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Analysis of Flannery O’Connor’s A Good Man Is Hard to Find

By NASRULLAH MAMBROL on May 25, 2021

Frequently anthologized, “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” exemplifies Flannery O’Connor’s southern religious grounding. The story depicts the impact of Christ on the lives of two seemingly disparate characters. One is a grandmother joining her son’s family on a trip to Florida. Accompanied by a silent daughter-in-law, a baby, two unpleasant children, and her smuggled cat, she wheedles the son into making a detour to see a plantation that she remembers from an earlier time.

Moments of recognition and connection multiply as the seemingly foreordained meeting of the grandmother and the killer she has read about in the paper takes place. She upsets the basket in which she has hidden her cat; the cat lands on her son’s neck, causing an accident. Soon three men appear on the dirt road, and the grandmother recognizes one of them as the notorious killer the Misfit.

thesis statement about a good man is hard to find

Flannery O’Connor/National Catholic Register

O’Connor weaves the notion of punishment and Christian love into the conversation between the Misfit and the grandmother while the grandmother’s family is being murdered. Referring to the similarity that he shares with Christ, the Misfit declares that “Jesus thrown everything off balance” (27), but he admits that unlike Christ, he must have committed a crime because there were papers to prove it. When the grandmother touches his shoulder because she sees him as one of her own children, she demonstrates a Christian love that causes him to shoot her.

This story typifies O’Connor’s mingling of comedy, goodness, banality, and violence in her vision of a world that, however imperfect, most readers inevitably recognize as part of their own. O’Connor views the world as a place where benevolence and good intentions conflict with perversity and evil, and her protagonists frequently learn too late that their lives can crumble in an instant when confronted by the very real powers of darkness.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Kessler, Edward. Flannery O’Connor and the Language of Apocalypse. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1986. Orvell, Miles. Flannery O’Connor: An Introduction. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1991

A Good Man Is Hard to Find Analysis: Essay Example & Summary

Are you about to write  A Good Man Is Hard to Find theme essay? Then, make sure to check this sample out! Here, you’ll find the story’s summary, moral lesson, themes, and other aspects of the analysis. Keep reading to get some inspiration for your A Good Man Is Hard to Find thesis! 

A great writer Flannery O’Connor has always been a central figure in American literature. Just like her colleague Nadine Gordimer, she covered the moral issues in her bizarre stories. Her short story A Good Man is Hard to Find provides a solid ground for literary analysis. Flannery O’Connor’s A Good Man is Hard to Find analysis will help you better grasp the story.

Introduction

A Good Man is Hard to Find appeared in 1955 and remains a widely-discussed story up till nowadays. Flannery O’Connor combined the most thoughts-provocative issues of that time in a short piece (Kinney 1). Although society has developed since then, people still deal with the problems mentioned by Flannery O’Connor. A Good Man is Hard to Find analysis will discuss two key themes of the story: selfishness and individualism.

A Good Man Is Hard to Find: Summary

A Good Man is Hard to Find is a tragic short story about a family. A grandmother, father, mother, and three kids are going to visit Florida. At first sight, they seem to be good country people. However, there are many pitfalls. Their older children – John Wesley and June Star – are very boorish and ignorant. The mother devotes herself to her kids, not having enough time to live a fulfilled life. The father seems to be annoyed by his children. Finally, the grandmother thinks only about herself, not paying enough attention to the family.

Despite the rumors about the escaped prisoner, The Misfit, the family goes on a trip. While on the way to Florida, the grandmom suddenly remembers an old plantation. Many years ago, she was astonished by its incredible beauty. So, she convinces Bailey, the father, to go off the road and visit that place. Being unsure if she is pointing in the right direction, the grandmother loses her control. As a result, she does not manage to hold her cat. It jumps on Bailey’s shoulder, causing a car accident.

Fortunately, everybody stayed alive. But then, the real troubles start. Trying to deal with the situation, the family hopes somebody will stop by them and offer help. Suddenly, the car appears on the road. The three men get out of the car, and the grandmom recognizes The Misfit among them. In desperate attempts to save her life, the grandmother tries to convince the criminal that he is a good man. She asks him to pray to become closer to Jesus. However, her effort is useless. Ultimately, The Misfit commands to kill all the family members and kills the grandmom himself. That is how dramatically the story ends. 

