The Bible gives a profound warning about self-righteousness. "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. (I John 1:8). Flannery O'Connor's short story, A Good Man Is Hard to Find (1953), provokes the reader to consider the issue of grace and righteousness. The main character in the story, the grandmother, believes that in her day "people did right" (386) and certainly in her mind, she was foremost the righteous of all. In analyzing the actions of the grandmother, insight is gained about her attitudes and values. It becomes evident by the end of the story that her deliberate choices of dress, her subtle remarks of social prejudices, and her clever methods of manipulation lead her to an awareness of her feigned righteousness and ushers her into a true state of grace. First of all, appearance in some instances is used as a determinant in deciding if someone is of superior character. The grandmother believes this to be true as seen by the great pains she takes to dress appropriately for the family trip to Florida. Though her wardrobe is one that is not particularly uncommon for the era, a few things are worthy of taking note. For instance, the" white" gloves, the hat with the "white" violets, the dress with the small "white" dots, as well as the collars and cuffs of "white" organdy are indicative of her belief that she is a righteous lady. O'Connor, obviously knowing that white is symbolic of purity and righteousness uses this color effectively to give the reader clues about the grandmother's perception of herself. The grandmother is careful to make sure that she is adorned appropriately just in case anyone sees her dead. If so, they would "know at once that she was a lady" (385). However, upon... ... middle of paper ... ...ly serve to keep her from seeing herself as she really is. The grandmother's manipulation is simply a dishonest approach to controlling her family. In the end these characteristics of the grandmother actually brought her to a place of physical death which is seen as a type of spiritual dying to one's self in order to embrace true righteousness by entering into a state of grace. Some insight can be gained from the Misfit's brief commentary on the life of the grandmother. "She would of been a good woman...if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life (395). Works Cited O'Connor, Flannery. "A Good Man Is Hard To Find." The Bedford Introduction to Literature. Ed. Michael Meyer. 6th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2002. 384-395. The Holy Bible. Iowa Falls, Iowa: World Bible Publishers Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary. 1977 ed.
Even though the Grandmother shows to be a victim of rudeness, hostile statements, and dangerous situations, she still stood by her morals regardless of the situations. In the first paragraph, the grandmother is a victim of her grandchildren and at the end, she is a victim of a murderer who ironically is much nicer to her than her own grandchildren! It is easily observed that the grandmother’s morals involve making her environment as pleasant as her personality. At the beginning, you can see how the grandchildren are making hostile comments towards the grandmother about going on the trip with them. As she sits in the back seat with the hostile children instead of allowing them to ruin her mood, she decides to point out the “ interesting details of the scenery- stone mountain’s; the blue granite, the brilliant red clay banks slightly streaked with purple”…. (pg 199). At the end while a victim of a murderer the grandmother still tried to make some good out of the situation. “Ain’t a cloud in the sky” he remarked. “Yes it is a beautiful day” said the grandmother. “Listen you shouldn’t call yourself misfit because I know you’re a good man at heart. I can just look at you and tell.” The grandmother said (pg 205). As stated earlier the grandmother was dedicated to keeping her moral of making her environment as pleasant as her personality!
Douglas, Ellen. "O'Connor's 'A Good Man is Hard to Find.'" Contemporary Literature Criticism. Eds. Carolyn Riley and Phyllis Carmel Mendelson. Detroit, MI: Gale, 1976. Vol. 6. 381.
O’Connor uses many symbols to warn the reader of the impending doom that is about to befall the unknowing travelers. The grandmother is, of course, worried about The Misfit, and, not surprisingly, the family brushes off her concern. Here again is another conflict. If the grandmother can be blamed for the accident, can the family then be blamed for taking the trip in the first place? The grandmother warned them didn’t she? This may sound foolish, but it does follow the same logic. The grandmother also foreshadows the horrible events to come with her choice of attire to ride in the car. The “purple spray of cloth violets” (118) that she had placed on her blouse were to serve a purpose.
O'Connor, Flannery, "A Good Man is Hard to Find", The Norton Introduction to Literature. Portable Tenth Edition, Booth, Alison, and Mays, Kelly J., New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc, 2011.
