A Good Man Is Hard To Find Summary

A Good Man Is Hard To Find Summary
In Flannery O'Connor's short story "A Good Man Is Hard to Find", O'Connor tells the story mainly
on the emphasis of the grandmothers prospective. The grandmother was never named in the short
story, only leaving the reader to guess if this story was how O'Connor portrayed a feeling toward
society and religion. In order for the reader to understand the point of view of the story, the reader
must look at the back ground of the author. Born in Georgia, where the story takes place, O'Connor
was raised a devout Roman Catholic in a largely Protestant South. Due to O'Connor's Catholic
religion and conservative upbringing in the protestant south it is easy to see her obvious disapproval
with society and others religious values. O'Conner died at ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net
...
Cyril of Jerusalem, "The dragon is by the side of the road, watching those who pass. Beware lest he
devour you. We go to the Father of Souls, but it is necessary to pass by the dragon". (183) Whether
the dragon is the devil or Christ is up for debate, regardless, according to O'Connor, this figure is
watching and judging us all. (Bouchard) O'Connor has been described as a Southern Gothic writer
because of the violence and moral confusion of her characters. (Bouchard 3) According to Larson:
The humor often results from the unexpected context of the violence, the violence shocks the
characters into self–awareness, and the religious themes center on the grace offered through self–
awareness. O'Connor's stories often end with either the death or the humiliation of her characters
that it may seem satirical that her theme is one of optimism and hope. For O'Connor, however, the
highest value is the acceptance of grace, and her characters often do not recognize grace, much less
feel the need of it, until their lives are threatened. (Larson) All of this leads back to the point of view
that O'Connor makes in her stories is from her own standpoint about religion and
... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...

A Good Man Is Hard To Find
Finding Mercy in A Good Man Is Hard to Find
In "A Good Man Is Hard to Find," Flannery O'Connor represents her style of writing very
accurately. She includes her "themes and methods – comedy, violence, theological concern – and
thus makes them quickly and unmistakably available" (Asals 177). In the beginning of the story
O'Connor represents the theme of comedy by describing the typical grandmother. Then O'Connor
moves on to include the violent aspect by bringing the Misfit into the story. At the end of the story
the theme changes to theological concern as the attention is directed towards the grandmother's
witnessing. As the themes change throughout the story, the reader's perception of the grandmother
also changes.
In the ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
She intentionally lies about the house having a secret panel just to get the kids interest so that Bailey
would be more likely to stop and visit. The grandmother is also portrayed as being very loud and
outgoing. When the family stops at the restaurant, she carries on a conversation with a complete
stranger. She also wants to get up and dance.
The reader is almost forced to look at the actions of the grandmother as being similar to that of a
young child. There's not a quiet moment with her around and she never sits still. The reader tends to
have a negative perception of the grandmother due to these personality traits. However, these traits
are expressed in a comical way causing the reader to be annoyed by the grandmother, but also
entertained.
As the story progresses, the theme changes from being comical to being violent. Also, the reader's
perception of the grandmother becomes more intense . As O'Connor said, "[t]here is a change of
tension from the first part of the story to the second where the Misfit enters, but this is no lessening
of reality" ("On" 176). The presence of the Misfit causes the story to become more of a mystery;
therefore, the actions of the grandmother also become a mystery because the reader doesn't know
what to expect from her. It is a surprise to the reader to find the grandmother become so sincere. The
grandmother tries many traditional methods to keep the Misfit from killing

'A Good Man Is Hard To Find'
The short story, "A Good Man is Hard to Find," is told by having the attention on the grandmother
and her believe that she knows better than anyone else, she is the central character. She believes that
her family as well believes that she is a good judge of human nature according to her. Although this
story is told in third person we are able to see the point of view of the grandmother directly. We as
well see the confrontation with evil through her view, in the form of the Misfit we see evil. The main
point that goes across throughout this short story is that we all make mistakes. In this story, it goes
to show on how everyone is guilty of something, everyone has sinned once. As stated the
grandmother was the central character and Flannery

Essay On A Good Man Is Hard To Find
In the short story essay, I will talk about two stories. The first one is "A Good Man Is Hard to Find"
by Flannery O'Connor. The article that I will talk about is " O'Connor's A Good Man Is Hard To
Find" by Nancy L Nester. Before I read the critic's view, I focus on their trip because the author talks
a lot of the plan of their trip. For example, the grandmother did not want to go to Florida. She wants
to east Tennessee in the begin. I think they will talk more details in the story. However, after I read
the critic's view. Nancy has different opinion than me. He thinks the article of climax is the
grandmother. In the next paragraph, I will talk about how do I think the article "O' Connor's A Good
Man Is Hard to Find" by Nancy L Nester. ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Misfit said, " I am confuse everything from Jesus. If Jesus is right, then we are all should follow
him. However, if he didn't actually raise the dead, then all anyone can do is enjoy their time on earth
by indulging in "meanness." Finally, Misfits and other men did not let they go and kill everyone who
is from the family. In the article of the "O'Connor's A Good Man Is Hard to Find" by Nancy L
Nester. He points out that in the whole story the grandmother is the high climax. When Misfits try to
kill them. The grandmother asked him to do not kill them, and tell him that you should pray. God
will help you. The grandmother is not only telling him to pray, and ask him that have you pray
before? Misfits did not pray, and he did not believe God. On the other hand. When grandmother asks
him to pray, she is also asking God to help her and her family. The grandmother thinks she can
persuade three men did not kill her and her family. She has a lot of confidence. However, everything
has changed. After she heard the gunshots. She feels despair because she knew whatever she did for
her family, it west time. I agree with Nancy because I think he is more right. We look the same
article, but different focus. Even though we look the same article, he can see something that I did not
see. For example, I always focus on what's happened in the story. For example, when I read the short
story, I just read the plot. I did not read the detail of the story and I never

When spending time with dear friends and family, so often do we take time to reminisce about how
good things used to be. So often do we look so far back that we disregard what is currently
happening around us as we think of a time where gas used to be a dollar and fifty seven cents. A
Good Man is Hard to Find is a short story written by Flannery O'Connor. It is the story of a family
living in Georgia which intends on going to Florida for vacation. This road trip sadly takes a turn for
the worst when the family ends up in a tragic automobile accident and lands at the mercy of the
Misfit. There is a general theme in this story of how living in the past can lead to not being prepared
for the future, and it is visited numerous times throughout ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net
...
The Continued Persistance of Nostalgia
This persistence of living in the past is quite visible to the reader as we progress through the story.
After the family had embarked on their vacation road trip it was not long until the
Grandmother had begun to speak about landmarks they were passing as well as scenes that she
would like to paint. While the children were rather unamused by their grandmothers recanting of the
past, the Grandmother was living in only her memory this is further reflected with how excited the
Grandmother seems when passing an old family graveyard. "They passed a large cotton field with
five or fix graves fenced in the middle of it, like a small island. "Look at the graveyard!" the
grandmother said, pointing it out. "That was the old family burying ground. That belonged to the
plantation."
"Where's the plantation?" John Wesley asked.
"Gone With the Wind" said the grandmother. "Ha. Ha.""( 354/355) Shortly afterward, the
Grandmother decides to tell the children a story about her life when she was younger. This story is
about how a many with the initials E.A.T would bring her watermelon every Saturday afternoon.
One afternoon she had not been home and the gentleman had left the watermelon