A Good Man Is Hard to Find: Literary Analysis

Selfishness and individualism are the essential themes covered in the story A Good Man is Hard to Find . In the story, the grandmother prioritized her interests rather than the interest of her family. As a result, the tragic ending occurred to everybody. With the example of the grandmom, the author shows how the desire to achieve personal needs affects society.

Selfishness

The main character of the story – the grandmother – is an entirely selfish woman. Her selfishness reflects in the way she acts, the way she interacts with her family, and even in the way she dresses up.

The grandmother is always concerned about her appearance. She is obsessed with the idea of being a lady. So, she dresses up in elegant dresses and fancy hats. She hopes that “in case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady” (O’Connor 2). Thus, she does not spend time with her grandchildren or help her daughter-in-law with household chores. Instead, the grandmother devotes all her time to herself, choosing appropriate dresses and hats.

Besides being ignorant, the grandmom is also a manipulative woman. She effectively manipulates her family members to suit her interests. For example, she takes her cat on a trip despite Bailey’s prohibition against doing that. She just thinks her cat would miss her if she left it alone at home. As a result, the cat becomes a cause of a terrible car crash.

Moreover, the grandmother manipulates her family to see a plantation she saw many years ago. After taking a nap in the car, she suddenly remembers a beautiful place she visited while young. She wants to recall these memories, so she urges her son to go off the road. The grandmother is sure that Bailey will not be willing to spend much time on an old plantation. Thus, she lies to her grandchildren’s children about a secret panel with plenty of silver in that house. The woman says: “It’s not far from here, I know. It wouldn’t take over twenty minutes” (O’Connor 5). In reality, she does not know for sure how long it would take to reach that place. However, her sense of self-importance makes her lie to her family. She manipulates her son to achieve the desired result.

Grandmom’s selfish purposes create dangerous circumstances for the family. Being under the pressure of his mother, Bailey follows her directions. As a result, they get into a car accident and meet The Misfit. 

Individualism

In addition to selfishness, the grandmother’s character traits also include individualism. In the story, the woman’s individualism is confronted with the individualism of the Misfit. Both characters achieve their own needs through surrounding people. They take whatever they need and move forward, not taking into consideration the needs of others. As a result of this behavior, the world becomes a place where “community holds no value” (Hooten 198).

Both the grandmom and The Misfit are predisposed to be humane. For example, the woman tries to convince the prisoner about the significance of spiritual values. Thus, she has a clear image of what kindness means. Similarly, The Misfit seems to be a well-behaved person from first sight. For instance, he apologizes for being dressed improperly. Nevertheless, in the inner battle of good and evil, evil wins in both characters. 

Therefore, individualism takes the upper hand in the character set of both: the grandmother and the Misfit. While being ignorant of other people, the woman and the criminal destroy society. Their individualistic nature becomes a real threat to the surrounding people. 

The analysis of A Good Man is Hard to Find reveals an intriguing aspect. The grandmother and The Misfit have very similar personalities. They both are ready to lie, manipulate, and murder to fulfill their desires.

A Good Man is Hard to Find essay covers Flannery O’Connor’s concern. The themes of selfishness and individualism worry the author. This issue is critical and should be dealt with immediately. If people keep being selfish individualists, the world will become a group of “self-focused wanderers without a community who use others as means to their own ends” (Hooten 197).

Gresham, Stephen. Things Darkly Buried: In Praise of A Good Man Is Hard to Find. 2010, Shenandoah , 1-2: 17-18. Web.
Hooten, Jessica. Individualism in O’Connor’s A Good Man is Hard to Find. 2008, The Explicator , 4: 197-198. Web.
Kinney, Arthur F. A Good Man Is Hard to Find: Overview. 1994, Reference Guide to Short Fiction. Noelle Watson. Detroit: St. James Press 1-2. Print.
O’Connor, Flannery. A Good Man is Hard to Find. 2 011, Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing: Custom Edition . X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. 1-12. Print.

How do you start A Good Man Is Hard to Find analysis essay?

The best way to start an essay on A Good Man Is Hard to Find is to state a clear thesis statement. First, decide on the main points you are going to present. Then, develop a strong thesis, including those ideas. Put everything in words and impress your audience from the very beginning of your essay.

What is the main theme of A Good Man Is Hard to Find?

