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Analysis of Flannery O'Connor's Story, "A Good Man Is Hard to Find
Analysis of Flannery O'Connor's Story, "A Good Man Is Hard to Find
Literary analysis in a good man is hard to find by flannery o connor
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The concept of being a “good” person has painted the picture of how people have handled their lives throughout history. On the same note, this concept has also been the subject of much debate; such is the case in Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find”. The protagonist, the unnamed grandmother struggles to find the “good” in others and herself. O’Conner uses foreshadowing, characterization, and a distinct point of view to make her point. In my interpretation, her point is that only through conflict and turmoil can good truly be found. The first time I looked at the story I did so only because it was assigned to me as homework. I ultimately found myself reading quickly, and not actively reading in the slightest way. Eventually however, I began to wonder whether or not “good” was going to prevail over “evil”. My burning curiosity and natural need for information was not satisfied with my initial sub-par reading. Upon closer and much more active reading I discovered Flannery O’Conner uses wonderful foreshadowing throughout the story to predict the ultimate demise of the grandmother and her family. The first bit of foreshadowing I would like to discuss is when June Star says “she wouldn’t stay home for a million bucks”… “Afraid she’d miss something. She has to go everywhere we go”. This statement is connected to the fact that the grandmother follows the family, even to their deaths. The second example of foreshadowing that really caught my eye was in the passage “they passed a large cotton field with five or six graves fenced in the middle of it.” In the story, John Wesley and June Star both find the graves interesting. I also find it thought-provoking for the reason that the six graves correlate exactly to the six membe... ... middle of paper ... ...he grandmother’s death. And switching perspective at the end was the only option. Though the grandmother dies in the end, O’Connor’s use of foreshadowing, characterization, and a distinct point of view lead me to believe this is the beginning of a different life for The Misfit. After he kills the grandmother The Misfit immediately starts cleaning his glasses, an indication that he sees the world in a different way. He had originally thought there was no pleasure in anything but cruelty, eventually the Misfit decides “It’s no real pleasure in life.” He had wanted to see Jesus raise the dead more than anything, and The Misfit ultimately got his wish; the grandmother had a last minute relief from her unbearable pomposity and then died, presumably redeemed. And the Misfit finds a glimpse of human empathy and compassion from the last woman we would have expected it from.
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.
In Flannery O’Connor’s short story, “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, the definition of the word “good” seems to change and develop as the story progresses. By the time the Misfit says, “‘would have been a good woman if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life’” (par 140) to the grandmother after he has killed her, the word has a whole different meaning.
...d both of them do not quite understand what being saved actually means. In the end, “when she saw the man’s face twisted close to her own (367).” the grandmother realizes that she and The Misfit are both on the same level and she is no worse than the latter. Almost like taking a look into a mirror and pondering upon one’s own reflection. The story takes a quick pause, when the author writes the line, “His voice seemed to crack and the grandmother’s head cleared for an instance (367).” What were the thoughts that went through the grandmother’s head? What happened during the “instance” that changed the grandmother’s view on her beliefs? The sole purpose of the phrase drowns a reader with questions and uncertainty. The story makes a final closure with The Misfit’s remark on how his source of happiness by performing violent acts brings “no real pleasure in life.”
Nathaniel Hawthorne and Flannery O'Connor ideas are quite similar that both stories are based on having faith with God and not having faith with god can lean you towards evil that lead to a path that has a dead end. The two authors Hawthorne and O'Connor use mythological strategy in their stories that gives a message of what faith and evil is. In both of the stories in "Young Goodman" by Nathaniel Hawthorne and "A Good Man is Hard to Find" by Flannery O'Connor establish symbolism to describe the social standing within both stories that faith is important to over come the threat of evil that persist. The characters in "Young Goodman" by Hawthorne, Goodman Brown was vulnerable and wanted to go own his way in life to follow his own path and not
In the story “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor, spirituality and grace is the underlying theme as much of her works reveals. Without this premise most of her work would be impossible to interpret and understand. With her Christian background at the forefront, the reader can interpret and synthesis her story out rightly. In life’s spiritual journey it often takes a personal crisis to awaken the spiritual senses. On the mission to eternal spiritual truths, the crises encountered, despite their threatening outward concealments, take on a lesser significance than the spiritual truths that these crises often unearth. These interpretations truly describe the
The story begun with the grandmother not wanting to go to Florida, but Tennessee where she has some friends to see. She ironically dresses in her Sunday best. She is dressed very nicely with, "A navy blue dress with a small white dot in the print. Her collars and cuffs were white organdy trimmed with lace and at her neckline she had pinned a purple spray of cloth violets containing a sachet"(382). A strong foreshadowing imagery can be seen in this line. Knowing the ending of the story, the grandmother's elaborate dress symbolizes a preparation for her funeral. When a person die, he or she usually are dressed in their best outfit, just like the grandmother is dressed in what seems to be her Sunday best.
