Dialogues in O’Connor’s “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”

The following analysis will be about the dialogue aspect of the narrative technique used by Flannery O’Connor in her short story A Good Man is Hard to Find and how it contributes to the story and its meaning. As the story abounds in numerous dialogue lines, it is particularly important to understand the sheer impact of dialogues on the perception of the story by readers.

The dialogue aspect of A Good Man is Hard to Find is the story’s key component for delivering the characters’ thoughts, their personalities, their points of view on the events described in the story, and, ultimately, for creating impressions of readers about each character. Therefore, the importance of dialogues to the story will be explained by analyzing certain significant quotes and indicating their contribution to the delivering of the story’s main ideas.

The nature of the Grandmother’s personality is already suggested in the very first pages of the story. When John Wesley asked the Grandmother why she would not stay home if she did not really want to go to Florida, little June Star said: “She wouldn’t stay at home for a million bucks. Afraid she’d miss something. She has to go everywhere we go.” (O’Connor 137). June’s depiction of the Grandmother was rather crude, but, at the same time, it was accurate.

Old-fashioned and dreamy, the old lady has further proved to match that depiction during the conversation with the kids in the car. “Let’s go through Georgia fast so we won’t have to look at it much,” said John Wesley during the trip (O’Connor 139). The grandmother answered: “If I were a little boy, I wouldn’t talk about my native state that way. Tennessee has the mountains, and Georgia has the hills.” (O’Connor 139). Just from these lines, we can get the idea of a certain confrontation between the old and new views on things.

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The Grandmother still lived mentally in the old times, where, according to her, people were better – they were nicer and more respectful. However, she still seemed to believe in the existence of good people. When Red Sammy asked her about why he had let the two fellers charge the gas they bought the previous week, she responded: “Because you’re a good man!” (O’Connor 142). The Grandmother’s reminiscences of the past and the desire for reunification with them led to a car crash. “We’ve had an ACCIDENT!” the children shouted (O’Connor 145).

“But nobody’s killed,” June Star disappointedly said, looking at the Grandmother getting out of the car (O’Connor 145). These particular lines indicate the strained relationship between the children and the Grandmother. Probably the most important part of the story is the dialogue between the Misfit and the Grandmother. “Well then, why don’t you pray?” she said while trembling (O’Connor 150). The Misfit’s response was filled with self-confidence: “I don’t want no help. I’m doing all right by myself.” (O’Connor 151) Both characters’ specific traits of personality are discovered during that dialogue.

The Grandmother does not want to believe in the Misfit’s murderous nature; she still sees a good man in him. On the other hand, the Misfit embraces the changes in his personal views of things, even though he does not deny he was indeed a good person once. The final words of the Grandmother to the Misfit can be defined as the moment of grace, which apparently affects him in the end; she cried: “Why you’re one of my babies. You’re one of my own children!” (O’Connor 152).

O’Connor’s abundant usage of dialogues in the story is justified by its amazing ability to deliver all feelings, all emotions, and all main ideas of the story. They serve as the primary tools for reaching the readers so that they can fully understand every character. Dialogues are also the main indicators of relationship specifics between each character in the story.

Works Cited

O’Connor, Flannery. “A Good Man Is Hard to Find.” Collected Works. New York, NY: Library of America, 1988. 137-153. Print.

Subtle Religious Overtones Portrayed in O’Conner’s “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”

Introduction

In life we are two people, that which we show to the public eye which is prim, proper, and well behaved and the other that embodies that type of person we are when the doors are closed, the blinds are drawn and there is no one around to see or hear us. Examining the story ” A Good Man is Hard to Find” is similar to looking into a mirror and trying to determine whether what we portray in public is truly who we are on the inside. The basic setting used is a simple one where a family of six is preparing to go on a trip to Florida for a vacation. Unusually though, the grandmother who is the main character in the story rather than being cast as a protagonist can be considered as being set into the role of the antagonist. It is actually through her selfish actions that the story takes a turn for the worse despite her implying numerous times in the story that she is a lady, comes from a more civilized and polite time, and is a devout Christian who believes in Jesus Christ. Based on the actions of the grandmother it can be said that the short story “A Good Man is Hard to Find” contains subtle religious overtones portraying how aesthetics and what it means to truly be a Christian clash when presented with the reality of life.