A Good Man Is Hard to Find covers a lot of crucial issues. However, the central theme is the destructive nature of selfishness and individualism. Flannery O’Connor points out that these traits lead to the establishment of an immoral society.

How would you describe the grandmother in A Good Man Is Hard to Find?

The grandmother is a woman from the Old South. She considers herself an elegant and graceful lady. In fact, she is a selfish, judgmental, and manipulative granny. She gets what she desires by disrespecting the people that surround her.

What is the message in A Good Man Is Hard to Find?

Flannery O’Connor’s message is that human compassion and grace may change even the most ignorant person. It is best seen during the final encounter between the grandmother and The Misfit.

Is the Misfit a good man?

It is a controversial question, and the reader needs to decide for himself. On the one hand, The Misfit is a dangerous escaped convict. He does not feel responsible for his actions and does not believe in God. On the other hand, he compares himself to Jesus. The Misfit gets into a deep philosophical conversation with the grandmother.

What literary devices are used in A Good Man Is Hard to Find?

A Good Man Is Hard to Find is full of literary devices. The author uses symbolism, irony, foreshadowing, and philosophical thoughts that awaken conversations. These literary devices help the reader understand the story’s moral and experience it better.

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A Summary and Analysis of Flannery O’Connor’s ‘A Good Man Is Hard to Find’

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

‘A Good Man Is Hard to Find’ is one of the best-known short stories by Flannery O’Connor (1925-64), who produced a string of powerful stories during her short life. First published in the collection A Good Man Is Hard to Find in 1955, the story is about an American family who run into an escaped murderer at a plantation.

Before we offer an analysis of some of the key details of the story, here’s a brief summary of its plot.

Plot summary

The story is about a grandmother, her son named Bailey, Bailey’s wife, and the couple’s three children, named June Star, John Wesley, and simply ‘the baby’. The family are going on holiday to Florida. At the beginning of the story, the grandmother points out to her son that a notorious criminal, known as the Misfit, is on the loose and she doesn’t think they should be going on vacation to Florida when the Misfit is rumoured to be heading there.

On their way to their destination, the grandmother tells the children a story of how she was courted by a wealthy man who used to leave her a watermelon every day with his initials, E. A. T., inscribed in it. However, one day a black boy saw the word ‘EAT’ on the watermelon and ate it. This story amuses the children.

The family then stop off for lunch a barbecue diner, The Tower, run by a man named Red Sammy, who talks to the grandmother about the Misfit. It is Red Sammy who remarks, ‘A good man is hard to find’, in reference to the dangerous convict on the loose.

When the family get back on the road, the grandmother persuades her son to take a detour to a plantation she remembers from her youth. She embellishes the story by inventing details, such as the idea that a secret panel concealed the family silver in the house.

However, she has misremembered where the plantation is: Tennessee, rather than Georgia (where the family are). When the grandmother’s cat escapes from his basket and frightens Bailey, he crashes the car into a ditch.

Another car approaches them. It contains three men, one of whom the grandmother recognises as the notorious Misfit. He seems familiar to her, as though she has known him for years.

When she blurts out that she recognises him, the Misfit tells them that it would have been better if she hadn’t recognised him. He talks to the grandmother while his two accomplices lead Bailey into the woods and shoot him. They then do the same with Bailey’s wife and the children. The grandmother tries to flatter the Misfit into sparing her life, telling him that she knows he’s a good man, but to no avail.

The story ends with the grandmother addressing the Misfit as one of her own ‘babies’ or ‘children’; the Misfit shoots her dead. The Misfit has the final word, observing that the grandmother would have been a good woman if she had had someone there ‘to shoot her every minute of her life.’

The character of the grandmother is central to the dramatic power of ‘A Good Man Is Hard to Find’. The first two words of the story are ‘The grandmother’; the story begins with her warning her son about the escaped Misfit and ends with her being shot dead by the Misfit; the story opens with the third-person narrator’s reference to Bailey as the grandmother’s ‘only boy’ but ends with her addressing the Misfit as one of her ‘own children’.

And although ‘A Good Man Is Hard to Find’ is narrated by an impersonal third-person narrator, in terms of the story’s focalisation we remain close to the grandmother’s perspective on events, seeing things through her eyes and gaining access to her thoughts and feelings as the story approaches its shocking and dramatic climax.

