A Good Man Is Hard To Find Moral Blindness

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.

In the short story “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor, the old south is perfectly represented. The short story occurs in Georgia where a family is traveling to Florida. While on their way, the family has a car accident near an old plantation because of a distraction by their grandmother 's cat. Due to this, the family encounters a man who the grandmother recognizes from the newspapers as a man called "The Misfit." This man is famous for being on a killing spree. In spite of this knowledge, the family 's good-hearted grandmother still tries to assure The Misfit that he is good man. The Misfit challenges the faith of the old southern woman but she never gives an inch. After the partners of The Misfit kill the entire family except for the grandmother, The Misfit then shoots the grandmother in the chest three times. This action ends her life instantly. The old south mindset is presented in several different occasions throughout this story but especially on pages 362 through 368. These pages tell about the family 's encounter of The Misfit and the incidents that took place thee. This story illustrates the old south primarily in three different ways, which include religion, racism, and respect.

Southern gothic is a type of literature that focuses on the harsh conflicts of violence and racism, which is observed in the perspective of black and white individuals. Some of the most familiar southern authors are William Faulkner, Flannery O’Connor, and Cormac McCarthy. One author in particular, Flannery O’Connor, is a remarkable author, who directly reflects upon southern grotesque within her two short stories, “A Good Man is Hard to Find” and “Revelation.” These two short stories are very similar to each other, which is why I believe that O’Connor often writes with violent characters to expose real violence in the world while tying them in with a particular spiritual insight.

In the O'Connor story, "A Good Man Is Hard to Find," Southern Gothic literature is portrayed. Southern Gothic literature paints a picture of what life was like in the "Old South" and also includes bizarre turns of events and outlandish characters. The grandmother, is the protagonist, and the main character of O'Connor's story, about a family that travel on a vacation together and lose their lives by "The Misfit," a random man on the side of the road. The grandmother, who remains unnamed for the duration of the story, demonstrates a "her way or the highway" type of personality. The family is going on vacation to Florida, but she has relatives she wants to visit in Tennessee. So, instead of just asking her son, Bailey, if they could go to Tennessee instead, she cleverly attempts to trick him by saying, "Here this fellow that calls himself The Misfit is aloose from the Federal Pen and headed toward Florida and you read here what it says he did to these people" (O'Connor). She then, continues her devious plot, by referring to the safety of Bailey's children, when she states, "I wouldn't take my children in any direction with a criminal like that aloose in it. I couldn't answer to my conscience if I did" (O'Connor). That didn't go as planned, so she tries again, implying that it has nothing to do with her, but the kids have already been to Florida. Throughout the story, Bailey's mother continues the same type of tactics to get her way. For example, she mentions that, at the old house in Tennessee, "There was a secret panel in this house," she said craftily, not telling the truth but wishing that she were, "and the story went that all the family silver was hidden in it when Sherman came through but it was never found . . ." (O'Connor).

Though the short stories “A Rose for Emily” and “A Good Man is Hard to Find” differ in plot, theme, voice, and many other aspects, both contain similar characters and settings. The authors of these highly acclaimed Southern Gothic works, have skillfully and eloquently created intricate characters and imagery that portray many elements of Southern life. Flannery O’Connor’s, “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” tells of the tragic events that take place during a family’s road trip to Tennessee, which ultimately ends in their unsightly demise at the hands of a notorious

William Faulkner’s “Barn Burning” and Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find” are two famous short stories written in the early 1900’s. These stories are commonly studied together because of how much they embody southern gothic writing and other striking similarities. “Barn Burning” and “A Good Man is Hard to find” are largely similar in their themes about morals, their southern gothic aesthetics, and their widespread violence with only minor differences.

Southern Gothic literature is a sub-genre of the Gothic writing style. It is unique to Southern America. Southern gothic style is a style of writing that engages very ugly and ironic events to study the value of the American south and its people. In this essay, I’m going to go over each story and give some details about the authors and their backgrounds. On one page, I will be comparing and contrasting all three stories. I will show how they’re similar through tone, plot, and scene in the story. And at the end, I am going to describe the three stories; “A Rose for Emilycomma inside quotes”, “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, and “Sanctuary”. Period inside quotes All of these short stories are good examples of southern gothic writing, because

The timing for the presence of a make-believe house that never existed in the town of Georgia determined the destiny of a family of five. The protagonist and the protagonist are center for the actions of good and evil. Whether good or evil is used for a beneficial or evil ways, they both go hand in hand. In accordance to the grandmother, she used the form of good to manipulate a criminal into think that he had good left in him deep down. She also used the sense of goodness in her desperate time of need for survival when she was standing in her grave face to face with the Misfit. On the other hand, the Misfit commits such violent acts to survive and had the necessary necessities to prolong his life. He only acts in violence because it brings good to him a way. The Misfit who has no one and no family and las lost all sanity does what he has to do to be alive. The story has a foundation of family, the influence of manipulation, and good vs. evil. Which are the characteristics and the personality of the protagonist and the antagonist. In a way, the main characters play the role of god. The grandmother plays the role of a judge on who is “good” and who is “evil” she considers herself a good Christian and the Misfit is just Evil in his actions. The Misfit plays the role of god by taking innocent lives and thinking it is okay because he says the punishment and crime never match with the person committing it. He was punished for the killing of his father, which he did not commit. Humanity is destined to be flawed and is capable of both actions. Even though good is always within reach, so is evil at the same time. Both main characters were stripped with what they valued the most and were left alone with nothing. The Misfit was a social outcast on the run from the system and the Grandmother was left alone in a devastating state