Moment of Grace A Good Man is Hard to Find, by Flannery O'Connor is an American classic that
most high school students have read in there life. The story takes place in Georgia with the Wesley
family. One novel that is vary similar to this short story is In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. In A
Good Man is Hard to Find, the story begins with a grandmother yelling at her grandchild that they
should not go to Florida for vacation because an escaped convict known as the Misfit. The
grandmother begs them to go to Tennessee so they are in no danger. Her children refuse and make
plans to go to Florida. On there way to Florida, the family ran off the road and ended up in a ditch.
They landed in a ditch off a dirt road and a car pulls over to help them. Three men exit the car, all
with guns. The women examine the man closely and recognizes his face. Turns out the man is none
other then the Misfit himself. The Misfit has his associates take Bailey ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
This novel is about two men who broke into the Clutter family home wanting to rob them. With the
robbery gone wrong, everybody in the Clutter family was murdered. Mrs. Clutter and the
Grandmother from A Good Man is Hard to Find are very similar characters. Right before Mrs.
Clutter was murdered, she told Perry that she thought he was a decent young man. The grandmother
told the Misfit before she was murdered that she thought he was a good man and that he could not
kill an old lady. Both of these women thought if they say the good in people, it would end up saving
their lives. More towards the end of A Good Man is Hard to Find, the grandmother tries to reason
with the Misfit. She understands that she is going to die, but she has to try everything in her power
change his mind so he does not kill her. She tries to appeal to his emotional side. He is a cold
blooded killer who has no emotions. Is is not logical for her to appeal to his emotions because he is
not capable of

A Good Man is hard to find
"A Good Man Is Hard To Find ", is a short story about a man and his family. The story focuses on
what happens the family when they are challenged by fate. The grandmother plays the biggest role
in the story. She is responsible for the family's fate because she intervened with their original plans.
Had she not persisted on having her way, the story's outcome would be different. In the story the
grandmother has a controlling personality, the family cannot avoid their fate, and the ending
provides a sense of closure.
The grandmother in this story is extremely annoying. She constantly persists that the family should
do what she wants. She even goes as far as lying to them. Her controlling personality drives the
family

Analysis Of A Good Man Is Hard To Find
In O'Connor's short story, "A Good Man is Hard to Find," the setting contributes to the reader's
understanding of Bailey's out of tune family. We can assume the story took place in the post–war
mid century era given the fact that O'Connor wrote this story in 1953 and when the grandmother
says, "the way Europe acted you would think we were made of money" (O'Connor). During the
1940's and 1950's the backbone of the American dream was "hard work, family values, and hope"
(Desmond). Families from back then were big on respect and took family time seriously. When
comparing a traditional mid century family to Bailey's family there is a distinct difference that
allows us to label them as a dysfunctional family. Although we do not get a look into the family's
work ethic, we do get a close enough look to see their lack of family values. Throughout the story
there are several times where the family reveals that they are clearly flawed with the words they
choose to say or simply with their actions.
One of the characters we see this most in is the daughter June Star. In the beginning of the story she
talks about the grandmother in a mocking way, saying that grandmother could not bear to stay at
home by herself and that she had to go everywhere they go. A more obvious time she reveals her
ugly attitude is when Red Sam's wife compliments June Star and asks if she would like to be her
little girl. June Star responds with "No I certainly wouldn't, I wouldn't live in a broken–down place
like this for a minion bucks!" (O'Connor). No one bothers to notice how embarrassing her remark is
or bothers to scold her but the grandmother. It is not only June Star who shows a lack of values but
we also see that Bailey allows his children to dictate his decisions. After Bailey tells not only the
two kids but the grandmother as well that they will not be making any stops, the two children begin
to throw a ugly fit, while the grandmother continuously tries to change his mind. We gather from
this incident that the children and grandmother lack reverence for the father, and by Bailey giving
in, he shows that he lacks authority. Normally, a father is supposed to be the head of the household
and have the last word. "The Bible is quite clear in

What makes a good man
How many people do you encounter each day whom considers themselves to be a righteous person?
Do you agree or disagree with this persons judgement of their own character? Often a person might
hide behind his or her religion as a justification for the actions made in every day life. Perhaps some
people may decide that commiting enough positive actions can some how cancel out their negative
actions, allowing them to consider themselves a righteous person. In Flannery O'Connors story "A
Good Man Is Hard To Find", the author challenges her readers to consider what it truly means to be
a "good man" and why these qualities are so hard to find in a person. As the story opens we are
introduced to a grandmother who is ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
The reader Bailey's wrath would not come down on her all at once". (Paragraph 67) Even with all of
the trouble she has caused the elderly woman is so concerned with the belief that she is a good
person that she uses it as a justification for her wrongdoings.
It is not until the family is faced with a criminal who calls himself "The Misfit" that the truth behind
the grandmother really comes to the surface. The grandmother immediately recognizes him and
ignorantly calls him out on his identity, which puts her family into more danger than before. Her son
Bailey is so angry with his mother at this point that he "says something to his mother that shocked
even the children" (Paragraph 85) and it becomes even more evident that the woman has been
provocing angry feelings from her family for some time now. Even the children have made remarks
towards the woman throughout the story, which is a devastating blow when even your own family
has negative feelings towards you. Throughout all of the responses from her family, the grandmother
still continues to act in her usual selfish ways. Once she is faced up against The Misfit, the
grandmother begins trying to manipulate him just as she has done to her family. She tries to
persuade him into trusting that she believes him to be a "good man at heart".(Paragraph 91) At this
point the grandmother has always been able to manipulate those around her, but The Misfit proves
to be not so

I find myself missing the major hints or clues in a book, even if they are right in front of me.
Usually, I have to read a book twice to finally understand why the story ended that way. This is the
same way with "A Good Man is Hard to Find" by Flannery O'Connor's. The story is about a family
who wants to have a vacation in Florida. The grandmother, who is the focus of the story, wants to go
to Tennessee instead. She tries to convince everyone that there is a killer running loose down in
Florida; the Misfit. They all ignore her and drive to Florida anyway. Without telling her family
union, the grandmother brings her cat along for the ride. They drive for several hours until they stop
at a restaurant called Red Sammy's. She talks to the owner of the restaurant about how people are
not nice anymore and "good men are hard to find." They leave the restaurant and head back on the
road, but the ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
She convinces them to drive onto an abandon dirt road, but suddenly remembers that the plantation
is in Tennessee instead of George. Her sudden reaction causes her cat, who is under the seat, to jump
out and bounce on the driver. The driver loses control and the car smacks right into a ditch.
Everyone is okay until a truck pulls up and three guys jump out. The grandmother recognizes one of
them as the Misfit. He tells his two men to take the family into the woods, and one at a time shoots
and kills them. Meanwhile the grandmother tries to kiss up to the Misfit to save her life, but nothing
she says works. With being the only one not killed yet, she tries to talk to the Misfit about religion
and Jesus. The Misfit opens up to her about his past and how he has done some thinking about
Jesus. At that moment, she has some clarity and reaches out to touch him. He ends up shooting her
three times in the chest. When the other two men return from the woods, he tells them "She
would've been a good woman if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of

