Flannery O’Connor’s 'A Good Man is Hard to Find'

In the short story A Good Man Is Hard to Find, written by Flannery O’Connor, the theme that the definition of a ‘good man’ is mysterious and flawed is apparent. The reader must realize that it is difficult to universalize the definition of a good man because every person goes through different experiences. Thus, these experiences affect his or her viewpoint and in turn flaw ones view on a good man. O’Connor conveys this theme through her excellent use of diction, imagery, foreshadowing, and symbolism as well as through a creative use of repetition and an omniscient point of view. The grandmother, the main character of the story, is manipulative.

Eds. Ann Charters and Samuel Charters. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2001. 2032-2035.

This gothic piece of literature is realistic, and through its theme, the reader is exposed to the flaws of society as a whole. Works Cited O'Connor, Flannery. "A Good Man Is Hard To Find." 1955. Making Literature Matter: An Anthology For Readers and Writers.

6th ed. Boston: Bedford, 2002. 459-466. Print. Murphy, Georgeann.

When one first begins to read A Good Man is Hard to Find, by Flannery O’Connor, one is assailed by the humorous petty grievances of a mother living under her son’s roof disrespected by her grandchildren and lonely in a house filled with people, clutching at memories of days long passed similar to the Tennessee Williams play, The Glass Menagerie. As the story unfolds one begins to see the indifference of Bailey toward his family in general and especially his mother—rightly so, as the ‘old lady’ nagged her son and his family to the point of hilarity and rib-hurtin’ laughter had the cat stayed in the bag and the car did not leave the road. This interesting story of a mentally abused woman slighted by her family, who makes the fatal error in judgment by smuggling a cat into the automobile resulting in the unforeseen horror delved upon them by the escaped convict, ‘Misfit’ and his cohorts culminating in a self-fulfilled prophecy—negative thoughts give naissance to deleterious actions. In 1955, when Ms. O’Connor penned this story the citizenry of the United States were experiencing the euphoric high of peace time following World War II and the Korean War, prosperity abounded and work-a-day folks were learning to experience vacations and weekend getaways—life was wonderful and beautiful. No one was desirous to be informed of the ugly truth dwelling beneath the thin eggshells of human existence—blinded by consumerism; folks did not want to be reminded of the viciousness rooted deep in the souls of some people epitomized by “Misfit” in this tale from the brilliant imagination of Ms. O’Connor.

46-7 3Act II. Sc. I. Ln. 50-1 4Act I. Sc. VII.

Ln. 60-5 6 Act I. Sc. II. Ln. 125-8 7 Act IV.

5th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2012. p1283-1296. Print.

She reaches out to him and says, "Why you're one of my babies. You're one of my children." The Misfit, who is obviously affected, rears back and shoots her in the chest three times. Although the grandmother is dead they both have benefited from the encounter. The grandmother has returned to true Christianity by touching and forgiving the Misfit.

“At lunchtime, they stop at Red Sammy’s, a barbecue eatery, where the grandmother laments that “people are certainly not nice as they used to be,” and Red Sammy agrees: “A good man is hard to find.” In this conversation, the grandmother, narrow-minded and opinionated, repeatedly assures herself that she is a lady,... ... middle of paper ... ... topped throughout history. At the end, she goes counts that she did not take good life and spreads to touch her killer, the Misfit, in a final amnesty and a charity. Works cited Bandy, Stephen C. "`One of My Babies': The misfit and the grandmother." Studies in Short Fiction 33.1 (1996): 107. Literary Reference Center Plus.