Throughout the story we are introduced with many literary elements that Flannery O’Connor uses to illustrate the message of the story. The author uses flashbacks and foreshadowing very effectively to point out the strain that the grandmother had in accepting the social changes. In the story, while the family was on their way to Florida, they stopped at Red
It draws the reader in and evokes a number of possible emotions. In this story, the point of view is third-person limited omniscient, meaning that the reader is only aware of one character’s thoughts and emotions. Generally, this point of view urges emotional involvement between the reader and character by which the story is being told. However, in this story, it is difficult to become emotionally attached or sympathize with the narrator. This is because with having the narrator as the grandmother, a manipulative woman who is selfish and interested in only acquiring her needs, the reader is likely to mistrust her and realize the flaws in her view of a good man. Nancy L. Nester, an author from Roger Williams University, views the grandmother as very selfish and manipulative through the quote, “she makes a feeble attempt to infuse the Misfit with appreciation for some vague worth that he possesses”
Flannery O’Connor’s short story, A Good Man Is Hard to Find, explores the skewed concept of morality through the main character’s dialogue and actions. The unnamed grandmother in this story, highlights what her definition of a “good man” is, all while ignoring her own sense of morality and what it actually means to be a decent human.
Lessons are learned through mistakes and experiences, but to completely understand the lesson, a person must be smart enough to profit from their errors and be strong enough to correct them. However, this was not the case for the main character in the short story; A Good Man is Hard to Find written by Flannery O’Connor. In this tale of manipulation and deception, O’Connor depicts the main character, the grandmother, as a shrewd self-centered woman, who considers herself morally superior than the other individuals. Throughout the entire story, she is seen using her manipulative tactics on everyone, which brought her to a sinister ending. O’Connor expertly portrayed the grandmother as a character that did not correct her negative characteristics throughout the story. To prove this statement, the use of time will be applied to help focus on the main idea of the grandmother not changing her deleterious ways throughout this story.
In the beginning of the story, the grandmother proves herself manipulative by using emotion and fear of The Misfit to manipulate her son and his family into changing their mind about wanting to travel to Florida instead of Tennessee. Later she uses the tuned out ears of the parents and the anxious ears of the children to get them excited about going to visit an old plantation home that is not on their father’s detour list. The children beg their parents to let them go to the plantation
grandmother’s suspended thought prior to the wreck is a true cliff hanger. The overall sense emanated about The Misfit is a mystery in itself. The story first mentions him in the first paragraph with the grandmother rumoring, “ ‘Here this fellow that calls himself The Misfit is alone from the Federal Pen and headed toward Florida and you read here what it says he did to these people.’ ” This statement, along with many other references throughout the story, foreshadows the appearance of the Misfit at the end of the story.
In Flannery O'Connor's, " A Good Man is Hard to Find" two characters that are either displayed as good or bad, are the Grandmother and the Misfit. To truly judge if these characters are good or bad, we must analyze the motives and past experiences of both the Grandmother and the Misfit. In doing so we realize that the whole concept of good and bad is flawed and an individual does certain actions based on their past experiences. The Grandmother is portrayed as a person from a good and pious family, so many people would call her "good", however when analyzing her actions such as her treatment of the Misfit, one can argue that she is not good and even bad. On the other hand, the Misfit is considered bad, because he has killed people and has very outrageous religious values, however if you consider his life experiences and his intentions, the Misfit can be
An example of it appears when the old lady states that his son should not take the children anywhere as danger is inevitable along the way. She says a dangerous killer is on the loose. Later in the story, the grandmother is talking to John Wesley, asking what he would do in case he runs into the Misfit. Wesley says he would smack his face. The element of foreshadowing comes into reality as the family tries to show children the famous plantation. They run into the Misfit. Later in the story, the family drives across some coffee fields with several graves fenced at the middle of the field. Again this foreshadowing represents their pending
This is based on the grounds that “the Misfit”, an escaped criminal, is on the loose somewhere in Florida. The ironic part of this is that the grandmother is the only family member to conceive of bad things happening to the family. She bases this solely on the fact that they were traveling in the same direction as the Misfit. This negative thinking quite possibly could have led to the eventual rendezvous between the convict and the family. The following day, the family heads off to Florida.