Maddie Maurer
Hour:1
A Good Man is Hard to Find
“Do you ever pray,” (9) In Flannery O’Connor’s short story, “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” two unlikely characters find themselves on an unexpected journey to find God. Christianity, the grace of God, and redemption are all used throughout the story. Religion is the underlying theme of the story through the title, the characters, and the details. The main purpose of “A Good Man is Hard to Find” is to convert others to Christianity.
The title, “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, is related to the theme of the story. The story describes all male characters to be rude and arrogant. For example, when the grandmother exclaimed she knew who the Misfit was, Bailey reacted by showing his true colors in this passage, “Bailey turned his head sharply and said something to his mother that shocked even the children. The old lady began to cry and the Misfit reddened” (8). Bailey lacked compassion throughout the entire story, especially when he made his mother cry moments before they would die. Unlike Bailey, the Misfit kills for the thrill. He says, “...it’s nothing for you to do but enjoy the few minutes you got left the best way you can by killing somebody or burning down his house or doing some other meanness to him” (11). In the short time Red Sammy is mentioned, he gives the reader the impression of a disrespectful husband. He tells his wife to quit lounging around, to hurry up with the food, and to stop talking about the
Flannery O’Connor, undoubtedly one of the most well-read authors of the early 20th Century, had many strong themes deeply embedded within all her writings. Two of her most prominent and poignant themes were Christianity and racism. By analyzing, “A Good Man is Hard to Find” and “Everything that Rises Must Converge,” these two themes jump out at the reader. Growing up in the mid-1920’s in Georgia was a huge influence on O’Connor. Less than a decade before her birth, Georgia was much different than it was at her birth. Slaves labored tirelessly on their master’s plantations and were indeed a facet of everyday life. However, as the Civil War ended and Reconstruction began, slaves were not easily assimilated into Southern culture. Thus, O’Connor grew up in a highly racist area that mourned the fact that slaves were now to be treated as “equals.” In her everyday life in Georgia, O’Connor encountered countless citizens who were not shy in expressing their discontent toward the black race. This indeed was a guiding influence and inspiration in her fiction writing. The other guiding influence in her life that became a major theme in her writing was religion. Flannery O 'Connor was born in Savannah, Georgia, the only child of a Catholic family. The region was part of the 'Christ-haunted ' Bible belt of the Southern States. The spiritual heritage of the region profoundly shaped O 'Connor 's writing as described in her essay "The Catholic Novelist in the Protestant South" (1969). Many
"A Good Man is Hard to Find" is an extremely powerful commentary that elucidates Flannery O'Connor's opinions about religion and society. Like the majority of her other works, " A Good Man is Hard to Find" has attracted many "interpretations based on Christian dogma" (Bandy 1). These Christian explications are justified because Miss O'Connor is notorious for expressing Catholic doctrines through her fiction. Once she even remarked "I see from the standpoint of Christian orthodoxy" (Kropf 1). This longstanding reputation compels every critic of O'Connor to expose the religious convictions encrypted within her stories. The grandmother's final gesture towards the Misfit is not a
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
A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O’Connor challenges readers to look at life through a different lense and causes her audience to make connections to the modern world from the text. Throughout the entire story, O’Connor addresses issues that are still relevant to this day by thoroughly developing each character and using each character to bring up issues that are intriguing to the audience. A Good Man is Hard to Find is a story that challenges readers to make connections and think about the world through a different lense. These thought provoking qualities are the reasons why A Good Man is Hard to Find is a must read for readers of all ages.
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.
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.
A Good Man Is Hard to Find is a short story from Flannery O'Connor's book compilation of various short stories. It was originally published in the late 1950’s and is known for its controversial ending. O’Connor’s famous
The difference between right and wrong and good versus evil can be simplified in a basic short story text. Flannery O ' Connor bases its concept of good versus evil in "A Good Man is Hard to Find." The characters justify this theory. Flannery O 'Conner, as a Catholic, saw the nature of good vs. evil and centers around the literature "A Good Man is Hard to Find," by utilizing the roles of these characters.
Flannery O’ Conner’s short story A Good Man is Hard to Find is a southern style story which had some controversy on what is going on and how it is portrayed. The story has two main characters that it concentrates its focal points on. The Misfit and The Grandmother.
“A Good Man is Hard to Find” retells a story of all the evil in this world and how hard it is to find a good person. By creating strong characters and using figurative language and literary techniques, O’Connor leaves the reader
Many people have a different definition of a “good” man. Flannery O’ Connor short-story “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” gives readers a brief view on the subject. In the story the foundation for what makes a good man seems to only come from the grandmother. However when she is faces with a disadvantage by Misfit, he puts a twist on her views, and shatters that foundation. “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” is neither a happy nor sad story, both characters have many flaws and seem undeserving, but through an unexpected encounter they both found grace and redemption.
James E. Faust once said, “In this life, we have to make many choices. Some are very important choices. Some are not. Many of our choices are between good and evil. The choices we make, however, determine to a large extent our happiness or our unhappiness, because we have to live with the consequences of our choices.” In “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, Flannery O’Connor discussed the difference between good and evil within the characters of the short story. The Misfit has his henchmen kill the family, and the grandmother ultimately only thinks of herself and not the rest of her family. In “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, Flannery O'Connor shows the readers multiple meaning of symbolism throughout the characters relations to faith, places, and outlook on their surroundings.
“A Good Man is Hard to Find” is about a grandmother who wants to go to Tennessee instead of Florida for vacation because she read in a article about a criminal called the misfit was heading towards Florida. The first trait of this story is being an outsider, what makes the misfit an outsider is he’s a criminal and because of who he is he doesn’t fit in with the Christians and he isn’t accepted by anyone. Another trait is good versus evil, and this trait fits because of how the grandmother is a Christian woman and how she carries herself throughout the story makes her
Written in 1953, A Good Man Is Hard To Find is one of O ' Connor 's most known pieces of work and has received many awards. Throughout the story, you come across many twists and turns when you least expect it. A Good Man Is Hard To Find is a story which includes religion,
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.