The skill of O’Connor’s writing lies in her ability to shuttle rapidly between comedic moments poking gentle fun at the grandmother and darker plot developments. The point is not that the shift between these two very different modes seems awkward or out of place, but that O’Connor lends the already shocking moments at the end of the story an even more alarming element, through juxtaposing them with lighter comic interludes.

A central theme of O’Connor’s story is, as the title makes clear, goodness: note how the grandmother and Red Sammy’s repeated references to a ‘good man’ meet their match in the Misfit’s statement at the end of the story that the grandmother would have been a ‘good woman’ if someone had been there to (threaten to) shoot her at all times.

This statement of the Misfit’s also highlights another theme O’Connor is exploring: that of crime and punishment. The Misfit tells the grandmother that the punishments he has undergone don’t match with the crimes he has committed. But the story contains a religious angle, too, as exemplified by the grandmother’s epiphany at the end of the story, in which – when confronted with her own imminent death – she reaches out and acknowledges her killer as one of her ‘children’.

This blessing is in stark contrast to the Misfit, who – in almost Dostoevskian fashion – characterises Christianity as a case of either giving up anything and following Christ or rejecting him and doing as one pleases. Anything – murder, burning down someone’s house – is permissible and constitutes the only true pleasure one can get from life.

The grandmother’s final act of blessing (forgiveness, or a last desperate attempt to save her own life?) raises this petty, racially prejudiced, and comical old woman far above the level of the nihilistic Misfit and all he represents.

Of course, it may also be significant that the Misfit – who was accused by one of the prison psychiatrists of killing his own father – personally kills the grandmother, who represents an old and outmoded America. Flannery O’Connor’s story is about a changing America, and the text is marked by the Grandmother’s continual reminiscences about a better, simpler life when she was younger.

The story’s title, taken from Red Sammy’s conversation with the Grandmother in which they lament that the world has become debased and degraded during their lifetimes, places this mood and tone at the centre of the story.

In this connection, the grandmother’s attitude towards African-Americans is already outdated, even in 1955 when the story first appeared.

Her racial stereotypes , such as associating African-Americans with watermelons, the offensive words she uses to describe the black boy they pass in the car, and her casual presumptions about the lives of black people all mark her out as a representative of an older American outlook which is about to be entirely laid to rest with the onset of the US Civil Rights movement. (The Montgomery Bus Boycott , for example, occurred at the end of 1955, the year the story appeared.)

Final thoughts

Viewed this way, ‘A Good Man Is Hard to Find’ might be productively analysed alongside a another key American text from the 1950s: Tennessee Williams’ play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof , also from 1955, similarly deals with the generational gap between an older America and the younger Americans who represent a new attitude, especially regarding race.

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Analysis of Flannery O'Connor's Story, 'A Good Man Is Hard to Find'

Good Versus Evil in a Road Trip Gone Awry

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"A Good Man Is Hard to Find," first published in 1953, is among the most famous stories by Georgia writer Flannery O'Connor . O'Connor was a staunch Catholic, and like most of her stories, "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" wrestles with questions of good and evil and the possibility of divine grace.

A grandmother is traveling with her family (her son Bailey, his wife, and their three children) from Atlanta to Florida for a vacation. The grandmother, who would prefer to go to East Tennessee, informs the family that a violent criminal known as The Misfit is loose in Florida, but they do not change their plans. The grandmother secretly brings her cat in the car.

They stop for lunch at Red Sammy's Famous Barbecue, and the grandmother and Red Sammy commiserate that the world is changing and "a good man is hard to find."

After lunch, the family begins driving again and the grandmother realizes they are near an old plantation she once visited. Wanting to see it again, she tells the children that the house has a secret panel and they clamor to go. Bailey reluctantly agrees. As they drive down a rough dirt road, the grandmother suddenly realizes that the house she is remembering is in Tennessee, not Georgia.

Shocked and embarrassed by the realization, she accidentally kicks over her belongings, releasing the cat, which jumps onto Bailey's head and causes an accident.

A car slowly approaches them, and The Misfit and two young men get out. The grandmother recognizes him and says so. The two young men take Bailey and his son into the woods, and shots are heard . Then they take the mother, the daughter, and the baby into the woods. More shots are heard. Throughout, the grandmother pleads for her life, telling The Misfit she knows he's a good man and entreating him to pray.

He engages her in a discussion about goodness, Jesus, and crime and punishment. She touches his shoulder, saying, "Why you're one of my babies. You're one of my own children!" but The Misfit recoils and shoots her.