The American Gothic Genre typically shows guilt, puritanism, supernatural beings and/ or events, fear of the unknown, unheimlich, anxieties, and rationality vs irrationality. Mysteries, intense emotion, romance, heroes, evil curses, and gloomy, decaying isolated settings such as castles and mansions are also characteristics of this genre. There is an evil tone throughout the work. Freud

William Faulkner was said to be one of the best Southern Gothic writers and the Southern Gothicism was brought about by Edgar Allen Poe in 1839. His novels and short stories such as Absalom! Absalom! (1936), The Sound and the Fury (1929), and “A Rose for Emily” (1930) were of the Southern Gothic genre. This paper will discuss what Southern Gothic is and its characteristics, along with William Faulkner and how Faulkner’s work conforms to the Southern Gothic genre.

In the short story “A Good Man is Hard to Find” the author, Flannery O’Connor communicates literary symbols and prominence of Southern culture. Within the story, there are subtle yet important details that make the entirety of the piece as iconic as it is. The reoccurring theme of being a lady and moral codes both are important to the overall concept of the story.

The Story “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor takes place in the south; in Georgia to be exact. It falls into the Southern Gothic genre. It begins with a family that is attempting to make their journey down to Florida for vacation. Throughout the journey the Grandmother is trying to persuade her son, Bailey, that it would be a better idea to go to Tennessee. She wanted to go there so that she would be able to see family. She had also come up with the perfect excuse because there was a person, “The Misfit”, who had escaped from a correctional institute and headed south. As the story progresses, you soon are shown how rude the children actually are. They constantly say things that they honestly feel, even if they knew that it might hurt somebody’s feelings. O’Connor also really pushes this point by overstating certain traits of people that make them different.

As discussed earlier, Southern Gothic includes irrational, evil, and horrific thoughts, many which seem to contradict one another without a deeper look into their true meaning. “A Good Man is Hard to Find” is a story seemingly fully made with these contradictions and examples of Southern Gothic literature. This is mostly seen through the behavior of the Grandmother. Throughout the beginning of the story, she almost makes herself appear a protagonist and reveals her cruel selfishness. The Grandmother even accused her own son, Bailey, of putting his own kids in danger just to get him to change his mind for her own personal gain (O’Connor 5). Furthermore, the Grandmother makes racist comments regarding a black child to her grandchildren in the car (O’Connor 10). Ironically, the Grandmother sees herself as “a valiant defender on social decorum in a world of barbarians” (Bandy 114). Once faced with the potential of death at the hands of the Misfit, the Grandmother’s tune changes to her religious beliefs and tries to convince the bandit of her way of moral thinking (O’Connor 28). Bandy continues and accuses the Grandmother of this hypocrisy by stating that the Misfit has given a greater deal of thought into Jesus than she ever has (114). These extreme examples of good and evil through the Grandmother’s journey in this story do not seek to explain or answer the hypocrisy we all share, but solely to show the tragic reality of the human condition in a uniquely Southern Gothic

Southern Gothic literature, which is a sub-genre of the Gothic writing style, is unique to the American South. Southern Gothic literature has many of the same aspects as Gothic literature; it focuses on topics such as death, madness, and the super natural as well has having many mystical, bizarre, violent, and grotesque aspects. These tools are used "to explore social issues and reveal the cultural character of the American South (Wikipedia)."

The irony of the story is that it is under the directions of the Grandmother that leads the family into a run in with The Misfit, which is what she told her son she would never do. Throughout the trip we are given examples of the racism that was present during this period. The Grandmother makes multiple racist innuendos such as her observation of the “cute little pickaninny,” and her statement that “little niggers in the country don’t have things like we do” (O’Conner 2). During the ride, The Grandmother convinces Bailey to take a detour down an old, dirt road which supposedly leads to an old southern plantation home she once visited. The road leads them deep into the woods where an accident is caused by The Grandmothers cat, which leaves the car upturned and the family stranded. It is then the family encounters The Misfit, whom discovers them stranded as he was passing by. He approaches the family with two young men and shortly after The Grandmother lets out a scream as she realizes him. During their encounter, the readers are given a small glimpse into the deranged mind of The Misfit. It is apparent that he has an upturned moral compass. He gains pleasure from committing crimes and the meanness that goes along with it. During his conversation with the Grandmother, he slowly has his men take members of the family out