In Flannery O'Connor's short story, "A Good Man is Hard to Find", the interactions between the
bizarre characters create an interesting framework in which O'Connor can discuss the nature of
human psychology. The short story focuses on the series of unfortunate events that comprise a
family's road trip across the southeast. Through these events and the character's various reactions,
the reader realizes that nothing in life can be taken for what it seems. In the short story, some of the
characters experience circumstances that challenge their outlook on life. It is evident that the author
believes people are often not who they pretend to be. Through the course of events in "A Good Man
is Hard to Find", we experience how different people actually ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
Although she had always preached about her olden days in which people were kinder, she in fact
was not kind at all. She manipulated her family into listening to her. It was her fault that they were
in the mess they stumbled into. She finally takes the blame for all of her sins once she realizes that
her life is about to end. Acting as if she is a saint, she reaches out to touch the Misfit suggesting that
she has forgiven him for his sins. As she moves towards him she murmurs, "Why you're one of my
babies. You're one of my children." (137) As if in a trance from the old lady's discussion about God
and forgiveness, the Misfit recoils from her touch and shoots her three times. Although the
grandmother is unable to change the Misfit's habit of killing, her pure soul at the end of her life
shocks the killer. He finally realizes that there are some truly innocent victims and after killing the
old lady, he sees that his life no longer means anything. He remarks to his partner in crime that "It's
no real pleasure in life" suggesting that the Misfit can no longer enjoy killing. The grandmother's
actions before her death convinced the killer that people could be saved through believing in

Do you discover yourself stunned or baffled at the end of a decent book? Do you wind up scratching
your head and marvel what simply happened? Great author's know how to influence reader's to think
a certain way, and include a contort that will abandon you saying, "I didn't see that coming!" After
rereading, concealed intimations turn out to be clear paving the way to the last conclusion. This is
known as "bread crumbs."Author's love tossing bread pieces into their story to demonstrate that
things aren't precisely as they show up. One case of an incredible plot turn is "A Good Man is Hard
to Find" by Flannery O' Connor. The story has numerous laughter and funniness that we all can
relate concerning vacations. Rotten little brother's and sister's, grandma who gets what she needs,
father who is in ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
The story takes an emotional turn from all the silliness to a dim and frightful mood. What simply
happened? O'Connor blindsides reader's if not carefully evaluating information that leads up to the
family's death. The primary hint we see is the point at which the grandma advises her son the The
Misfit, a serial executioner, is in Florida running free. "Here this fellow calls himself The Misfit is
aloose from the Federal Pen and headed toward Florida." Another piece of information is the point
at which the family passes a vast cotton field with graves around a little island. "They passed a large
cotton field with five or six graves, fenced in the middle of it"(O'Conner,203). O'Conner anticipates
the family's demise by them passing the six graves as there are six individuals in the auto. At the
point when reading the title, "A Good Man is Hard to Find", you naturally anticipate the story being
precisely what the title implies. O'Connor intentionally needed reader's to think along these lines
excessively, diverting what it's really implied to mean. Reader's who fall into this trap become
confused, even shocked by the unintended conclusion.

Jada Gardner
Professor Moir
May 6, 2015
English 1102
Society and Class in "A Good Man is Hard to Find" In Flannery O'Connor's short story, "A Good
Man is Hard to Find" the grandmother and the Misfit become the main focus even though the other
characters are involved in the story. Throughout the entire story, The Misfit is portrayed as the
symbol of evil because he was in jail; he escaped from jail, and he committed murders. The
grandmother believes to be greater than the people that she are around because of the "good" that
she portrays. The conventional meaning of good, or possessing or displaying moral virtue, is not the
particular good that the grandmother is trying to portray throughout the story. The grandmother
believes that good ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
They don't have any sympathy for the lower class, and this shows that they are of a higher class.
When the grandmother speaks of painting "this picture" this also refers that they are of a higher
social class because the grandmother is able to take up in art class. Using the word "good" for the
qualities that she believe should be in people, the grandmother sets a proper standard. She tells Red
Sammy that he is "...a good man" (O'Connor 409). Red Sammy and the grandmother begin to talk
about how times have changed. He and the grandmother discuss when times were better. Red
Sammy conveys the title of the story by commenting on how it isn't easy to trust people "A good
man is hard to find. Everything is terrible. I remember the day you could go off and leave your
screen door unlatched. Not no more." (O'Connor 409). The grandmother continues by saying that
Europe was to blame. After riding along a little further, the family is involved in a car accident. The
main reason that the family is involved in the car accident is due to the grandmother. The
grandmother remembers a mansion that she visits as a young girl. She is eager to go, because she
wants the children to see how she grew up. This further states how the grandmother social class,
because she lived in a mansion. During the time of the grandmother's life, only plantation owners
and their family lived in mansions. This also stressed the social class of the grandmother, because
you can tell from this that the

The story titled, "A Good Man is Hard to find" demonstrates a typical scenario of a carjacking
incident whereby family members are left shell shocked by the turn of events. The Misfit in this case
is the offender with Bobby Lee used as the perpetrator of the crime because The Misfit argues that
he is a good man, only prison made him change that stance. In any case, whatever happens to the
Grandmother's family has got no major relation with people being either good or bad. It is just a
family group that had varied opinions and in this case as well, they had divergent views on what was
actually transpiring. In the following sections, will demonstrate how the events that led to the
executions of the family members are believable in this case.
The events that led to the grandmother's family following Bobby Lee to the woods to be executed
are definitely believable. The Misfit together with his crew approached the family in a proper
manner. At some points they looked like good people and that is why the family members
cooperated all through the process. O'Connor (146) asserts, "The Misfit instructs Hiram and Bobby
Lee to take Bailey and John Wesley over to the woods, telling Bailey that his men want to ask him
something." ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
In this way, it becomes quite hard for them to judge him harshly. He even apologizes for him not
having a shirt on at the moment. Such a perception demonstrates someone who is socially connected
and that is able to know whenever he is doing anything wrong. He goes on to say we "borrowed
these from some folks we met" (O'Connor 147) Again, this is a statement of good will considering
that they had buried the clothes they had been wearing in prison. In any case, no one would just
comfortable wearing prison garments. If they borrowed the clothes, then they must be men of noble
character. The family could not have interrogated the matter

