story because of the tragedy
moments, and a family vacation that turns upside down. To begin my essay, I want to start a body
paragraph with four components: the main idea, evidence, analysis, and a link to the thesis. To start
off, I want to introduce the family, the misfits, and a proper thesis statement. Then transition to my
first body paragraph with a main idea that relates to my thesis. Next, I will include quotes from the
text as a primary source, and quotes from the secondary source by using the library database as
evidence from the text. Third, the paragraph will be analyzed, and the main idea explained. As for
the final component, I will make the last sentence
Get more content on StudyHub.Vip
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
- Access to all documents
- Unlimited textbook solutions
- 24/7 expert homework help
Essay on Good Man Is Hard to Find
Compare/Contrast Character Analysis Paper
A Good Man is Hard to Find: The Misfit and The Grandmother
"A Good Man Is Hard to Find" by Flannery O'Connor, depicts a contrast of good and evil however,
it shows how the enactment of good and evil is not as evident as it appears. The Grandmother
perceives herself as a moralistically good character though her actions deem to create a downfall for
the family. On the other hand the misfit is targeted at the audience as an evil character who is a
cold–blooded killer; his intentions are justified by his unworldly perceptions of people.
The grandmother is the central character in the story. The grandmother is a manipulative, deceitful,
and self–serving woman who lives in the past. She doesn't
...show more content...
He is seen as a character determined to kill for pleasure, consequently, causing other people to
experience the injustice he has suffered throughout his life. The character that first appears to be
confused about life and religion but later comes across as more knowledgeable about religion than
the Grandmother herself. Towards the end of the story it was interesting to note how the Misfit
remarked on the life and death brought about the family and especially the Grandmother which send
them to there god
. His reasons are rationed towards to send his victims to god.
At the initial meeting of the Misfit and the Grandmother, it was easy to see the Misfit as the bad guy
and the Grandmother as the innocent one. But from the moralistic perspective, their positions can't
be justified. The grandmother is selfish, as the story illustrates from the beginning, and the misfit is
a criminal who takes pleasure in killing, both of them are in some way serving their own causes, and
portraying self–love. Both of them bring these selfish desires into the closing dialogue of the story.
The misfit is out to kill and the grandmother is out to save herself. She begins to tell the misfit who
she hasn't met until that moment that he's good, thereby attempting to save herself. And the misfit is
determined to do what he came to do. All during the ordeal, the Grandmother asked The Misfit to
pray. She acted as if she
Get more content on StudyHub.Vip
A Good Man Is Hard To Find Essay
Good Man Is Hard To Find
A Good Man is Hard to Find Flannery O'Connor's A Good Man is Hard to Find is filled with
foreshadowing which the first time reader will not grasp, but leaps out of the pages for repeated
readers. When first read, A Good Man is Hard to Find, the reader does not value the importance of
the grandmother charter and her warning. She is thought to just be a rambling, nagging old lady.
Even the grandmother does not realize the importance of what she is saying. The grandmother warns
of the misfit in the first paragraph of the novel, "'Here this fellow calls himself the Misfit is loose
from the federal pen and headed toward Florida and you read here what it says he did to these
people."' The first time reader simply sees
...show more content...
To the first time reader the ending of the novel comes at a complete surprise. Who would have
thought that this sweat family could ever die such awful deaths. Who would have thought that the
grandmother would've been right, and that the family actually would have a run in with The Misfit.
When the reader reads the novel for a second time is when all of the foreshadowing leaps from the
pages. The reader realizes in just how many ways the grandmother causes her family's deaths; The
grandmother leads her family down the old country road to their deaths. She brought her cat along
which caused the accident. She also tells the Misfit that she recognizes him which leaves him with
no choice but to kill the whole family. It is ironic that the grandmother is the cause of the family's
deaths in many ways, but she also warns of the Misfit several times. These warning where not taken
seriously by anyone including the grandmother because they were not meant as warning, but to try
to manipulate the family's travel plans. "There are several instances that point to the fact that
she(grandmother) is very manipulative."(Andra) The second time reader finds himself or herself
yelling at the grandmother with each step the family takes towards their deaths. Don't go down that
dirt road; leave your cat at home you fool! With the second reading the reader also detects much
more of the foreshadowing into the families dark fate. In the opening paragraphs "'Yes
Get more content on StudyHub.Vip
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
- Access to all documents
- Unlimited textbook solutions
- 24/7 expert homework help
A Good Man Is Hard To Find
Local color by definition is "the customs, manner of speech, dress, or other typical features of a
place or period that contribute to its particular character." Any given location has its own local color,
but that of the southern region of the United States is especially prominent. The local color of this
region is demonstrated in the short stories "A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner and "A Good
Man is Hard to Find" by Flannery O'Connor. Although different aspects of local color are expressed,
both authors capture the local color of the south in their short stories. The south is most well–known
for drawling accents, pre (and post) civil war racism and large states with even larger plantations
and farms. These are only generalizations however,
...show more content...