The story has a simple plot where a family is expecting to go on a vacation in Florida with the grandmother in the story adamantly wishing to go to Tennessee instead. Due to the grandmother’s actions and deceptions, the family gets into an accident and unfortunately is thrust into a dangerous situation when they encounter a group of escaped criminals that were mentioned earlier on. The characters in the story, except for the grandmother, the misfit, and the other two escaped criminals, all portray average people that you would meet on the street or would know. The father Baily acts like your usual husband along with the unnamed wife and two children. The truly unique character in the story is the grandmother and as a result, that is where the primary basis of examination will start. When examining the grandmother it becomes obvious that she places a lot of importance on appearances and being “ladylike” and asserts her belief in Jesus. Despite this assertion of ladylike behavior and belief in Jesus, throughout the trip, the grandmother shows instances of racial discrimination when describing an African American boy calling him a “nigger” or “pickanniny”, shows concern for her physical appearance to look ladylike, lies to her child and grandchild about the house with secret compartments to get what she wants and as a result of her hiding a cat under her bag causes an accident for the family which winds up killing all of them as they are found by a group of escaped prisoners. The supposed ladylike behavior that the grandmother has said she embodies which is her form of aestheticism falls short when compared to her actions, her thoughts, and the result of her behavior.

The first major conflict in the story involved the grandmother and her attempt to dissuade the family from going to Florida by using guilt; this is evidenced by the line ” it is just as you had read it, I would not take my own children in any direction with a criminal that is like that on the loose. I would not be able to answer to my conscience if I did so.”(O’Conner 1). It is this particular conflict that sets the tone for the succeeding conflicts in the story as the grandmother due to her selfish desire becomes the main cause of future conflicts in the story. The next major conflict in the story involves how the grandmother wishes to see the house that she remembers from her memories. It is at this point that it must be considered that the grandmother is an antagonist in the story and as an antagonist, her actions must negatively impact other characters. The line “there was a secret panel that was hidden in that house craftily she said to the children, while at the same time not telling the truth to them but wishing that she really were telling the truth” shows how the grandmother was willing to use deception to get what she wanted and as a result of her actions the rest of the family paid the price when they got into an accident shortly thereafter (O’Conner 2). The final major conflict in the story occurs when the family encounters the misfit; once again it is due to the grandmother’s actions that the family winds up in trouble. The line “Yes ma’am” the man had said while smiling slightly to them almost as if he was pleased to be known by them, “but you know it really would have been better for the lot of you if you had not recognized me at all” shows that there was the possibility of the group of criminals helping out the family rather than killing them one by one in the woods. When because the grandmother continues to tell the Misfit to pray and turn to Jesus while the rest of her family dies around her shows how she was trying to save her own life despite what was happening (O’Conner 4). It is seen that she attempted to flatter the Misfit by saying that he was from a good family, in no part is it mentioned of her attempting to save the life of her family instead she continues to try to save her own life. It is due to her actions that it can be said that the grandmother does not truly embody what it means to be a Christian since based on her earlier actions what she was attempting to show on the outside was not what she was on the inside.

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When combining the various elements portrayed in the story gives readers the ability to delve into the experience of recognizing their personal aesthetic qualities that they show to other people and how such aesthetics cannot withstand the test of reality. In various religious sermons, it is mentioned how the true test of Christianity is not in adherence to traditions such as attending mass on Sundays or portraying to others a good Christian facade instead it is in what a person does when confronted with the true test of one’s faith that determines whether a person is a true Christian. The novel shows numerous tests presented before the grandmother, tests of her ladylike behavior which she failed due to her racism, vanity, and selfishness, and tests of her Christianity which she failed by trying to save herself. In the end, the true theme of the story is that one day the facades we present to the world as embodiments of whom we are will be tested and as a result, our true selves will be revealed.