The Grandmother In A Good Man Is Hard To Find
O'Connor's succeeds to bring out his arguments in this short story to sum up the feeling that in
today's world, societal morals and values have drastically crumbled making the world an inhabitable
place.
INTRODUCTION
The author presents his main theme of fate by bringing the reader to a family's holiday which is
unfortunately brought to a sudden end by a murder (O'Connor 36). The grandmother argues that the
family should go to Tennessee instead of Florida. Her insistence makes the family to deviate from
the right path in an attempt to look for a fake treasure. The rebelliousness the family exhibits is a
sign of moral decadence. The grandmother's decision makes the family appear like it admires the
Misfit. At the beginning of the story, the ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
He uses personalities like Misfit to support it. This propping up is evidenced by the use the
grandchildren and Jesus. In the story, the old woman says that she could go with her children
anywhere and could give answer to her consciousness if possible. Finally, this lady comes into a
situation where she tries to give answers to her conscience by frustratingly assuming that Misfit is
not a bad person. Misfit on the other hand insists that indeed he is a bad person (O'Connor 36).
Misfit compares himself to Jesus where he says that Jesus suffered for other people's sins just the
same way he got punished for mistakes he never did. The theme that "a good man is hard to find"
undoubtedly refers to Jesus. This is because Misfit tries to compare himself to Jesus but he finally
commits a murder. The old woman's shaky faith in Jesus is over. By Jesus not delivering her shows
that indeed "a good man is hard to

"A Good Man is Hard to Find" by Flannery O'Connor was published in 1953. "A Good Man is Hard
to Find" to me, explored how some people in the 20th century behaved. The main character, The
Grandmother, was a very egotistical, all she cared about was herself. Those type of people, even
nowadays, are extremely easy to come by. Even though there were more characters, the
grandmother showed Southern Gothic features the most, she was a misfit of her own. In this story, I
came to realization that, some people are just down right bad people, heartless. I believe there aren't
many good people in this world, that's why I think the title is greater than just men as a sex, I think it
goes for everyone. To me, this was a very great story, it showed the many ways people conducted
themselves. It also showed me that, even if you try to convince some people it won't work, everyone
has their own thoughts on how their life should be. I always knew that there were heartless people in
the world, and this story just made me understand how long people have been like that. Some
people, since forever, have been terrible to anyone they come about. The Grandmother in this ...
Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
As much as people say they are this kind, gentle person, sometimes they lie right to your face. After
I read this story, my thoughts on there being bad people in this world just maximized. This story just
further detailed that people can be awful. Although I truly wish there were more good than bad
people in this world, I know some days the bad just outweighs the good. People every day are
choosing to do these terrible things to people for no reason at all. Maybe one day people will finally
realize that, being a bad person isn't something good, rather it causes more pain than anything. I
completely agree with everything; Flannery O'Connor wrote in this story. She described how people
can be unsympathetic

Standing Tall
It is the human condition to be dependent upon others; this has always been so. Humans look up to
siblings, best friends, grandparents, and even teachers but the most sought out dependency in life is
in the form of a father. Much is expected from the male gender, but moreso of fathers.
A father's predetermined role in society is to make the decisions for, protect, and keep order in his
home. The same holds true for Bailey in Flannery O'Connor's short story "A Good Man is
Hard to Find".
Initially, Bailey's role in this short story is to make the decisions for his family. Just as a father
would prohibit his son from cruising around on his dirtbike after dark, Bailey determines what
decisions are most sensible for his family. "'Let's go see it!' John Wesley (son) said... 'We ... Show
more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Though Bailey would receive grief as a result of his decision, he understood it as his duty to make
the judgment calls for his family, even if not always the popular choice.
Additionally, in "A Good Man is Hard to Find", Bailey's role is the protector of the family.
Often times, fathers are expected to be the bad cop in situations that may seem dangerous or difficult
in order to ensure the safety of his family. For example, during the story, Bailey's family desired to
sneak into a foreign home. "'You can't go inside this house,' Bailey said. 'You don't know who lives
there.'" (O'Connor 431). Here, Bailey represents the societal role of being the voice of reason in
order to keep his family out of harms' way. Also, as a father, Bailey is expected to handle dangerous
and difficult situations. "'Hush!' Bailey yelled. 'Hush!

'A Good Man is Hard to Find' is a short story written by Mary Flanner O'Conner that explores many
themes in modern society. The characters in this story include Bailey, his grandmother, and children
who are seen planning for a trip initially to Florida which the grandmother is opposed to. The story
arc takes unexpected turn at the end of the story which prompts the reader to question, who is a good
man or who is a good woman? The story as mentioned starts off when the family states that they
should visit Florida (Kirszner, 2012). The first instance that we get the mention of a good man in the
story is when a man by the name of Sammy due his assumption let two good men charge for
themselves the fuel that they had used but instead of giving him ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
There many obstacles that the lady occurs in her journey but through her resilience and
determination she is able to concur them. We are going to look descriptively at situations in the story
that shows the determination of the old lady throughout the story. The first instance of resilience is
shown when on her journey her dress gets stuck on a hill of bushes (Kirszner, 2012). Even though it
might seem like a small deed freeing herself from the thrones, it represents a small resilience which
is important when it comes to building character. The lady frees herself of the thrones, picks up her
cane and continues with her journey, shrugging it off as a minor stumbling block. As she proceeds
she further encounters another deterrent to her journey. She approaches creek and she eventually
coming to a halt fearing to proceed further. Using her words, she says that, "At the foot of this hill
was a place where a log was laid across the creek" and proceeds to say, "Now comes the trial" right
before she took a leap of faith and decided to cross to the other side (Dazey, 1979). "Putting her
right foot out, she mounted the log and shut her eyes. Lifting her skirt, leveling her cane fiercely
before her, like a festival figure in some parade, she began to march across. Then she opened her
eyes and she was safe on the other side". The final instance that

Local color by definition is "the customs, manner of speech, dress, or other typical features of a
place or period that contribute to its particular character." Any given location has its own local color,
but that of the southern region of the United States is especially prominent. The local color of this
region is demonstrated in the short stories "A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner and "A Good
Man is Hard to Find" by Flannery O'Connor. Although different aspects of local color are expressed,
both authors capture the local color of the south in their short stories. The south is most well–known
for drawling accents, pre (and post) civil war racism and large states with even larger plantations
and farms. These are only generalizations however, ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
"Miss Emily" refused to pay her taxes because she believed she was pardoned from them due to the
fact that Colonel Sartoris had once loaned money to their hometown. Nobody in her town
challenged her on this, or the matter that she still had a negro servant that attended to her in her old
fashioned home that she refused to update. The local color of the era Miss Emily wished to live in is
particularly apparent. Her home is even described as once being part of the best neighborhood in
town, another reason Miss Emily was stuck in the past. Another example of local color in "A Rose
for Emily" is the oddity that even though Miss Emily is an outsider in town, nobody bothers to
challenge her because she has an "Old South" social standing. This means that in previous times
social standings in the south were taken more seriously than the present time of the story, even
though Miss Emily still regards herself with the same old standard. Nobody in the town wanted to
go against her and challenge a "lady" to the point where they unknowingly allowed her to poison her
Yankee husband–to–be. This is ironic because nobody in the town believed they would have been
married anyways due to the fact that he was from the north and she was from the south, which is yet
another example of local