"Miss Emily" refused to pay her taxes because she believed she was pardoned from them due to the
fact that Colonel Sartoris had once loaned money to their hometown. Nobody in her town
challenged her on this, or the matter that she still had a negro servant that attended to her in her old
fashioned home that she refused to update. The local color of the era Miss Emily wished to live in is
particularly apparent. Her home is even described as once being part of the best neighborhood in
town, another reason Miss Emily was stuck in the past. Another example of local color in "A Rose
for Emily" is the oddity that even though Miss Emily is an outsider in town, nobody bothers to
challenge her because she has an "Old South" social standing. This means that in previous times
social standings in the south were taken more seriously than the present time of the story, even
though Miss Emily still regards herself with the same old standard. Nobody in the town wanted to
go against her and challenge a "lady" to the point where they unknowingly allowed her to poison her
Yankee husband–to–be. This is ironic because nobody in the town believed they would have been
married anyways due to the fact that he was from the north and she was from the south, which is yet
another example of local
Get more content on StudyHub.Vip
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
- Access to all documents
- Unlimited textbook solutions
- 24/7 expert homework help
A good man is hard to find
Critical Essay #1
A Closer Look Into
"A Good Man Is Hard to Find"
By James ENC–1102
The short story I chose for my critical essay is a story that caught my attention with a gentle and
inspiring title and as I began to turn pages it suddenly evolved into a theme that caught me off guard
and I quickly became intrigued by elusive style of writing the author used to express this story in a
unique form of literature. After reading Flannery O'Connor's "A Good Man is Hard to Find", I will
discuss the vivid historical and cultural context the author revealed to the story's setting in relation
to its style and how the main character is exposed to different parallels of what she considers to be a
good man in time that is dealing with
...show more content...
The relation between the definition of Southern Gothic Literature and the historical context and plot
which the story contains is almost identical in characteristics and perfect placement by the author to
give the story a sense of significance where it is relevant in all elements.
While researching this short story you complete a close reading you come to recognize the close
details that come to expose a theme that is elusive and shows different parallels of what Grandma
considers being a good man within different parts of the story. In order to bring further
understanding I am going to give you a brief summary on the short story.
The story begins in Georgia in the 1940's–1950's with the Grandma as the main character who is
trying to manipulate her son named Bailey and his wife from traveling to Florida because of the
danger of a man called The Misfit who has escaped from prison and instead tries to persuade them
to travel to Tennessee. Eventually, the Grandmother doesn't succeed at convincing him to travel to
Tennessee so both of them head off toward Florida along with Bailey's wife, their young daughter
June, their eight year old son John Wesley, the young baby, and Gandmas cat. They drive for a while