Conclusion

In the end, the story is a good example of how aesthetics and being what a person is will eventually clash as a result of the realities that are placed before all individuals in life. It can even be considered a lesson wherein what a person should show to the public should be their true selves, not some made-up image to satisfy their sense of vanity. While the story itself contains numerous subtle religious overtones and settings the most important to remember is this: no one goes untested.

Works Cited

O’ Conner, Flannery. A Good Man is Hard to Find. Pegasus Archive. 1955. Web.

A Good Man Is Hard to Find and Other Stories

Introduction

Born in Savannah, Georgia, Flannery O’Connor has come out as one of the most outstanding figures in South American literature. She has a dozen of short stories to her credit and two novels. Although she died at a tender age of 39, her literary works have stood out as some of the most compelling works, always revealing the structure of the society in a clear and conscious manner. Her book ‘A Good Man is Hard to Find’ is one book that brings out the society of America in the late thirties and early forties.

Insecurity was rife and there was fear of trigger happy individuals who would find fun in inflicting pain on innocent individuals. The story reveals vulnerability of members of the society to the attack of roaming gangsters. One character helps in bringing out this in a clearer way. The old lady, who was the mother to Bailey helps in making this point clearer. This paper seeks to analyze the character traits of this old woman.

Character Traits and Motivations

The old woman comes out with very strong traits in this story. When we are introduced to this person, we see someone who is very controlling. She had a plan that was contrary to what the rest of the family had. She tried to convince the son, Bailey, to change the planned trip but with no success. When she met Misfit, she tried to control him by telling him what he was supposed to do. She says, “You are one of my own children.”

However, this trait did not help her in any way. Another trait that comes out is the fact that she is flexible. She easily accepted to travel with the family to the destination she was against initially. This old woman was to an extent a racist. She says, “Little niggers in the country don’t have things like we do” (O’Connor 5).

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This statement showed that she had some reservation towards the blacks. She also comes out as an intelligent person. She was able to identify the criminal who had escaped from prison. She says, “You are the Misfit” (O’Connor 14)

Character’s Interaction with Others

She comes out as a brave and easygoing character that is very social and sociable. When they visited Sammy’s hotel, she easily strikes off a discussion with Sammy. This gives the impression that she was able to create an easy atmosphere around her, making even strangers feel homely near her.

She engages the two children in discussions before and during the journey. She was able to engage the criminals in a discussion even after knowing their identity. This woman also knows how to interact with others regardless of age. She gets along with the two children and Sammy, Bailey, and the criminals. She knows exact topics to bring in each occasion and with each age group.

What Other Characters Say About Your Character

From what others say about a character in a given story, it is always possible to determine the trait of a character. The author states much about this woman. The author says, ‘and waved her head and was very dramatic” (O’Connor 5).

The dramatic nature of this character is witnessed throughout the story. After they had shot her, Bobby Lee notes, “She was a talker, wasn’t she?” (O’Connor 23).

This trait comes out throughout the story.

Conclusion

Character analysis can be done from various approaches. In the story ‘A Good Man is Hard to Find’, the Bailey mother comes out with a very strong character. The author has brought her out as a brave person who would talk even in the face of death. She is also very social and flexible in her decision. Just before she was shot, she showed concern even for a criminal like Misfit.

Works Cited

O’Connor, Flannery. A Good Man is Hard to Find and Other Stories. Florida: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1976. Print.

O’Connor’s “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”: Foreshadowing Analysis

Foreshadowing is one of the stylistic tools in literature employed by many authors. It involves giving the reader hints of what is likely to happen later in the story as it unfolds. It is therefore employed to create suspension and tension. It also prepares the reader for a shocking turn of events later in the story.

Flannery Conner uses this stylistic device quite effectively in her literary works. ‘A good man is hard to find’. This essay critically analyses how the author has used this tool in one of her short stories. Foreshadowing has been used in the story “a good man is hard to find.”