O’Connor, Flannery. "A Good Man Is Hard to Find.” The Story and Its Writer. Charters, Ann. Compact 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/ST. Martin's, 2011. 676-687. Print.
Bandy, Stephen C. "One of my babies": The Misfit and the Grandmother in Flannery O'Connor's short story 'A Good Man Is Hard to Find'. Studies in Short Fiction; Winter 1996, v33, n1, p107(11)
As I read Flannery O’Connor’s short story “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, I find myself being completely consumed by the rich tale that the author weaves; a tragic and ironic tale that concisely and precisely utilizes irony and foreshadowing with expert skill. As the story progresses, it is readily apparent that the story will end in a tragic and predictable state due to the devices which O’Connor expertly employs and thusly, I find that I cannot stop reading it; the plot grows thicker with every sentence and by doing so, the characters within the story are infinitely real in my mind’s eye. As I consider these factors, the story focuses on two main characters; that of the grandmother, who comes across as self-centered and self-serving and The Misfit, a man, who quite ingeniously, also appears to be self-centered and self-serving. It is the story behind the grandmother, however, that evidence appears to demonstrate the extreme differences between her superficial self and the true character of her persona; as the story unfolds, and proof of my thought process becomes apparently clear.
O'Connor, Flannery. "Good Country People." Trans. Array A Good Man is Hard to Find. New York: Harcourt, 1995. 433-447. Print.
“A Good Man is hard to find,” a short story written by Flannery O’ Connor, is one of the most interesting stories I’ve ever come across to in my life. Born as an only child into a Catholic family, O’ Conner is one of the most “greatest fiction writers and one of the strongest apologists for Roman Catholicism in the twentieth century (New Georgia Encyclopedia).” She was a very strong believer in her faith and she used her stories as a tool to send the reader a message that were most likely ignored and almost never uttered out loud. The story revolves around a grandmother who believes to be high and mighty around others. This results in her downfall later on.
She is a manipulator when it comes to any aspect of her life. Ideally, the grandmother was selfish and care about herself. For instance, when the author has her saying “In case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady (O’Connor). The author let it be known at that second that the grandmother was only thinking about herself. As if she was traveling with a group of strangers. Throughout the story, the grandmother shows that she can be dishonest towards her family. “She woke up and recalled an old plantation that she had visited in this neighborhood once when she was a young lady” (O’Conner). The grandmother did this to manipulate the situation causing the ride to be delayed. Thus, she was lying to the children about the secret panel in the house. Therefore, she caused chaos in the car. The author made it seem that the grandmother was very content with that she has caused. Even when she realized that the location of the house that she was referring to was not up that road at all. But she remained quiet or did she know this along. She was quick to judge and tell someone what not to do. But she never turned her eye on herself. That she was selfish and dishonest to her
The Grandmother is a bit of a traditionalist, and like a few of O’Connor’s characters is still living in “the old days” with outdated morals and beliefs, she truly believes the way she thinks and the things she says and does is the right and only way, when in reality that was not the case. She tends to make herself believe she is doing the right thing and being a good person when in actuality it can be quite the opposite. David Allen Cook says in hi...
O?Connor, Flannery. ?A Good Man is Hard to Find.? Literature: An introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 8th ed. New York: Longman, 2002.
O'Connor, Flannery. "A Good Man Is Hard to Find." The Story and Its Writer An Introduction to Short Fiction. 8th ed. Boston: Bedford / St. Martin's, 2011. 1042-053. Print.
The following day the family heads off to Florida. Another major point of irony happens as the story revolves around the grandmothers traditional southern values of respect for other people; especially elders, respect for your home and country. At the same moment as the grandmother is lecturing her grand kids about respecting their home state she sees a young Negro boy and says: “Oh look at the cute little pickaninny!” (Pg 208). Her hypocrisy becomes evident as she wants the family to do what she says not what she does.
In Flannery O 'Connor 's short story, A Good Man is Hard to Find, the theme of good vs. evil unravels throughout the series of tragic events. The Grandmother’s epiphany introduces the idea of morality and the validity is left to the interpretation of the reader. By questioning the characteristics of right and wrong, morality and religion become subjective to personal reality and the idea of what makes individuals character good or bad becomes less defined.