and Grandma talks to her granddaughter of her early days when she was a maiden
Get more content on StudyHub.Vip
Thesis Statement For A Good Man Is Hard To Find
Shayla S. Corbin
Ms. Pearce
English 1302
Sunday, November 12, 2017
"A Good Man is Hard to find" I. Introduction
A. Written by Flannery O'Connor
B. Christian Theme (Bandy 107)
C. Named after a Popular song (Desmond 129)
D. The fiction imagination (Evans 181)
E. 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.
F. Context of spiritual realities
G. Faith messages embodied in the characters
II. The Grandmother
A. She is Nameless (Evans 184)
B. She is one of the three main characters (Evans 184)
C. She didn't want to go to Florida (Bandy 113)
III. Grandmother's personality
A. She is Self–Centered (Bandy 109)
B. She wants to go to Tennessee (bandy 109)
C. She manipulates her Family (Link 127)
D. She tries to change Baileys mind about the trip (Bandy 113)
IV. Grandmothers' external appearance
A. She dresses in Sundays best (Link 126)
B. Her Family wears casual attire (Link 126)
C. She dressed to be killed (Bandy 114)
D. Proper ladylike appearance (Bandy 114)
V. Grandmother's internal flaws
A. She Displays unchristian morals (Link 127)
B. Speaks racist words (bandy 108)
C. Grandmother's Dishonesty
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
- Access to all documents
- Unlimited textbook solutions
- 24/7 expert homework help
Get more content on StudyHub.Vip
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
- Access to all documents
- Unlimited textbook solutions
- 24/7 expert homework help
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
- Access to all documents
- Unlimited textbook solutions
- 24/7 expert homework help
A Good Man Is Hard To Find Analysis
Interpreting A Good Man Is Hard To Find After reading Flannery O'Connor's "A Good Man Is Hard
To Find," one is able to interpret a hidden theme that hides in plain sight. The author of the short
story Flannery O'Connor writes about how a family is on their way to Florida and how are basically
met with deadly misfortune. The one main message as the title itself claims, meaning that it is hard
to find a genuine good human, regardless of outward appearances and behavior. The title itself and
its message is revealed only once about a third of the way through the story by a supporting
character named Red Sammy. He describes how back then "you could go off and leave your screen
door unlatched" (O'Connor) implying that people had better intentions and that there was not a
reason to fear a person with malicious intentions. This is further supported when reaching the near
end of the story when The Misfit, and his accomplices literally murder the entire family, which
really does convey the literal message "A Good Man Is Hard To Find" and enforcing that malevolent
intent. The next evidence conveyed by the message mainly revolving around the grandmother and
her family. Seen in throughout the story the grandmother's own self–wants of going to Tennessee is
seen throughout the majority of the story. It starts off with the story telling the reader that the
grandmother is trying to scrounge up every opportunity to get the family to take their vacation over
to Tennessee rather than Florida.
Get more content on StudyHub.Vip
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
- Access to all documents
- Unlimited textbook solutions
- 24/7 expert homework help
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
- Access to all documents
- Unlimited textbook solutions
- 24/7 expert homework help
A Good Man Is Hard To Find Essay
In the story, A Good Man is Hard to Find, the grandmother is the main protagonist in the story. She
claims to be a "good lady" who supposedly has the impression she can judge other's moral codes.
She manipulates the people she supposedly loves and because of this, she is instrumental in their
demise. The grandmother's name is never mention, and I believe the author did this purposely to
show that the character was erratic and perplexing. This story is not light heartened by and means.
The story ends tragically and my opinion has a quite morbid outcome. I was shocked by the ending,
I felt the deaths of the parents and children to be heartbreaking. The grandmother's assumption that
she can save her own life by implying that the Misfit character was a good man is outrageous. Her
only sense of morals she has are the ones that aligned with the rules she has made up in her own
mind. The theme of this story is
...show more content...
In the "Girl" the mother obviously cares deeply for her daughter and that is why she believes she can
save her daughter from a disastrous life. On the other hand, "
A Good Man is Hard to Find
" and
"Cathedral", the motives of the characters making the judgements don't seem to stem from any
concern or care for the other person. They seem genuinely unemotional when it comes to the other's
characters in the story. In Cathedral the narrator seems emotional blind, but Robert who is actually is
blind seems more emotional self–aware of the world around him. When the narrator tries to explain
to Robert what a cathedral looks like, he is unable to do this very simple task. The narrator seems to
have disconnected from the things around him, and because of this is unable to appreciate them.
Robert is a compassionate man who listens to others and truly cares for his fellow man. The narrator
seems cold and distant from everyone in his life and it shows with his mannerisms and
Get more content on StudyHub.Vip
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
- Access to all documents
- Unlimited textbook solutions
- 24/7 expert homework help
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
- Access to all documents
- Unlimited textbook solutions
- 24/7 expert homework help
Literary Analysis Of A Good Man Is Hard To Find
Johnathan Ramirez
Dr. Klein
English 1302
15 October 2017
Literary Analysis Essay
"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.
Manipulation is a major theme in the story "A Good Man is Hard to Find". In the story, the
grandmother
...show more content...
The second theme exhibited by the grandmother is her class and racial prejudice, as most characters
in southern gothic stories do. The grandmother exudes a sense of self–righteousness that she
explains is imbedded in her because she came from a good family
. Throughout "A Good Man is
Hard to Find" descriptions of the south come up often. Most of the images are portrayed when the
grandmother is reminiscing about "In my time" and on the "plantation" (114). Her insistent attitude
and obsession about visiting the plantation shows the grandmother truly enjoyed that time period
and implies she had no problem with the racial segregation in that era. She remembers back to when
she was a young girl and Mr. Edgar Atkins Teagarden would bring her watermelon. "but she never
got the watermelon", " because a nigger boy ate it when he saw the initials E.A.T.!" (115). It is clear
the grandmother feels it is appropriate to use the N word when referring to African Americans, even
years after slavery era. As the grandmother glamorizes Negroes and life on the plantation, it is clear
she admired the ways of the Old South, a true characteristics of Southern Gothic writing. Her
stereotypical character projects a prejudice that leaves the audience uncomfortable throughout the
story.
Flannery O' Connor's skillfully webs subtle ironic instances throughout the story that, later, helps
readers see the bigger picture. After much debate about not traveling to
Get more content on StudyHub.Vip
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
- Access to all documents
- Unlimited textbook solutions
- 24/7 expert homework help
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
- Access to all documents
- Unlimited textbook solutions
- 24/7 expert homework help
A Good Man Is Hard To Find By Flannery O Connor
One of the most memorable lines from "A Good Man Is Hard To Find" comes from the Misfit when
he says, "She would have been a good woman if it had been someone there to shoot her for every
minute of her life (O'Connor 309)." Flannery O'Connor's depiction of Christian faith can be seen in
almost all of her works. Inevitably, the plots in all of O'Connor's stories end with a shocking
conclusion, and this leaves the reader with freedom to interpret the central idea. From the endless
list of themes that O'Connor embeds into her stories, "
A Good Man Is Hard To Find
" is largely
influenced by divine grace, hypocrisy, bitter reality, and white supremacy.
The feeling of white supremacy can be repeatedly seen in O'Connor's writing, including "A
...show
more content...
No, it's just a way for her to prove how whites had more power than blacks back in the twentieth
century. When she is exposed to nostalgic elements of her genteel past such as an abandoned
plantation that "had six white columns across the front" and was once owned by whites, it is clearly
visible how difficult it is for the Grandmother to cope with the world she now lives in (O'Connor
303). Her longing to desperately revive the past is so strong that "...the more she talked about it, the
more she wanted to see it once again" (Enjolras 37). Symbols like the plantation are reminders to
her of the South that she used to enjoy as a child "...when whites were the masters and the blacks
their slaves by right" (Enjolras 37). She is now part of a racially infused South, where the oppressed
African–Americans are improving their lifestyle and living amongst whites.
This is not the only instance when the racial roles play a significant part in her life. When she sees
the little black child in the countryside during the road trip and boldly refers to her as a 'pickaninny,"
it seems as if she considers the child a type of animal because she is so unlike her, revealing that she
has never experienced poverty and misfortune as African–Americans did
Get more content on StudyHub.Vip
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
- Access to all documents
- Unlimited textbook solutions
- 24/7 expert homework help
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
- Access to all documents
- Unlimited textbook solutions
- 24/7 expert homework help
A good man is hard to find
The Use of Religion in Flannery O'Connor's "A Good Man is Hard to Find"
Flannery O 'Connor is a Christian writer, and her work shows Christian themes of good and evil,
grace, and salvation. O'Connor has challenged the theme of religion into all of her works largely
because of her Roman Catholic upbringing. O'Connor wrote in such a way that the characters and
settings of her stories are unforgettable, revealing deep insights into the human existence. In
O'Connor's Introduction to a "Memoir of Mary Ann," she claims that Christians live to prepare for
their death. This statement is reflected in her other works, including her short story "
A Good Man is
Hard To Find
." After reading "A Good Man is Hard to Find," many questions remain
unanswered
...show more content...
The irony in the story is shown when the grandmother, who thinks she is a good Christian, in reality
is just as evil as the Misfit.