The reader is introduced to a nuclear family that wants to go on a vacation to Florida. However, the grandmother who is to be part of the vacation is against going to Florida, she prefers Tennessee. She happens to be aware of a killer called Misfit, who is on run to Florida and is afraid they may meet him. The family however ignores her view. Foreshadowing is used effectively as the grandmother advises her son Bailey about Misfit, telling him “what he did to those people” (Kennedy & Gioua 117). The grandmother is predicting that just as it happened to those other people, it may happen to them. The author thus creates the suspense of what is bound to happen later in the story.

The grandmother still agrees to go for the vacation. She is the first in the car, and June Star states “she has to go every where we go” (Kennedy & Gioua 118). This foreshadows that as the family is killed, the grandmother will not be spared. Later, despite the grandmother’s plea, she is still killed, true to the young girl’s statement; the grandmother follows the rest in death.

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Grandmother dressed in her Sunday best. Her choice of colors is quite striking, as described. According to Kennedy & Gioua (118), she looked nice dressed in a navy blue straw sailor hat with a cluster of white violets on the edge and a navy blue dress with a small white dot in the print. These color combinations are usually worn in burial services. This color choice, therefore, foreshadows the death that follows later. This is strongly supported by the grandmother’s motive for wearing that dress. According to her, the dress would assist in her identification in case of an accident. The dress would automatically help one recognize her to be a lady. The grandmother strongly predicts her death, she doesn’t think just of an accident, but one that leaves her dead on the highway. It is quite capturing, how the grandmother is so clear in her mind, that she is not dressing to look good, but in case of a death eventuality on here during the trip.

During the trip, “the family passed by a cotton field with five or six graves fenced in the middle of it like a small island” (Kennedy & Gioua 118). This foreshadows the death of all the family. There are five grown-ups in the car and the baby, who is not fully developed hence the phrase “five or six”. Further, the grandmother foreshadows as she talks of how the “plantation gone with the wind” (Kennedy & Gioua 120). This predicts the fate of how their lives would be gone at the end of the story.

The name of the place where the family is killed –Toomsboro also predicts their ending. The story has been written in English, and the name of the place sounds close to “tombs” and “bury”, which have to do with death and burial. It, therefore, predicts the family death within that town.

The Misfit’s words in the description of a cell in the prison also foreshadow the death. He says, “turn right, it was a wall, turn left was a wall, look up it was a ceiling, look down, it was a floor” (Kennedy & Gioua 130). This description fits a grave, where they would have to be buried after their death. Grandmother’s death is again foreshadowed by the misfit during their conversation as he asks her if it seems right to her and which one is punished (Kennedy & Gioua 131). This means that despite the grandmother’s plea, just as the others have been killed, she would also be killed.

Foreshadowing has effectively been used in the story right from the start to the end. Just as the grandmother foreshadows her death and dresses appropriately, it happens. They die in the town of Toomsboro. Despite grandmother’s plea, she is killed; following the others as said earlier that she would always follow them. The number of people killed is five grown-ups and a baby, just as there were five or six graves at the cotton field.

Works cited

Kennedy, Joseph and Gioia, Dana. Literature, an introduction to fiction, drama and Poetry, 11th Ed New York: Longman Publishers. 2008.

“An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” and “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” Comparison

Occurrence at Owl CREEK Bridge describes the fate of a planter by the name Farquhar, who is lured by a union scout disguised as a soldier into committing a crime for which he would eventually pay with his life. Farquhar is symbolic of the slave confederate states that sought to secede from the United States, whereas, the soldiers represent the might of the union.

The story becomes so emotional when the reader is reminded that Farquhar is not only a planter but is also a gentleman. This suggests that he poses no real threat to the union Army but is merely being executed on the grounds of being a confederate sympathizer. His longing for freedom and eventual demise is symbolic of the desire of slave states to be independent from the United States and the ultimate defeat and suppression of their motive.

On the on the hand, a good man is hard to find talks about a family that was completely annihilated by a criminal by the name of “Misfit” and his accomplices as a result of the self centered nature of the family’s grandmother. This story resembles the occurrence at Owl CREEK Bridge in that both the protagonists eventually end up losing their lives. The difference between these two stories lies in the fact that whereas Farquhar sought to free himself in his imaginations, the grandmother took the actual step of pleading for her life.

