Analysis Of A Good Man Is Hard To Find By Flannery OConnor

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.

Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find” is the story of a family’s vacation tragically ended by The Misfit and his gang. On the way to their vacation spot in Florida, the Grandmother remembers a plantation in Georgia she used to visit when she was a young lady and desperately wants to see it. She tells her son, Bailey, what road it is on and everyone is excited to see it. After a while, the grandmother realizes that she was wrong about where the plantation was and becomes so upset at herself that she knocks things over in the car which causes a car accident. A passing car stops to help the family but the Grandmother realizes that one of the men is a murderer, nicknamed, The Misfit. While one of

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

     In the short story, 'A Good Man is Hard to Find', the main character is the grandmother. Flannery O'Connor, the author, lets the reader find out who the grandmother is by her conversations and reactions to the other characters in the story. The grandmother is the most important character in the story because she has a main role in the stories principal action. This little old lady is the protagonist in this piece. We learn more about her from her direct conversation with the son, Bailey, her grandchildren, June Star and John Wesley, and the Misfit killer. Through these conversations, we know that she is a lady raised from a traditional background. In the story, her attitude changes

She seems to know little about herself and how she has lived her life. In addition, Granny’s state of denial imposes hardships on those around her. It’s relevant in the story that she was tough on her children. Since she is in so much denial that she’s treated them harshly, they never get the acknowledgement of her wrongdoings towards them. At the same time, however, Granny’s deep-rooted denial is what has enabled her to continue living, thrive, raise healthy children, and even save the lives of sick people and animals.

The story begins with a Grandmother trying to convince her son, Bailey and daughter in law to take a vacation in East Tennessee rather than Florida because of the escape of an escaped convict known as the Misfit and the children have already been there (Kirszner & Mandell, 2012). The Grandmother’s grandson states that she should just stay home, in which the granddaughter replied that she would not want to miss anything, as she had to always go where the family went. The Grandmother dressed as a lady, and was the first in the car, hiding her cat in a basket so her son did not see it. “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” written by (Mary) Flannery O’Connor is about a grandmother who reminisces with her grandchildren on the good versus evil in the world.

O'Connor does the same thing here; the grandmother's first action was to convince her son, Bailey, into going were she wanted to go, a selfish act, not a trait that we see a grandmother having. Also she thought out a plan to get what she wanted by acting as if she cared about her family's safety. "Now looks here, Bailey........ see here, read this...Here this fellow that calls himself the Misfit is aloose from the Federal Pen and headed towards Florida and you read here what is says he did to these people(328)." The grandmother's relationship right away to the reader is one that can not be trusted. Throughout the story you now question the grandmother's intentions, are they honest or selfish.

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

With the shock of coming face-to-face with death, she starts to let go of her power-hungry and deceptive behavior and decides to act out of love and humility. Her head has become clear, and more than ever she becomes aware of the situation. All her shallow and hypocritical thoughts seemed to have dissipated, and she sees the Misfit as a child of God just. The grandma notices a voice crack in the Misfit’s voice and thought he was about to cry; she murmurs, “Why you're one of my babies. You're one of my own children” (O’Connor 458-459)! The grandmother calls the Misfit one of her kids despite the crimes he has already committed; God’s spirit may have entered the grandmother and is attempting to offer redemption to the Misfit since she has now accepted it. The still figure of the grandmother is described as “her legs crossed under her like a child’s and her face smiling up at the cloudless sky” (459). God has given the grandma salvation now, and her spirit has a journey to heaven via the cloudless sky. O’Connor shows the protagonist to be hypocritical, but the protagonist found salvation and appeared happy after accepting God and feeling love towards the Misfit; the Misfit appeared to reject God when he shot the grandmother in the chest after she was trying to lend him a hand. The grandmother was able to find salvation through the violence the Misfit brought.

In this story, the grandmother seems to consider herself as the leader of the family. She seems to think of herself as having higher standards than other people, and therefore, she is quick to pass judgment on others. For example, she tells the children’s mother and father, “You all ought to take them somewhere else for a change so they would see different parts of the world and be bored. They never have been to Tennessee” (O’Connor 436).” The grandmother is a very opinionated, talkative, narcissistic, and manipulative woman who frequently controls the other family members. She is the one who calls attention to the fact that a dangerous criminal is on the loose and is located on the route to Florida. Apparently the grandmother thinks this information can compel the father and mother to change their traveling plans. The grandmother seems to cares only about her own wants and desires and has little interest in the wants and desires of

I recognized you at once!” (AMGHF). Then, even after each of the family member’s murders, the grandmother continues trying to save her own life by “…using the same perfidious devices that brought about her current situation” (Brandon). She continues lying by telling the Misfit things, such as, “I know you must come from nice people”, and “…I know you’re a good man. I can just look at you and tell” (AGMHF). It is ironic that she sends the last moments of her life being deceitful out of selfishness. The final irony of the story is the timing of the grandmother’s epiphany (Brandon). O’Connor reveals her epiphany right before the Misfit shoots her. “The grandmother’s head cleared for an instant. She saw the man’s face twisted close to her own as if he were going to cry and she murmured… ‘You’re one of my own children!’ She reached out and touched him on the shoulder” (AGMHF). According the Brenda Brandon, “… the grandmother’s salvation did come, in her moment of clarity as her eyes were suddenly opened and she was forced to finally get honest with herself; yet for her, it was too late”. J.P. Steed states that looking into the man’s face, triggers the grandmother’s unarticulated recognition “…that the Misfit’s rigidity is the natural offspring of her own” (187). The subsequent events of the grandmother’s selfish and dishonest decisions, as well as her distorted perception of herself, lead to the murder of her and her

In the beginning, the grandmother selfishness is shown in the first sentence. “The grandmother didn’t want to go to Florida. She wanted to visit some of her connections in east Tennessee and she was seizing at every chance to change Bailey’s mind (O’Connor 337).” She tries to be deceitful by jangling a newspaper in front of Bailey that says a misfit is on their way to Florida, which he ignores. it was not their wellbeing she was concern for.

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.

However, the grandmother was egocentric. The first theme O’Connor implies is to never put yourself before other people. The grandmother cares about her appearance if they got into an accident, rather than what she’d do to help her family. “In case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady.” (O’Connor 404) After their accident, she is worried about herself and not anyone else.

A literal interpretation of the grandmother portrays an elderly southern woman attempting to maintain the proper and genteel values of the South. The grandmother places great importance on her appearance and the opinions of others. This importance is revealed at the beginning of their journey when the story compares the grandmother, a reflection of the past, to the daughter-in-law, a reflection of the present: