A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O'Connor

A prolific writer, famously known as Flannery O’Connor in 1953, wrote the short narrative titled “A Good Man is Hard to Find” (Scott 2). However, it was published two years later in 1955, in her second collection of short stories. This particular collection presented the author as a key voice in the ancient American literature world until she met her sudden death in 1964 when she was only 39. The collection also won her tremendous fame, especially concerning her unmatchable creativity and mastery of short narratives (Seel 211). Interestingly, Flannery O’Connor considered all her works realistic and extremely cynical, despite the fact she also incorporated the use of fiction as a style in her works. In addition, her works were fundamentally inspired by her outstandingly strong faith in Roman Catholicism. This is also exhibited in the short tale “A Good Man is Hard to Find” as discussed herein.

The story begins by Bailey’s grandmother trying to persuade him and his spouse to take their family for a tour in Tennessee rather than Florida. Her argument for the piece of advice is based on a story she locates in an article (O’Connor 73). According to the story, an old lag who had run away from the prison is also headed for a vocation in Florida, and he is worried about the safety of Bailey’s family if they choose to go to Florida for the tour. On the day of the trip, the grandmother dresses like a young lady and joins the family. The family later makes a stop at a restaurant whose owner, Red Sammy, complains of how untrustworthy people can sometimes be (O’Connor 73). Red Sammy’s wife also interjects the discussion between her husband and Bailey’s grandmother and says that she does not believe in any person, including her own husband, R...

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...hat really makes a good man or woman? Is it an individual’s early childhood experience? Is it associated with how straightforward or decent an individual is? Or is it just impossible to run into a good man? The reader must answer all these questions as he reads the book. However, Flannery O’Connor seems to associate good morals with religion.

Works Cited

Eder, Katharina. Flannery O’Connor, A Good Man is Hard to Find-An Analysis. London, UK: GRIN Verlag, 2011. Print. 10 March. 2014

O’Connor, Flannery. “A Good Man is hard to find”. New York, NY: Rutgers University Press, 1993. Print. 10 March. 2014

Scott, Neil. Flannery O'Connor: An Annotated Reference Guide to Criticism. London, UK: Timberlane Books, 2002. Print. 10 March. 2014

Seel, Cynthia. Ritual Performance in the Fiction of Flannery O'Connor. New York, NY: Camdem House, 2001. Print. 10 March. 2014