Literary Analysis Of A Good Man Is Hard To Find

In the short story “A Good Man is Hard to Find” written by Flannery O’Connor is a short story about a family who is taking a trip to Florida and is killed by the Misfit and his crew after an accident. As the short story begins, the grandmother is seen by the reader as the hero/protagonist but as the story progresses, the grandmother shows he true colors and is seen as the monster/antagonist. The grandmother is a manipulative, dishonest and selfish person who leads herself and her family to their death. This is a woman who is willing to use manipulation to get what she wants, shows her self-interest and her little concern for anyone else but herself throughout the short story. The grandmother is the cause of the accident that lead to

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:

Flannery O’Connor’s story, “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” shows a family vacation to Florida that ends in tragedy. The major characters in the story include the grandmother; Bailey, her son, his wife, the children’s mother, and the two children, John Wesley, and June Star. Other characters include Red Sammy, his wife, the Misfit, and his two accomplices. Although the grandmother plays the leading role in the story, the actions of other characters, some innate, also play a role in the family problem.

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.

Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find” demonstrates an apocalyptic fictional story attempting to show readers a limitless need for God’s Mercy and presents the ultimate question of morality and human nature. O’Connor communicates her answer towards this subject by delineating the grandmother and the Misfit’s actions. O’Connor implies morality does not necessarily mean “good,” but is subjective from people to people. This defines classic literature by displaying a form of human condition and also creating consistence and continuance. This essay will analyze the development of the main characters, evaluate two important themes, and interpret the author’s craft/style.

In A Good Man Is Hard to Find, Flannery O’Connor exposes the underlying hypocrisy present in human nature and shows us how important it is to be selfless and honest with ourselves and others. The theme of hypocrisy is presented throughout the whole story. In the beginning, the grandmother tells her son about a criminal known as “The Misfit”, that is on

This essay intends to examine these particular stories; one is "A Good Man is Hard to Find" by Flannery O'Connor and "The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin. This paper intends to explore the literary examine and how they are devised in these stories. It will further illustrate the major themes in the stories captured through the eyes of authors in different ways. It is stated that O'Connor is famous for her satire and dark sense of humor. Although, she reflects the moralistic touch of a Christian due to her religious influence. The story of O'Connor starts from a grandmother who is going to visit the relatives along with her family. But she is quite worried when reads in the paper about a serial killer who has escaped from the prison. The moralistic

Flannery O’Connor’s short story “A Good Man is Hard to Find” gives readers a front row seat to the chilling tale of a southern family’s murder at the hands of an escaped convict who calls himself “The Misfit” and his associates. On their way to Florida for a vacation, the family stops to visit an abandoned house and ends up in a car accident, where they are found by The Misfit, and subsequently killed. While the murder is the climax of the story, O’Connor writes a cast of uniquely flawed characters that are the true focus of the narrative; each character adds a layer to the convoluted tale.

The Grandmother identifies herself as having the best values. She completely overdresses for the trip in a "navy straw hat and collars and cuffs, so that if there was an accident, people would know she was a lady" (368). The narrator points out that she looks down upon other people as well. In the beginning of the story, she criticizes the mother for "not taking the children to different parts of the world and being broad" (367), and tells John Wesley that he "should be more respectful of his native state and his parents" (368). Despite being so judgmental, the Grandmother never criticizes her own dishonesty, hypocrisy, and selfishness. When she criticizes John Wesley about the state, she calls a little black boy "a cute pickaninny" (368) in the same sentence. She later says that little black kids do not have things like they do and that "if she could paint, she would paint that picture" (368). The Grandmother paints this picture later with a romantic story of the good old days on the Southern plantations. Her definition of a good man is even flawed. The narrator says she would have married Edgar Teagarden because "he was a gentleman who bought Coca-Cola stock, making him a rich man" (369). In the end, when the Misfit is killing her family members one by one, she tells him to pray for himself. But she never once prays for her own family or begs the Misfit to spare them. She is even dramatic when she pulls a handkerchief out to fan herself and tells the Misfit "you wouldn't kill a lady would you" (373), effectively trying to save herself instead of her family.

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.

Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find’ tells of a seemingly normal family with a bit of dysfunction. Throughout this tale, the author fabricates a number of characters, some inconsiderable, others full of depth and history that present themselves wildly open to interpretation. Looking into O’Connor’s past, it is clear to see her relationship with a number of these fictional minds and pull from these the meaning behind her hidden pain and anguish. We are therefore presented with a mother and sons family who are prisoners in a manipulative, destructive relationship.

What starts out as an innocent family road trip quickly turns into a nightmare that makes the reader wonder what the point of “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor was. There certainly is no satisfaction in reading the murder of an innocent family for seemingly no reason. What starts out as a simple vacation turns violent as the grandmother mistakes an abandoned road for a road that is in another state but once lead to a plantation from her past. There has been much debate as to what was the cause of the deaths, as well as how successful the grandmother was in showing grace to the Misfit. There are critics who feel that the grandmother was a good woman who showed the grace of Jesus until the very end and made a lasting impression

The grandmother, the main character of the story, is manipulative. Her definition of a ‘good man’ refers to the characteristics that a ‘good man’ should possess.

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.

When it comes to finding the true meaning of the “good man”, the grandmother’s idea of it is actually flawed. Before stopping to eat at The Tower, she recalls her experiences with Mr. Edgar Atkins Teagarden, who she was “courted by” (252) and explains how he was a “gentleman who bought Coca-Cola stock, making him a rich man.” (252) After the interesting stop to eat and her conversation with Red Sammy Butts, the grandmother doses on and off and