Defining 'Goodness'

The grandmother's definition of what it means to be "good" is symbolized by her very proper and coordinated traveling outfit. O'Connor writes:

In case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady.

The grandmother is clearly concerned with appearances above all else. In this hypothetical accident, she worries not about her death or the deaths of her family members, but about strangers' opinions of her. She also demonstrates no concern for the state of her soul at the time of her imagined death, but we think that's because she's operating under the assumption that her soul is already as pristine as her "navy blue straw sailor hat with a bunch of white violets on the brim."

She continues to cling to superficial definitions of goodness as she pleads with The Misfit. She entreats him not to shoot "a lady," as if not murdering someone is just a question of etiquette. And she reassures him that she can tell he's "not a bit common," as if lineage is somehow correlated with morality.

Even The Misfit himself knows enough to recognize that he "ain't a good man," even if he "ain't the worst in the world neither."

After the accident, the grandmother's beliefs begin to fall apart just like her hat, "still pinned to her head but the broken front brim standing up at a jaunty angle and the violet spray hanging off the side." In this scene, her superficial values are revealed as ridiculous and flimsy.

O'Connor tells us that as Bailey is led into the woods, the grandmother:

reached up to adjust her hat brim as if she were going to the woods with him, but it came off in her hand. She stood staring at it, and after a second, she let it fall on the ground.

The things she has thought were important are failing her , falling uselessly around her, and she now has to scramble to find something to replace them.

A Moment of Grace?

What she finds is the idea of prayer, but it's almost as if she's forgotten (or never knew) how to pray. O'Connor writes:

Finally, she found herself saying, 'Jesus, Jesus,' meaning, Jesus will help you, but the way she was saying it, it sounded as if she might be cursing.

All her life, she has imagined that she is a good person, but like a curse, her definition of goodness crosses the line into evil because it is based on superficial, worldly values.

The Misfit may openly reject Jesus, saying, "I'm doing all right by myself," but his frustration with his own lack of faith ("It ain't right I wasn't there") suggests that he's given Jesus a lot more thought than the grandmother has.

When faced with death, the grandmother mostly lies, flatters, and begs. But at the very end, she reaches out to touch The Misfit and utters those rather cryptic lines, "Why you're one of my babies. You're one of my own children!"

Critics disagree on the meaning of those lines, but they could possibly indicate that the grandmother finally recognizes the connectedness among human beings. She may finally understand what The Misfit already knows—that there is no such thing as "a good man," but that there is good in all of us and also evil in all of us, including in her.

This may be the grandmother's moment of grace—her chance at divine redemption. O'Connor tells us that "her head cleared for an instant," suggesting that we should read this moment as the truest moment in the story. The Misfit's reaction also suggests that the grandmother may have hit upon divine truth. As someone who openly rejects Jesus, he recoils from her words and her touch. Finally, even though her physical body is twisted and bloody, the grandmother dies with "her face smiling up at the cloudless sky" as if something good has happened or as if she has understood something important.

A Gun to Her Head

At the beginning of the story, The Misfit starts out as an abstraction for the grandmother. She doesn't really believe they'll encounter him; she's just using the newspaper accounts to try to get her way. She also doesn't really believe that they'll get into an accident or that she'll die; she just wants to think of herself as the kind of person whom other people would instantly recognize as a lady, no matter what.

It is only when the grandmother comes face to face with death that she begins to change her values. (O'Connor's larger point here, as it is in most of her stories, is that most people treat their inevitable deaths as an abstraction that will never really happen and, therefore, don't give enough consideration to the afterlife.)

Possibly the most famous line in all of O'Connor's work is The Misfit's observation, "She would have been a good woman […] if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life." On the one hand, this is an indictment of the grandmother, who always thought of herself as a "good" person. But on the other hand, it serves as final confirmation that she was, for that one brief epiphany at the end, good.

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A Good Man is Hard to Find

Flannery o’connor, ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

The characters of “A Good Man is Hard to Find” live by a variety of moral codes, and both the story’s title and the Grandmother ’s conversation with Red Sam bring up the idea of goodness, and what makes a “good man.” In the end, as the Grandmother still insists that the Misfit —who has just murdered her entire family—is a “good man,” the question lingers: does being “good” depend on one’s internal character or external actions? Or does it depend on something else entirely?

The Grandmother seems to believe that being a good person means being honest, respectful, and polite. She tells Red Sam that he is a “good man,” even though all she has seen of him is that he puts on a show of friendliness and easy nostalgia in order to help his business. The Grandmother also laments that the family can no longer leave their screen door open without fear of theft—as they used to, apparently. She blames, somehow, Europe for her own country’s decay, and criticizes Europeans for spending too much, as frugality seems to be another part of her criteria for decency. Speaking to the Misfit, she repeatedly insists that he would never shoot an old lady. Her sense of goodness is so based on traditional morals (and just tradition) that, even in the face of cold-blooded murder, she thinks that her old age and “respectability” will prevent the Misfit from harming her.

To the Misfit, however, the question of what makes a good man seems utterly irrelevant. He claims to have always known that he was not a good person, that he was always different from his sisters and brothers. He views crime casually—a way to make the most of his limited, pointless time on Earth. Other than when he is talking to the Grandmother, he does not seem to compare himself against any standard of good character—and thus he does not consider himself morally inferior or wicked. Instead, he simply does what he wills.

O’Connor does not attempt to answer what true “goodness” is, but rather adds complexity to the question itself. By presenting different and even ironic models of a “good person”—the Grandmother, Bailey , Red Sammy—she makes the reader feel the difficulty of the question, and the ambiguity of morality itself. Then, cutting through the heart of the issue entirely, she brings in the Misfit, whose very existence threatens the validity of any kind of objective “goodness.” O’Connor’s purpose is not to answer such questions, but to dissolve them: to make us more aware of how verbalized concepts and platitudes cannot touch the true mysteries of existence.

Goodness ThemeTracker

Goodness Quotes in A Good Man is Hard to Find

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. In case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady.

“Let’s go through Georgia fast so we won’t have to look at it much,” John Wesley said. “If I were a little boy,” said the grandmother, “I wouldn’t talk about my native state that way. Tennessee has the mountains and Georgia has the hills.” “Tennessee is just a hillbilly dumping ground,” John Wesley said, “and Georgia is a lousy state too.”

Familial Conflict and Familial Love Theme Icon

“Oh look at the cute little pickaninny!” she said and pointed to a Negro child standing in the door of a shack. “Wouldn’t that make a picture, now?”

The grandmother said she would have done well to marry Mr. Teagarden because he was a gentleman and had bought Coca-Cola stock when it first came out and that he had died only a few years ago, a very wealthy man.

“A good man is hard to find,” Red Sammy said. “Everything is getting terrible. I remembered the day you could go off and leave your screen door unlatched. Not no more.”

“I know you’re a good man. You don’t look a bit like you have common blood. I know you must come from nice people!”

“Nome, I ain’t a good man,” The Misfit said after a second as if he had considered her statement carefully, “but I ain’t the worst in the world neither. My daddy said I was a different breed from my brothers and sisters. ‘You know,’ Daddy said, ‘it’s some that can live their whole life out without asking about it and it’s other has to know why it is, and this boy is one of the latters. He’s going to be into everything!’”

“I never was a bad boy that I remember of,” The Misfit said in an almost dreamy voice, “but somewhere along the line I done something wrong and got sent to the penitentiary. I was buried alive.”

“Well then, why don’t you pray?” she asked trembling with delight suddenly.

“I don’t want no hep,” he said. “I’m doing all right by myself.

“Then it’s nothing for you to do but enjoy the few minutes you got left the best way you can—by killing somebody or burning down his house or doing some other meanness to him. No pleasure but meanness.”

“She would have been a good woman,” The Misfit said, “if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life.”

A Good Man Is Hard to Find: Questions & Answers

In Flannery O’Connor’s A Good Man Is Hard to Find , numerous questions are left unanswered. Paradoxical and full of irony, the short story’s themes, symbolism, and plot can remain vague to the readers. This page contains a large collection of interpretations and theories about it. We’ve prepared A Good Man Is Hard to Find answer keys to the most pressing questions connected to the story. Want to read the full versions? You are welcome to click on the links.

❓ A Good Man Is Hard to Find Q&A

What role does racism play in a good man is hard to find.

Racism is a minor topic in A Good Man Is Hard to Find . The short story is filled with words like “nigger” and full of creepy white characters. The author is often accused of racism, which is wrong. It is hard to find a writer presenting racism more naturally than Flannery O’Connor.