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The authors of the anthologies use imagery to vividly describe the situation under which the protagonists are executed (Roberts 81). This stylistic device has the effect of arousing strong emotions of pity and remorse towards those who faced premature death and resentment, hate and anger towards the assailants who are pictured as being inhumane and brutal. The authors use detailed poignant descriptions to show just how easy it can be for men to take away each other’s life at the slightest provocation. Farquhar did not deserve to die and so did the grandmother and her family.

Works Cited

Roberts, Edgar. Writing Themes about Literature. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.1991.Print.

Representation of Family in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”

The short story “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor is one of the most appealing in the American Literature, revolving round family matters. The short story’s main actress, Bailey’s mother, commonly called grandmother dominates all the actions unfolding in the entire story.

Since she stays with her son’s family, the grandmother presents herself as a good mother, despite her being selfish. It is clearly brought out that, the nuclear family is not in coherence with the grandmother, since most of the actions the family undertakes seem to be against her wishes (Ochshorn, 131). This is reflected when she requests that they go to Tennessee, while on the other hand, Bailey’s family considers Florida as the best place to go. This paper focuses on the presentation of family as represented in the entire short story.

After the family gets involved in an accident, the famous ‘Misfit’ and his gang holds up the family and threatens to kill them. In reaction, the grandmother attempts to save her own life by pleading with the murderers to leave her alone. According to Bandy (134), the selfish nature of the grandmother and her disregard to her family is evidenced when she seems to care the safety of the other family members. Quite significantly, there seems to be weak bond of love between the grandmother and Bailey’s family.

This is reflected by her unfeeling nature of watching the entire family die around her, as she pleads for her life. As held by Ochshorn (135), the family presented in this story seems incoherent not in actual family-love bond, since there seem to be not feeling for the other(s) when they are in danger. As a result of the grandmother’s selfish nature, the entire family is killed, since if she could have kept quite, no member of the family could have died.

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However, the grandmother may seem wicked in the last part of the story, but her initial personality implies that she was a good grandmother to her family. As revealed by Bandy (127) in the onset of the story, the grandmother treats the whole family with a lot of respect, in spite of their ignorance of her opinions. Even if she seems manipulative to the children to go and see a house which was not there, she said it craftily.

Though she is manipulated by the family to go to Florida against her wish, she tries to maneuver ways of avoiding Florida creatively. With reference to Ochshorn (137), the grandmother is trying to relate with her family well, though using twisted goodness. On the other hand, Barley and her family seem not to consider the wishes of the grandmother, implying their selfish nature as well.

Conclusion

It should be noted that, the grandmother’s final action is by no means a charitable act of trying to defend the family from being murdered, but rather a strategy to save herself. Though it may be argued that, the grandmother’s final moment was a gracious to the entire family, but her goodness is a pretended one since she seems not to care the death of the other family members.

Basically, the grandmother emerges as having pretended good life by respecting her family, yet she had no actual family love for them. Generally, the unfolding of various events revolving around the grandmother brings her out as being self-centered, despite of her pretended goodness to the entire family.

Works Cited

Bandy, Stephen. Means, Meaning and Meditated Space in “A Good Man is Hard to Find”. The Southern Quarterly. 44.4, (2007): 125-142.

Ochshorn, Kathleen. A Cloak of Grace: Contradictions in “A Good Man is Hard to Find”. Studies in American Fiction. 32.4, (2004): 129-138.

Flannery O’Connor’s Story “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”

After reading “A Good Man Is Hard to find”, the reader gets varied opinions about some of the major characters. Analysing the Grandmother is no different: it reveals varied opinions about her nature and intentions. A reader who is not keen maybe confused about who the Grandmother really is.

The reader may perceive the Grandmother as a manipulator who uses every opportunity for her own selfish gain. Alternatively she may also be viewed as a normal human being who has common human weaknesses and faults like any other person, but despite these weaknesses she still tries to do good to her family members.