When the grandmother and the Misfit are alone the grandmother's selfishness becomes apparent to
readers. Even though her family had just been murdered, largely because of the consequences of her
selfish acts, she is focused on saving her own life. Furthermore, she tries to convince the Misfit that
he is a good man. "I just know you 're a good man." (O'Connor "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" 148)
The Misfit replies with, "Nome, I ain 't a good man...but I ain 't the worst in the world neither."
(O'Connor "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" 148) He accepts the fact that he has done wrong but
knows there are others who are worst. The grandmother speaks of prayer to the Misfit but is unable
to recite one single prayer. She just repeatedly uses Jesus name, almost as if she is cursing. This
symbolizes her weak understanding of being a Christian.
The Misfit is struggling with his faith in God. While he believes in the existence of a God, he does
not believe in an active God. His faith struggles are likely because of the injustice he has
experienced as a result of his wrongful conviction of murdering his father. He explains his doubts
about Jesus' resurrection from the dead with the grandmother: "'I wasn 't there so I can 't say
Get more content on StudyHub.Vip
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
- Access to all documents
- Unlimited textbook solutions
- 24/7 expert homework help
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
- Access to all documents
- Unlimited textbook solutions
- 24/7 expert homework help
A Good Man is hard to Find Essay
A Good Man Is Hard To Find
"Adversity defines the essence of who we are and who we desire to be!" This can be best realized in
the rural southern regions of the United States during the late 19 forties and early fifties. Without a
specific location of long–term concentration, this story finds three generations of a family taking a
vacation (planning at least) to Florida despite objections from the grandmother
. Factor in her
impatient son (Bailey), his wife, and two smart–ass children have marginal respect for their
grandmother resulting in a crew of authoritative, uncertainty, distant, and manipulative people about
to engage on a trip that ends with certain doom for all with a twist indicative of self
...show more
content...
Perhaps lingering memories of times past allow grandmother to conclude that good men are hard to
find. While grandma comments that he is a good man, his wife comes to the table with the food and
a contributing thought that no one can be trusted (as she looks at Red). To this point, even a routine
stop for a bite to eat never escapes the harsh realities of the grandmother as she tries to deal with
choices, and the resulting consequences from her youth.
Conversation then shifts to the escaped convict known as the "misfit". Further conversation details
how the misfit would frequent their establishment. While Red tells his wife to be quiet about the
matter grandmother comments about Europe's contribution to problems referring to the way they
(Europeans) act. Eventually the family finishes their lunch and continues on the way toward an
abrupt end. Red appears to be interested in simple mingling with their guest perhaps because of the
family's choice to dine in their establishment. Their presence while welcomed simply is a
transaction, nothing more or less.
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.
With initial denial of the request, Bailey reluctantly and agitated, pull the car over.
Get more content on StudyHub.Vip
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
- Access to all documents
- Unlimited textbook solutions
- 24/7 expert homework help
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
- Access to all documents
- Unlimited textbook solutions
- 24/7 expert homework help
A Good Man Is Hard To Find
Annotated Bibliography
Working Thesis: In "A Good Man is Hard to Find", O'Connor uses the corrupt, manipulative
character of the grandmother, as well as the story's plot and theme in order to emphasize the flaws of
the church and the need for grace.
Fitzgerald, Sally. "On Faith." Letters of Flannery O' Connor, The Habit of Being, edited by Sally
Fitzgerald, Macmillan, 1988, page 90.
In this print source
, O'Connor explains how her Catholic faith influences her writing in a positive
manner. She also explains her views on the importance of the church, as well as its positive and
negative actions and consequences. She claims that one must cherish the world while they struggle
to endure it. Sally Fitzgerald studied briefly at Stevens
...show more content...
"A Good Man is Hard to Find." Short Stories for Students, vol. 2, Gale, 1997, pp. 97–114.
This article from the SCC database explains that O'Connor sought to present a message of God's
grace and presence in everyday life. It then provides a basic summary of "A Good Man is Hard to
Find". The article continues, going into an in–depth characterization of the grandmother and how
she ultimately dies having transcended into grace. The article's author and editor, Kathleen Wilson,
is a professor of history and cultural studies at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. She
was educated at Yale University and has been awarded fellowships from a number of foundations.
Even though the article was published in 1997, it still holds up, as it is analyzing a story that has
already been written and will not change. There is no evidence of bias, as it is a simple analysis and
summary. This source came from Short Stories for Students, which was published by Gale
Publishing. Gale Publishing is reliable and unbiased, as they are an educational publishing company
that has been publishing works since 1954. There are a few cited sources for this secondary source,
one of which is biased. The biased source is a New York Times Book Review, which is biased in
favor of the story, "A Good Man is Hard to Find". This source will be useful in describing the
grandmother's character and analyzing her connection to spirituality in the first body paragraph. It
also helps to connect
Get more content on StudyHub.Vip
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
- Access to all documents
- Unlimited textbook solutions
- 24/7 expert homework help
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
- Access to all documents
- Unlimited textbook solutions
- 24/7 expert homework help
A Good Man Is Hard To Find Essay
'A Good Man is Hard to Find' by Flannery O'Connor In this short story by Flannery O'Connor, there
are many characters that each bring a certain tone and mood to the story. The grandmother brings a
slightly softer tone, the kids bring a playful, sassy tone, and the Misfit and his gang bring a really
dark tone. Each character comes together to bring the story to the great, exciting story that it is. The
grandmother starts off the story with a warning to her son, saying that she wouldn't dare take the
children to Florida with a guy like The Misfit on the loose. According to the new paper that she'd
read, The Misfit was headed to Florida as well. She said that she'd feel terrible about it if she were
the parents. Bailey, her son, ignores her, and decides that they are going to Florida anyway. The
grandmother means well, but her son only sees her suggestion as being annoying and not necessary.
Throughout the trip to Florida, the two kids, June Star and John Wesley played games and made
shapes out of the clouds and listened to their grandmother's stories, reminding the readers of their
childhood road trips. They bring a playful, more vibrant light to the story, and are refreshing to read
about. The group later
...show more content...
She tells the children stories of the house and how it has a secret panel in the wall of the house. The
kids go crazy wanting to go back and find the secret panel, and start screaming and yelling and
kicking, begging their father to turn the car back around. Finally, Bailey caves in after some words
were said. They journey down the long dirt road, driving through twists and turns, when the
grandmother comes to the sudden realization that the house wasn't in Florida, it was in Tennessee,
where she'd originally wanted to go. She makes a sudden movement, and the cat she'd snuck in the
car jumps out and scratches Bailey, causing them to go off road and flip the
Get more content on StudyHub.Vip
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
- Access to all documents
- Unlimited textbook solutions
- 24/7 expert homework help
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
- Access to all documents
- Unlimited textbook solutions
- 24/7 expert homework help
Research Paper: a Good Man Is Hard to Find
Research Paper: A Good Man is Hard to Find
A good man really is hard to find. But what is the real definition of a real man? Maybe it is not just
the prince charming you see in fairy tales or the perfect guy walking down Sixth Ave. that you pass
by everyday to work. Maybe a good guy is simply someone that is good what they do. In this case
the relationship between the grandmother and the misfit is just that. The only thing is if the reader
sees it as clearly as the author would like them too or simply as she does. The setting of the story is
never really clear to the reader. The author never really comes out and says where and when the
story takes place, but with a few clues an idea is given on a pretty clear setting of "A Good Man
is
...show more content...
This could have been the case between he misfit and the grandmother both. But it's never really
clearly said. The misfit could have been known as the evil villain of the story. The grandmother was
slowly beginning to turn into one but never made it all the way. "So take a chance, and take a look at
Flannery O'Connor. Prepare to laugh, to be shocked, and to think. But most of all, be prepared to
see." –Welborn. There are many symbols in A Good Man is Hard to Find
. "A Symbol is something
that represents something else by association, resemblance, or convention, especially a material
object used to represent something invisible." –Symbol. The first most obvious symbol is the
Grandmother's hat. She wears the hat for one sole purpose; if she were to die she would want the
ones who found her body to be able to identify her as a lady. When she prepares for the car trip, she
prepares for any accident that may occur. For the grandmother the only thing that seems to matter to
her is that she is recognized as a lady, this reveals her selfishness and flimsy moral convention.
When the grandmother first gets ready for the trip, the hat is in perfect condition. No tears, no
nothing. When the grandmother gets involved in the car accident, just like her moral convictions,
her hat begins to fall apart. The rim of the hat begins to tear as she faces the misfit and is thrown
from the car. When the
Get more content on StudyHub.Vip
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
- Access to all documents
- Unlimited textbook solutions
- 24/7 expert homework help