What causes the accident in A Good Man Is Hard to Find?

Technically, Pitty Sing caused the accident that led to the family’s death. But the actual cause was somewhat different from the wretched cat. Its owner took the pet on the trip, which was dangerous and undesirable, which Bailey, the grandmother’s son, mentioned.

Who wrote A Good Man is Hard to Find?

Irish American writer Flannery O’Connor wrote the short story A Good Man is Hard to Find. She wrote two novels and thirty short stories. Thanks to her works, she entered the American literature as one of the most profound masters of Southern Gothic.

What is the style Of A Good Man Is Hard to Find?

Literary critiques refer to O’Connor’s writing style as Southern Realism. She created a realistic narrative, adding features of irony, foreshadowing, and imagery. Through these literary techniques, she emphasized the traits of the modern generation.

What is man vs. man conflict in A Good Man Is Hard to Find?

The grandmother and The Misfit stand in the center of A Good Man Is Hard to Find . Their disagreement represents the man vs. man conflict. These characters are very different, which leads to the confrontation of beliefs. Once both express their attitude to morality and religion, the conflict becomes interpersonal.

What are the literary elements in A Good Man Is Hard to Find?

The author uses several literary elements. They include symbolism, point of view, foreshadowing, irony, and tone. With their help, the author can give ambiguous meaning to the events, building a narrative. The story is filled with tension and depicts an unexpected but foreshadowed tragedy.

What are the examples of verbal irony in A Good Man is Hard to Find?

The most obvious example of irony in A Good Man is Hard to Find are words of the grandmother. The satire lies in the way she thinks about the world and what such reflections lead to. The woman thinks she is a good person, but her words and actions contradict what she says.

What role does foreshadowing play in A Good Man Is Hard to Find?

In the short story, foreshadowing indicates the beginning of the end of the family. After the car accident, it becomes apparent that the plot will not have a happy ending. The literary device creates suspense and raises the tension until the action reaches its climax.

How is dramatic irony used in A Good Man Is Hard to Find?

In A Good Man Is Hard to Find , O’Connor uses the characters and their actions to foreshadow future events. Bailey’s mother is the primary source of dramatic irony. She prides herself on her moral character but always lies and manipulates. No wonder she is the one putting the whole family in danger for selfish reasons.

What is the point of view in A Good Man Is Hard to Find?

The author narrates the story from a third-person point of view. Despite this fact, the grandmother is in focus almost all the time. The narrator reveals her trail of thoughts to deliver the message of the story.

How is the concept of religion used in A Good Man Is Hard to Find?

The concept of religion is challenged in A Good Man is Hard to Find more than once. The story switches between the grandmother’s pious attitude and The Misfit’s rejection of religion. It surprises the reader with the grandmother’s change, representing a spiritual puzzle.

How does A Good Man Is Hard to Find depict conflict?

There are two types of conflict in the short story: internal and external. The first problem arises in the difference between a vacation and an escaped criminal. The second disagreement happens when the grandmother is talking to The Misfit.

What is the tone of A Good Man Is Hard to Find?

There is a bit of hope in this gloomy and tragic story. Flannery O’Connor describes her characters in a manner that seems satiric. But she believes we should still feel compassionate about them. Through an unpleasant situation, the author shows a range of human feelings. Therefore, we can call the tone of the story sympathetic.

What is the main conflict of A Good Man Is Hard to Find?

The central conflict in the short story is the contrast between egoism and grace. In the last moments before death, the grandmother turns to faith through a spiritual rebirth. She tries to convey the word of God to the sinner and murderer of her family, despite her sinfulness.

What is the time period of A Good Man Is Hard to Find?

The actions described in the story take place during the Postwar Midcentury. The story is set between the late 40s or early 50s of the twentieth century. This fact influenced the problematics raised by the author and defined the atmosphere of the narrative.

Why is A Good Man Is Hard to Find considered Southern Gothic?

A Good Man Is Hard to Find is an example of the Southern Gothic style. It features ironic elements and grotesque scenery. As a result, it demonstrates the degradation of the American South.

How is imagery used in A Good Man Is Hard to Find?

Writers use imagery to create a special mood and images related to the plot. Flannery O’Connor describes the forest, sky, car, and characters to create the desired effect. Her imagery is macabre but trivial. In her story, commonplace things become uncanny.

Who is the protagonist in A Good Man is Hard to Find?

In A Good Man Is Hard to Find by Flannery O’Connor, the grandmother is the central character. The story focuses on her behaviors and actions and her relationships with other characters of the book. She symbolizes the mental change in the face of death.

Was the Grandmother killed in A Good Man Is Hard to Find?

In the short story, The Misfit is a ruthless criminal who kills the grandmother. In particular, the old woman says: “you’re one of my babies.” Right after that, The Misfit bounces back and shoots her three times.

What is The Misfit’s name in A Good Man Is Hard to Find?

The mysterious character The Misfit does not say his real name. He changed it to The Misfit because of his loneliness. He feels separated from the public because it is unfair to him. His name shows which place the criminal occupies in society.

What Is the moral of the story A Good Man Is Hard to Find?

In A Good Man Is Hard to Find , the author shows moral principles decaying. Both the grandmother and The Misfit behave as imperfect humans. The story implies that a positive opinion about oneself does not make them good.

What role does the setting play in A Good Man Is Hard to Find?

The most crucial point in the setting is that it represents the decline of the Old South. Meanwhile, the children despise such states as Georgia and Tennessee. Their grandmother is proud of being born there. As a result, the setting represents a contrast of the values of old and young generations in the story.

A Good Man Is Hard to Find: what does the ending mean?

The ending of O’Connor’s story means experiencing the moment of grace. It is highly personal for every human being. At the end of the story, the grandmother finds herself at peace and regains her integrity.

What is the meaning of a Good Man Is Hard to Find?

Flannery O’Connor’s short novel A Good Man is Hard to Find describes perverted morality. The author talks about immoral individuals who have a sense of false integrity. The other ones depict how hypocrisy and moral corruption are the main traits of “good” people.

When was A Good Man Is Hard to Find written?

Flannery O’Connor wrote A Good Man Is Hard to Find in 1953. At that time, the whole world reflected on World War II and its consequences on the global society. These issues affected the tone of the story’s narrative.

What is the main theme of a Good Man Is Hard to Find?

A Good Man Is Hard to Find covers many sensitive themes. They include violence and grace, family ties and conflicts, and genuine good and evil. The Misfit says strange words. “She would of been a good woman,” “if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life.”

A Good Man Is Hard to Find – what is the title’s meaning?

There are various assumptions about the title of the story by Flannery O’Connor. However, the main idea of the novel – good vs. evil – gives hints to explanation. In literal interpretation, the title symbolizes the absence of good people among the characters. Or, taken globally, it refers to a small number of good people in the world.

How does A Good Man Is Hard to Find end?

Despite the peaceful and humorous beginning of the story, its ending is tragic and gruesome. The author introduces an escaped prisoner named The Misfit, who kills the Grandmother in the end. Her selfishness leads all her family members to death.

What is the short story A Good Man Is Hard to Find about?

From the beginning of the story, a seemingly happy family appears before the reader. They are going on a road that will turn into a tragedy for them. This short story is about evil and grace. However, it has many different interpretations.

What are the main characters in A Good Man Is Hard to Find?

The story introduces two main characters: the protagonist – the grandmother, and the antagonist – The Misfit. Several minor characters develop the story. They are Red Sammy Butts, Bailey, his wife, and two kids – John Wesley and June Star. The main difference in this division lies in the degree of their spiritual development.

What is the plot of a Good Man Is Hard to Find?

A Good Man Is Hard to Find is a short story about a family going on a vacation. As they drive from Georgia to Florida, the grandmother asks to make a quick side trip. She wants to visit a mysterious house. They get into an accident and meet a notorious criminal, The Misfit. He executes the whole family.

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"A Good Man Is Hard to Find: Questions & Answers." IvyPanda , 14 Aug. 2023, ivypanda.com/lit/a-good-man-is-hard-to-find-study-guide/questions-answers/.

IvyPanda . (2023) 'A Good Man Is Hard to Find: Questions & Answers'. 14 August.

IvyPanda . 2023. "A Good Man Is Hard to Find: Questions & Answers." August 14, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/lit/a-good-man-is-hard-to-find-study-guide/questions-answers/.

1. IvyPanda . "A Good Man Is Hard to Find: Questions & Answers." August 14, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/lit/a-good-man-is-hard-to-find-study-guide/questions-answers/.