The first sentence in the story reveals to us that the grandmother is the main character in the story,
and that she doesn't want to go to Florida, which suggests something bad is going to happen if she
does go to Florida. The author's intent in "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" is to show, as the title
suggests, that a good man is hard to find.
The context in which the word man is used is to describe all humans, not men specifically. The
author uses Red Sammy, the Misfit, and the grandmother as examples of "good" people. Of course
none of these characters are good people. The grandmother thinks of herself as morally superior to
everyone else, and therefore she is always telling others what she thinks is right and what should be
done. She claims

A good man is hard to find
The Use of Religion in Flannery O'Connor's "A Good Man is Hard to Find"
Flannery O 'Connor is a Christian writer, and her work shows Christian themes of good and evil,
grace, and salvation. O'Connor has challenged the theme of religion into all of her works largely
because of her Roman Catholic upbringing. O'Connor wrote in such a way that the characters and
settings of her stories are unforgettable, revealing deep insights into the human existence. In
O'Connor's Introduction to a "Memoir of Mary Ann," she claims that Christians live to prepare for
their death. This statement is reflected in her other works, including her short story "A Good Man is
Hard To Find." After reading "A Good Man is Hard to Find," many questions remain unanswered ...
Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
The irony in the story is shown when the grandmother, who thinks she is a good Christian, in reality
is just as evil as the Misfit.
When the grandmother and the Misfit are alone the grandmother's selfishness becomes apparent to
readers. Even though her family had just been murdered, largely because of the consequences of her
selfish acts, she is focused on saving her own life. Furthermore, she tries to convince the Misfit that
he is a good man. "I just know you 're a good man." (O'Connor "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" 148)
The Misfit replies with, "Nome, I ain 't a good man...but I ain 't the worst in the world neither."
(O'Connor "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" 148) He accepts the fact that he has done wrong but
knows there are others who are worst. The grandmother speaks of prayer to the Misfit but is unable
to recite one single prayer. She just repeatedly uses Jesus name, almost as if she is cursing. This
symbolizes her weak understanding of being a Christian.
The Misfit is struggling with his faith in God. While he believes in the existence of a God, he does
not believe in an active God. His faith struggles are likely because of the injustice he has
experienced as a result of his wrongful conviction of murdering his father. He explains his doubts
about Jesus' resurrection from the dead with the grandmother: "'I wasn 't there so I can 't say

Misfit In A Good Man Is Hard To Find
In "A Good Man is Hard to Find" by Flannery O'Connor the author introduces the character
"Misfit", who is an escaped murderer, and also introduces a family that is going to go on a vacation
to Florida. This family will ultimately meet their untimely death at the hands of Misfit. Bailey and
his family went on a vacation to Florida, even though the grandmother tried to convince them not to,
she said, "Now look here Bailey," "see here, read this, "Here this fellow called Misfit is a loose from
the federal pen and headed toward Florida and you read here what it says he did to these people. Just
you read it. I wouldn't take my children in a direction with a criminal like that a loose in it. I couldn't
answer to my conscience if I did" (O'Connor 276). Her words would sadly come back to haunt them.
During the course of their trip, the family got into an auto accident, caused by the cat Pitty Sing
(who wasn't supposed to be in the car anyway) jumping onto Bailey's shoulder. This action caused
Bailey to crash, everyone in the car was thrown around, and the car flipped over once and landed
right side up. After that, a car came down the road and was flagged down by the grandmother. It was
at this time that the family encountered the Misfit, who ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Even facing death the grandmother still called on Jesus and evoked Misfit to pray, but he insisted he
hadn't been treated fairly and that his punishments have not fit his crimes. The Misfit even went on
to say some derogatory things about Jesus. When Misfit killed the grandmother, he appeared to not
have any remorse or shame in doing it, he even spoke of her as being too talkative, etc., one of his
last statements to one of his cohorts was "It's no real pleasure in

"Hiriam and Bobby Lee returned from the woods and stood over the ditch, looking down at the
grandmother who half sat and half lay on a puddle of blood with her legs crossed under her like a
child's and her face smiling up at the cloudless sky" (O'Connor 377). The moment of grace is a
significant occurrence in the short story, in the Catholic terminology, the moment of grace is a
special gift from God, in which God suddenly fills her with almost supernatural love and
understanding. "The Misfit" murders the grandmother, she has already redeemed herself, she has
accepted the fact that she is going to die therefore she dies with a smile on her face, peacefully.
"Redemption is possible only through an extreme act, an act of absolute, irrevocable ... Show more
content on Helpwriting.net ...
"The next morning, the grandmother was the first one in the car, ready to go." (O'Connor 367) The
grandmother prays in the hope that she can induce The Misfit to spare her life by appealing to his
religious sense. However, The Misfit seems to have thought about Christ more than the
Grandmother, which is an example of irony. The Misfit's doubt in Jesus leads him to think that there
is no right from wrong, and sees no clear purpose in life. The grandmother appears to receive a
moment of divine grace, which might transform her and The Misfit. How this ending is understood
is the major question of the story. "She would of been a good woman" said the Misfit, if it had been
somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life." (O'Connor 377) O'Connor's theory of acting
upon the conflict between evil and pure grace, in her stories, results in violence, thus the
grandmother's death was in order for her to be redeemed. "If this view can be applied to /miss
O'Connor and I think it can then it would seem that her heritage as a Christian and as a Southern
both stem from a redemption achieved through suffering." (Shinn

In William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily," and Flannery O'Connor's "A good man is hard to find,"
both authors present main characters who are contrasting to the people in their society. In Faulkner's
work, Emily Grierson is an outsider because she hides herself from the people in town for more than
thirty years. They have no clue that she has kept homers body in her home for so long until the day
she dies. Also, in O'Connor's work, the grandmother describes herself as a Pure, good woman but
her actions contradict her by proving she's manipulative and evil. In this way, both characters are
outsiders by choosing not to show their true identities to their respective societies. First of all, there
are many different types of outsiders based on ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
She suffers from Necrophilic, in other words she's attracted to dead bodies. "She told them that her
father was not dead. She did it for three days" (Faulkner). Her father had full potential control over
her life that after his dead, the only way Emily could have control over him would be by keeping his
dead body. Then came Homer, a construction worker who went around town gossiping about having
sex with Emily which leads to Emily buying rat poison to kill him, "The fact that certain people in
town knew that Homer was in the upstairs room argues a similar recognition of Emily's need to
cling to Homer as she had tried to her father" (Getty). Again, he lied and did not have plans on
marrying her, he was known to hang out with younger guys as referring to him as a homosexual
man. so to have control over him would be by killing him, but this time he didn't keep the body for
three days but for thirty years. One similarity between the two characters is that the people in their
society have not yet met their true personas. The grandmother portrays herself differently around her
son and grandchildren as for Emily Grierson, the people in her hometown hardly ever see her. She is
mostly known for her father's reputation. One difference both characters have is that the
grandmother at the end seems to find spiritual peace. At the beginning, she described the misfit as a
bad guy, but the moment she touched him, she connected with him and knew he was a

Flannery O'Connor's A Good Man is Hard to Find
"A Good Man is Hard to Find presents a masterful portrait of a woman who creates a self and a
world through language." At least that is what Mary Jane Shenck thinks of the Flannery O'Connor
story. Several different people have several different views of this controversial and climatic work of
O'Connor's. In this paper I will take a look at these different views of different situations and
characters in this book.
First we will take a look at grandmother. She is made to look like the saint in this story. Her, in
contrast to the rest, is the good person, always looking out for the best of others. She is not going on
vacation, she is going to visit her "connections" in Tennessee. While ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
This way he knows what he has done and what he hasn't. He tells the grandmother this before killing
her. The reason for doing this, in the Misfit's mind, is so that he can match up the crime with the
punishment and see if they are right for each other. If they are not then you know that the system
hasn't done their job correctly. He knows that his punishment is no mistake because he wrote down
his actions. He respects the power of the words because they define what he does.
The other identity mask that the Misfit puts on is the mask of the Lone Ranger. He, though, is not
looked upon as a white Lone Ranger, but a black Lone Ranger. The mixture of good and evil inside
of him is a meanness in whole. He feels that he has saved the grandmother by shooting her. He even
turns to one of his two henchmen, Bobby Lee, and tells him something along the line of that she
would have been a good woman if she would have had someone there to shoot her all the time. The
only pleasure that the Misfit got out of killing grandmother is the meanness behind the action.
Now we take a look at the ending. The family had an accident on a back road, flipping their car. This
occurred all because of grandmother. She told Bailey that the old plantation was along this way, and
that the mansion had a secret panel in it. The kids went nuts to see this passage, and Bailey, the
father, gave in and took them down this road to see it. The cat got uncomfortable from the whole
situation and

Symbolism In A Good Man Is Hard To Find
In the short story "A Good Man is Hard to Find", Flannery O'Connor uses symbolism to display
various hidden meanings throughout the story. One common theme portrayed by the symbols in the
story is the families impending death. Some examples regarding their impending death are the
Misfits car, the forest, the sky, the grandmothers hat, and prayer. The use of symbolism throughout
the story allows for readers to get a feel for what may occur. As evidenced in this short story,
O'Connor uses several circumstances and objects that hint at what was going to happen next. In "A
Good Man is Hard to Find" symbolism is prominent in describing the outcome of the family's trip.
One symbol that immediately strikes as dark and deadly is the Misfits car. O'Connor describes the
car, "It was a big black battered hearselike automobile."(O'Connor 476). This hearselike appearance
symbolizes the family's imminent death because the car literally holds dead people, this is a hidden
signal that death has arrived. Since a hearse carries the message of death, the car could also
represent the gruesome past that the three men are dragging along. Another example of symbolism
in the story is the dark forest. Alike, the forest also represents the impending death of the family. The
author writes "...the line of the woods gaped like a dark open mouth." (O'Connor 477). The "dark
open mouth" symbolizes the death they will all face as they are lead into the forest, group by group
to be killed. O'Connor makes

Comparing A Good Man Is Hard To Find And A Good Man Is Hard
Within the short stories, "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings" and "A Good Man is Hard to
Find" there are several areas of both similarity and difference. The differences are not hard to spot
between these two stories. These stories take place in different places, have different cultures, and
are even set in different periods in history, however; if the reader looks deep enough they can see the
common foundation that both stories are built upon. The commonality within both stories manifests
comes in the form two different themes one being the coexistence of cruelty and compassion and the
other being how religion is exploited within both stories just with two vastly different outcomes for
each. To illustrate, the first point of similarity between the two stories the reader can look to the
actions of both The Misfit in "A Good Man is Hard to Find" and the married couple in "A Very Old
Man with Enormous Wings." In "A Good Man is Hard to Find" The Misfit makes the cruel decision
to shoot the grandmother, but what he says ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Interestingly enough, the grandmother only seems concerned with religion when it could possibly
benefit her the most, however; her pleads to The Misfit's sense of religion fall on death ears and
ends up shooting her anyways. In "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings" Pelayo and Elisenda
have a completely different outcome from their exploitation of religion. In this next quote from the
story the reader gets their first sense of how the married couple has personally gained from turning
the "angel" into a side show attraction for the religious set; "Pelayo and Elisenda were happy with
fatigue, for in less than a week they had crammed their rooms with

A Good Man Is Hard To Find Analysis
Darryl Anderson
Ms.L
English 3 Honors
24 April 2018
Summary of A Good Man Is Hard To Find By: Flannery O'Connor In A Good Man is Hard to Find
The grandmother is most excited about the family trip, even if she didn't want to go to the
destination. The family is going to Florida. She would rather visit her "connections" in East
Tennessee. She tried her hardest to change Bailey's , her son, mind about where to go and brings up
a violent criminal she read about in the newspaper. He is often referred to as "The Misfit". Bailey
ignored her story and off to Florida they went. John Wesley and June Star , the grandkids, were very
rude to the grandmother. They always shunned her for family events and wasn't fond of her. When
the family left, "the grandmother was the first one in the car, ready to go. As the family leaves
Atlanta, the grandmother sits between her two grandchildren. She tracks the mileage and ... Show
more content on Helpwriting.net ...
During the trip the grandmother talked endlessly about things like interesting details of the scenery
and warns Bailey about his highway safety . Nobody paid her attention. She always compared how
different life is now and she was a con artist. She made things sound appealing to everyone except
Bailey. On the way to Florida, she convinced her grandchildren to beg their father to visit a old
house she said she remembered seeing when they stopped at the restaurant . While driving down the
dirt road she believed it was on, the cat scared Bailey and they wrecked the car. Soon a hearse–like
vehicle approached and it so happened to be the Misfit. He slowly kills each of them off as sacrifices
and says 'the grandmother had the potential to be a good woman, if it had been somebody there to
shoot her every minute of her life." In the short story, there are many different topics that can be
discussed/analyzed. Religion is a huge part. John Wesley is the name of

Manipulation In A Good Man Is Hard To Find
"A Good Man is Hard to Find" is a short story in which Flannery O'Connor, the author, presents a
tale of good, evil, and divine grace. The grandmother, who is considered to be the main character,
tries to convince the family to go to Tennessee after reading an article about someone who called
himself 'The Misfit.' The family wants to go to Florida, but the grandmother tells the family she
wants to avoid a run in with The Misfit. After their stop in Georgia for food, they find out that she
was not wrong. The short story, "A Good Man is Hard to Find" is about a grandmother who is
manipulative until her very last breath.
The grandmother's first act of manipulation was seen early in the story when she held the newspaper
article out toward her

Good Man Is Hard To Find Morality
Elizabeth Biehle
Ms. Guenat
English 1302.1008
November 18, 2016
Morality in "A Good Man is Hard to Find" "A Good Man is Hard to Find" is written by Flannery
O'Connor. O'Connor was known to be a religious man, and many of his works surrounded his
beliefs. Because of his faith, the theme of morality in his short story is very prominent. The theme of
morality in "A Good Man is Hard to Find" is found through the symbolism of the grandmother's hat,
the sky, the old house, and the dirt road. The grandmother's hat was a symbol of her morality. When
the story begins, the Grandmother mentions that a murderer has escaped from prison, and that the
trip the family has prepared to go on may nit be such a great idea. However, the family decided to
take

Annotated Bibliography
Working Thesis: In "A Good Man is Hard to Find", O'Connor uses the corrupt, manipulative
character of the grandmother, as well as the story's plot and theme in order to emphasize the flaws of
the church and the need for grace.
Fitzgerald, Sally. "On Faith." Letters of Flannery O' Connor, The Habit of Being, edited by Sally
Fitzgerald, Macmillan, 1988, page 90.
In this print source, O'Connor explains how her Catholic faith influences her writing in a positive
manner. She also explains her views on the importance of the church, as well as its positive and
negative actions and consequences. She claims that one must cherish the world while they struggle
to endure it. Sally Fitzgerald studied briefly at Stevens ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
"A Good Man is Hard to Find." Short Stories for Students, vol. 2, Gale, 1997, pp. 97–114.
This article from the SCC database explains that O'Connor sought to present a message of God's
grace and presence in everyday life. It then provides a basic summary of "A Good Man is Hard to
Find". The article continues, going into an in–depth characterization of the grandmother and how
she ultimately dies having transcended into grace. The article's author and editor, Kathleen Wilson,
is a professor of history and cultural studies at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. She
was educated at Yale University and has been awarded fellowships from a number of foundations.
Even though the article was published in 1997, it still holds up, as it is analyzing a story that has
already been written and will not change. There is no evidence of bias, as it is a simple analysis and
summary. This source came from Short Stories for Students, which was published by Gale
Publishing. Gale Publishing is reliable and unbiased, as they are an educational publishing company
that has been publishing works since 1954. There are a few cited sources for this secondary source,
one of which is biased. The biased source is a New York Times Book Review, which is biased in
favor of the story, "A Good Man is Hard to Find". This source will be useful in describing the
grandmother's character and analyzing her connection to spirituality in the first body paragraph. It
also helps to connect

Is It Hard For Find A Good Man?
Hadleigh Garza
Ms. Vernon
English 1302.05
March 26, 2015 Is it Hard to Find a Good Man? In the short story "A Good Man is Hard to Find"
Flannery O'Conner introduces the story with the characters, the grandmother, her son Bailey, his
wife, his two children June Star and John Wesley, and the baby, on the way to Florida for a vacation.
Soon after the trip begins, the grandmother states that she wants to go Georgia to see a friend, but
with her awful memory, she remembers it is actually in Tennessee. Her son then becomes angry and
veers off the road, where they are welcomed with a well–known criminal named, The Misfit. The
mystery behind the grandmother's instinct to keep her alive truly makes the reader wonder about the
author's motives. In "A Good Man is Hard to Find", Flannery writes this short story in a structured
and meaningful way that can keep the readers and writers interested about the grandmother's
troubles. Flannery O'Conner is a very interesting and comical author. In her other stories, just like
"A Good Man is Hard to Find", she "uses her black humor to keep her readers alert and interested"
(Evans, 6). Black humor is described as a form of humor that considers human existence as ironic
but comic. "O'Conner uses conventional language for comic and ironic purposes, showing the
meaninglessness of the attitudes in her characters mouths, but at the same time using their words to
sound like main themes", showing that Flannery can possibly have something wrong

A good man or woman signifies that both genders try to do the right thing whenever possible. It
does not mean perfection, but the goal is to get as close as possible to treating others with dignity,
trust, and respect. With that said, the story "A Good Man is Hard to Find" does show elements of the
characters defining what 'good' could potentially mean.
The characters in the story talk about a woman who lives with his son and his family. The woman's
character sets a tone of someone that is very talkative, opinionated, and social. The tone of a story is
the way the author expresses attitude in their writing. Evidence of this is throughout the story from
the time the family gets ready to leave for vacation, to her encounter at the restaurant with Red
Sammy, and her coming face to face with an escaped criminal. The children in the story display kids
with a lot of sass, spunk, and vocal to the point that it seems that they are out of line with what they
say. The boy, John, asks his grandmother to stay home if she doesn't want to go with them to
Florida; the girl, June, complains out loud that their grandmother has to go everywhere that they go
(Kirszner & Mandell, 2012). ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Sammy was generous enough to allow the young people to charge their gas because he believed
they worked at the mill according to the story by Kirszner and Mandell (2012). Sammy spoke that a
good man is hard to find when the conversation went toward the criminal that was on the loose. He
reminisced on how back in the days, people could leave their doors unlocked and no one would get
harmed (Kirszner & Mandell, 2012). Now, it's hard to find good people that will leave others alone
because many cannot be

Religiosity In A Good Man Is Hard To Find
The researchers have selected five short stories written by Flannery O'Connor, and these are: "A
Good Man is Hard to Find," "Artificial Nigger," "Everything that Rises Must Converge,"
"Revelation," and "The Barber." Each story has significant aspects of racism and the subject of
religiosity, specifically the inclusion of the grace of God. A brief summary of each story will be
discussed to gain a better viewpoint of the issues raised. Also, the examination of racism and
religiosity will be raised in each selected stories.
In "A Good Man is Hard to Find," this talks about a family who is set on a journey to go to Florida
for their vacation. The grandmother saw in a newspaper that a serial killer whose name was Misfit
was on a loose. The grandmother tried persuading his son, Bailey, to just go to Tennessee and not to
... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Eventually, they have set out on a journey to Florida and the grandmother even brought her cat with
her. After having lunch in a barbeque restaurant, the grandmother remembered an old plantation in a
nearby area. However, Bailey does not want to stop the car for a detour. Hence, the grandmother
made up lies; she said that in that house, there are hidden treasures and gems. This made her
grandchildren scream and it irritated Bailey, so he turns the car towards the plantation. On the way
there, the grandmother does not see the old plantation, this made her anxious, suddenly, the cat she
brought with her, jumps out of the car and caused the car to run over the ditch. This made an
accident and with that, she saw a group of people approaching her. Out of shock, she recognized the
face of a serial criminal that is on a loose. With great tremor, she saw Misfit, and this caused her to
tell him that she knows and recognized

In a Good Man is Hard to Find, this grandmother is very selfish, talkative and manipulative.
Throughout this story the grandmother portrayed all of these different personality traits. She is like
no grandmother that you have ever seen.
When this story started off the grandmother jumped right into selfish mode. Her son Bailey had
planned a vacation for his family to Florida, but the grandmother did not want to go so she tried to
get Bailey to go to Tennessee instead. After that, the grandmother did not want to leave her cat so
she decided to hide it in the car, not even caring about if the cat can go or not. Since the
grandmother decided to take her cat it caused them to have an accident when the grandmother had
kicked the basket. That made Bailey run off the side of the road because the cat jumped on him.
From the time they all got in the car to the time they got out, all the grandmother did was talk. She
was trying to talk her way to Tennessee and she talked her way into them detouring to go see some
house that the grandmother ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
She told Bailey that "it would be very educational for the kids" (Pg. 261 par.50). This shows how
bad that the grandmother want to make this stop. She is going to use the kids in order for his son to
stop because she already knew that Bailey would not stop for her. Bailey finally gave in because the
kids started acting up in the car. If she didn't insist on stopping then the kids would not have acted
up. Later after the car accident, the grandmother recognized the Misfit and begin smiling as if they
were friends and then started to beg for her life by pulling the old woman card. The grandmother
knew that they were all being killed but instead of her pleading for her grandkids life she begs for
her own and did not care about anyone else but

Another short story of O'Conner that proves my thesis is called "A good man is Hard to find", its a
story with different concept but yet seems to have the same theme. O'Conner is shown to use
religion yet again to have readers determine characters personalities. The story begins with a family
taking a trip to Florida which their grandmother does not approve. She been reading about the
criminal being on that way. She mentions how there is a dangerous criminal named The Misfit on
the loose who is headed the same way. No one takes her seriously and they make their way to
Florida. The grandmother tells stories on the way and makes a stop at the restaurant to eat. She talks
about Misfit and how hard it can be to trust and find good people in the ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
She does not say anything to her son because she is afraid to get him mad. She keeps quite as they
continue to make their way to Florida. They get into an accident where the children mother breaks
her shoulder. No one else is hurt. As they wait for help, a car passes by and it's the Misfit with two
of his buddies. The grandmother tells him that she recognizes him. She tries to convince him on how
good of a man he is while his partners take the rest of the family away and shoot them.The Misfit
talks with the grandmother about his religious doubts. In a moment of Christian sympathy, the
grandmother informs the Misfit that he is one of her children. She continues to bring Jesus into her
conversation and pretends to be a good judge of human nature. And when every tactic fails, she tells
him that he is one of her children. He ends up shooting her. The story shows O'Connor's theme of
good and evil. The Misfit, a serial killer represented evil, while the grandmother tries to embody
goodness. Prior to meeting the Misfit, however, the grandmother proved herself to be shallow and
selfish.She shows a human being change and creates an effective scene in which God's grace
intervenes in the natural world.O'Conner mentions "that the old lady lacked comprehension, but that
she had a good heart"

Good Parenting In A Good Man Is Hard To Find
A parent's ability to properly raise a child stands as the most pivotal test in their chapter of life as
guardians. The quality of a guardians "parenting" skills create the foundation for the child to grow
and prosper in their lifetime as good, moral human beings. As a society, we understand that we need
to teach our children right from wrong, not talk to strangers, and to always share with others. These
just begin to break the surface of the many lessons that good parents should instill into their
children's young malleable brains. Now, just because this grand expectation of "good parenting"
stand so highly in society, doesn't mean they always step up to the plate and perform like they
should. Some parents in today's society do not actually ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
In today's society, some unfortunate families stay stuck in a vicious cycle of crime that they can't
evade. The parents resort to a life of crime so inevitably the children follow in their parents footsteps
and live the same lifestyle. In "A Good Man is Hard to Find" the concept of kids learning the wrong
lessons from their parents remains quite apparent. June and John both hold tendencies to shriek out
words of pure disrespect to any person they talk to. For example, John expresses that "Tennessee is
just a hillbilly dumping ground," disrespecting not only the Grandmothers opinion on wanting to go
to Tennessee, but Tennessee as a state as well. Also, June says "I wouldn't live in a broken down
place like this for a million bucks!" in several variations throughout the story. The kids act and speak
in this manner because they learn this from their parents and Grandmother who don't assume the
roles of good parents. In addition to disrespectfulness, the children often times behave violently and
fight with not only each other but other family members as well. On the drive to Florida, June and
John began to savagely slap each other because supposedly John doesn't play fairly. Instead of
handling it like two good, respectful children, they result in physical confrontation. Later on, John
starts to kick the back of his father's chair when

Grace in A Good Man Is Hard to Find
Grace in A Good Man is Hard to Find In the short story "A Good Man is Hard to Find" O'Conner,
tries to make us understand the meaning of grace. The Misfit and the Grandma are the two main
characters that show us what grace is and how it can be applied to a person's everyday life. In
Flannery O'Conner's "A Good Man is Hard to Find," the Grandma tries to save her family by
convincing them to visit a place she recommends to keep them away from the Misfit, whom with
they later come in contact. Neither the Grandma nor the Misfit deserves grace but it is given to them
anyway.
The Grandma tried to keep her family safe by trying to take a different direction other than Florida
because of The Misfit, who is criminal who escaped from the Federal Pen. She convinces them to go
to East Tennessee instead to visit some of her connections since she grew up there. –––"Here this
fellow that calls himself The Misfit is aloose from the Federal Pen and headed toward Florida and
you read here what it says he did to these people."(Par. 2) She wouldn't feel comfortable by taking
her children in that direction since a criminal was on the loose in the area. Also the Grandma
mentions to her son that he should take the kids somewhere they haven't been before since they had
already been to Florida. –––"You all ought to take them somewhere else for a change so they would
see different parts of the world and be broad."(Par. 4) I figure that the Grandma was just trying to do
a mother's job to do anything

A good man is hard to find
Critical Essay #1
A Closer Look Into
"A Good Man Is Hard to Find"
By James ENC–1102
The short story I chose for my critical essay is a story that caught my attention with a gentle and
inspiring title and as I began to turn pages it suddenly evolved into a theme that caught me off guard
and I quickly became intrigued by elusive style of writing the author used to express this story in a
unique form of literature. After reading Flannery O'Connor's "A Good Man is Hard to Find", I will
discuss the vivid historical and cultural context the author revealed to the story's setting in relation
to its style and how the main character is exposed to different parallels of what she considers to be a
good man in time that is dealing with ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
The relation between the definition of Southern Gothic Literature and the historical context and plot
which the story contains is almost identical in characteristics and perfect placement by the author to
give the story a sense of significance where it is relevant in all elements.
While researching this short story you complete a close reading you come to recognize the close
details that come to expose a theme that is elusive and shows different parallels of what Grandma
considers being a good man within different parts of the story. In order to bring further
understanding I am going to give you a brief summary on the short story.
The story begins in Georgia in the 1940's–1950's with the Grandma as the main character who is
trying to manipulate her son named Bailey and his wife from traveling to Florida because of the
danger of a man called The Misfit who has escaped from prison and instead tries to persuade them
to travel to Tennessee. Eventually, the Grandmother doesn't succeed at convincing him to travel to
Tennessee so both of them head off toward Florida along with Bailey's wife, their young daughter
June, their eight year old son John Wesley, the young baby, and Gandmas cat. They drive for a while
and Grandma talks to her granddaughter of her early days when she was a maiden

A Good Man Is Hard To Find Summary

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

More from Jessica Tanner

More from Jessica Tanner (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

A Good Man Is Hard To Find Summary