In the short story “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor, a family plans a vacation to Florida, in which it does not turn out as they had expected. The story begins with a family from Georgia consisting of the father Bailey, his wife, baby, two kids John Wesley and June Star, and their grandmother whose name is never announced. Among planning their trip to Florida, the Grandmother suggest they go elsewhere, justifying herself saying that there is a misfit on the loose and he’s heading that direction. The rest of the family does not take her suggestion seriously, and so the next day they all leave for Florida, including the grandmother. The grandmother makes the decision to bring her cat along for the trip as well while not telling any of the other family. During the trip, the grandmother tells the children stories and plays games with…
In A Good Man is Hard to Find, mistrust and grace are continued throughout the story. Grace is an important theme to O’Connor. O’Connor depicts the grandmother and the Misfit as characters of grace, although, neither of them are deserving of the title. The grandmother implies grace by praying to Jesus that the Misfit won’t kill her or her family, and that he will help the Misfit be a “good” man. The Misfit refers to grace at the end of the story when he mentions that the only pleasure in life was meanness.…
DIRECTIONS: Read each sub-set of directions and answer all questions, using text evidence when necessary. Answer all questions in complete sentences, unless directly stated.…
In A good man is hard to find, the grandmother had a complicated set of moral codes that did not compel with the natural moral codes that a catholic would be known to have. The catholic values are set to be the most reliable and trustworthy person one can be. Unfortunately the grandmother's intention…
The grandmother in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” is a round, dynamic character. She is a quirky protagonist who undergoes a change at the end of the story during her encounter with the antagonist, The Misfit. Until the final paragraphs of the story, the grandmother is selfish and manipulative. She’s set in her old fashioned ways.…
One of the utmost unforgettable lines from “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” originates from the Misfit when he says, “She would have been a good woman if it had been someone there to shoot her for every minute of her life (O'Connor).” Flannery O’Connor’s illustration of Christianity can be seen in within this text. Certainly, the plot ends with an appalling conclusion, and this leaves the reader with liberty to understand the central idea of this story. “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” is largely influenced by divine authority and other elements within the story.…
Flannery O’Conner short story “A Good Man is hard to Find” Is about this grandmother who is plotting to get her own way through whatever means is necessary. So the fact is “The grandmother’s whole personality is built upon the fictions she tells herself and her family” (Schenck, 340). “She creates the stories behind the visual phenomena she sees and explains the relationships between events or her own actions which have no logic other than that which she lends them” (Schenck, 340). The grandmother who imaged a life she once had that turn to a tragedy of reality for her and her family. She does not admit it, but her thoughts manifest themselves physically and emotionally. The grandmother got so embarrassed that her cheek was red and her eyes widen and she begins to stomp her feet and this really upset her at that moment.…
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown” mentions three dark events from the Puritan’s history. Moreover, it could be said that the story was a result of Hawthorne’s feelings about his ancestors who were involved in the Salem witch trial as well as in other atrocities against Native Americans and Quacks. On the other hands, Flannery O’connor’s Catholic upbringing influenced almost all of her fictions. Her characters often face violent situations that force them into the moment of crisis that awaken their faiths. The two short stories “Young Good Man Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne and “ A Good Man Is Hard To Find” by Flannery O’Connor both have characters that allow their faiths to be altered by evils. The Grandmother’s lies bout her trip to her family in “ A Good Man Is Hard To Find” end up in a death of her family and herself, while the wrong paths taken by Goodman Brown lead him to the loss of his innocence. In short, both stories show how abandoning one Christian’s faith can allow evil to enter and conquer one’s live.…
After reading Flannery O'Connor's "A Good Man is Hard to Find" for the first time, I was left with one question that perplexed me, why did the Grandmother call the Misfit one of her own children? It's a question that many believe they have the answer to, they research and analyze coming up with theories and ideas. Like many others I will now be putting my theory on the Grandmother's final words, what they meant and why she said them. Opinions on her final word vary, with authors like Brandy saying the Grandmother's final act as a selfish attempt to save her own skin. I however begun to see the Grandmother's sudden compassion for the Misfit not as an act of selfishness but an act of mercy brought upon by a form of grace, drawn O'Connor on faith.…
In the story, A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O'Connor is about a family whom wanted to go to a family vaction along with the grandmother. However, along the way, the family bumped into the "Misfit" and his friends. The "Misfit" is a crimina whom escape from prison along with two criminal escapees. One by one, every family member were sent to the woods to meet their deaths leaving the grandmother talking to the "Misfit" and pleading him to spare her life other than beg for her family's lives. In the end, it turned the family vacation to a murder. O'Connor used the literacy devices such as foreshadowing which gives a hint or a suggestion on a event that will most likely happen and irony which is between what actually happened and what is expected to happened. The author is trying to show her readers that everyone has their own values and opinions than others. She's having the readers understand what her views and…
“A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” the grandmother and Misfit live by moral codes that affect their decisions, actions, and perceptions. A moral code is a set of beliefs and behaviors that people abide by to live what they consider to be a reasonable, fulfilling lives. The term moral doesn’t necessarily mean “good”; it’s simply a code of conduct, while the righteousness of a person’s morals is entirely subjective. Although at first glance the Misfit’s code seems to be misguided, it is actually the grandmother’s code that proves to be flimsy and inconsistent. The grandmother has built her moral code on the characteristics that she believes make people “good.” She places great stock in being a lady, for example, which emphasizes appearance over substance.…
A Good Man is Hard to Find" by Flannery O'Connor is a short story that depicts a family road trip to Florida that ends in an abysmal tragedy when they meet the Misfit, a remorseless convict who has escaped from prison. In the beginning, the Grandmother is obsessed with everything worldly and superficial. She is completely focused on herself in relation to how others think of her. Towards the end of the story, the grandmother finds herself in ominous dialogue with The Misfit. In the story, The Misfit represents a quasi-final judgment. He does this by acting like a mirror. He lets whatever The Grandmother says bounce right off him. He never agrees nor disagrees with the grandmother, and in the end, he is the one who kills her. At the end of the story, before the Grandmother meets her fate, she has a moment of redemption. She finally distinguishes The Misfit for who he really is, not a psychopathic killer on the loose; but a person just like herself. The Misfit, being a man who is not created from social class; he is a simple human being just like the grandmother. At this point she sees herself in relation to everyone else. She finally realizes that she is not made by her class. Society makes the class, and she just fits into it. She shows this by claiming that The Misfit could be one of her own children. This story is meant to be interpreted as a parable, whereby O'Connor made skilful use of symbolism to bring about messages such as the social-superiority and the lack of spiritual faith that exist amongst common people; and the grace in humans is exposed, only when facing adverse and fatal circumstances.…
Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find” is a traumatic short story about a family, that is taking a trip to Florida, but never makes it because of their run in with the outlaw the Misfit, who in the end kills the whole family. Throughout, the story O’Connor shows what a good man is through the Characterization of the Misfit, the grandmother, and Bailey.…
The grandmother in “A Good Man is Hard to Find” exemplifies what it means to be a fake. She is a liar, racist, and judger. All of these attributes go against the beliefs of the Catholic Church, but the grandmother does not have the self-awareness to notice. Her racist remarks are most clearly shown during the drive when the…
People naturally want others to think good of them; being an honest person is looked upon and produces a good reputation. Abraham Lincoln was known as “Honest Abe” because his campaign planners wanted him to be more likeable to give him an upper hand at winning for President. Honesty has always been a commendable attribute. George Washington is known for telling the truth about chopping down a cherry tree for the same reason, so that the American people would admire and revere them. In the Scarlet letter Rev. Dimmesdale is making an argument to Chillingworth that sometimes deception is needed to keep people from turning away from God. Chillingworth responds with the question, “Can lies glorify God more than the truth?” Honesty is a good trait to have and telling to truth is a positive habit to practice because it is looked upon by others as a good thing to do.…