The Grandmother’s final act can be interpreted in two ways. It may be seen as an indication of character transformation, after realising that she has led a bad life and thus wants to change for good. Some people may perceive her actions as another way of her usual attempts to save herself. Despite the varied opinion about the grandmother, her manipulative behaviour is very clear to the reader throughout the story.

The grandmother is outrightly a manipulative woman throughout the story. However, her manipulative tendency is concealed in the manner in which she expertly executes it. She takes every opportunity to have her way in every situation that does not favour her. This is evident from the onset of the short story till its end.

For instance, she manipulates Bailey so that not to go to Florida by scaring him about the criminal activities in Florida and the threat she is likely to experience once she goes there. She tells Bailey that there is a loose criminal in Florida and that she cannot take any of her children to that place with such a criminal at loose (O’Connor Para. 1). Bailey does not appear scared by that comment.

So that to convince Bailey not to go to Florida the Grandmother comes with another manipulative scheme. She tells Bailey that children ought to go somewhere else they have never been before (O’Connor Para. 2). However, this trick does not work as the family eventually travels to Florida.

Her manipulativeness continues to be seen throughout the story as she uses other people to get what she wants. The grandmother knows that Bailey would not allow her to visit the old plantation. She therefore excites the children about visiting the old plantation. She also lies to Bailey that there was a hidden family treasure in the house in the old plantation (O’Connor Para. 45). It is the children who convince the reluctant Bailey to visit the old plantation, much to the grandmother’s satisfaction.

Other than her actions, her dressing and mannerism too are manipulatively used to conceal her real identity and intentions. From the onset of the story she portrays herself as the ultimate lady by through her dressing. She tries very much to look like a respectable lady through her dressing as she adorns herself in neat clothes trimmed with beautiful laces. She also adorns a beautiful necklace.

Her sense of dressing created a notion that she was a respectable lady to anyone who saw her (O’Connor para 12). Her ladylike dressing is centrally to her real character.

Her manipulation can be seen from another perspective. It highlights the power of brain over physical might. This is seen through her relationship with The Misfit. She successfully uses such endearing terms as “you’re a good man” and “You wouldn’t shoot a lady, would you?” towards The Misfit (O’Connor Para. 89) to catch him off guard and make him not kill her.

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The Misfit’s response that he would hate to kill her also highlights the fact that the grandmother manipulative tendency reveals the misfit’s other side: that he is not a misfit after all.

The grandmother tries very much to present herself as a prefect lady. This is done through her dressing and general mannerisms. However, her manipulative behaviour is a stack contrast of her outward disposition. Her lifestyle reveals duo personality, which is useful to the development of the story. What makes her even more useful to the story is the way in which she prevalently manipulates her way for selfish gains.

Works Cited

O’Connor, Flannery. “A good man is hard to find.” n.d. Web.

Gothic in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by O’Connor

Literature continues to provide an alternative to reality as times change and conflicts arise. Good authors can satisfy this craving while simultaneously reflecting on current issues. One author who made the most of this genre was Flannery O’Connor, who even created her subgenre of Gothic fiction called the Southern Grotesque. In A Good Man is Hard to Find, her best-known short story, O’Connor incorporates her trademark blend of the grotesque, physical brutality, social justice, irony, and the concept of the outcast.

The narrative describes a tragic family vacation to Florida that results in calamity. The grandmother persuades the family to take a detour to an old farm, but they crash the vehicle on the route and get trapped on a remote road. The Misfit, a fugitive criminal, arrives shortly afterward and murders the whole family. Undoubtedly, he is the most unusual individual, as his moniker reveals how badly he blends into society. In addition, the cemetery with “five or six graves,” the village of “Toomsboro,” and how the woods “gaped like a dark open mouth,” are instances of the author’s ability to foreshadow a terrible event (O’Connor 203-208). The occurrences described in the novel are unusually awful, bizarre, and morbid. O’Connor employs foreshadowing to build tension, and since the reader is not purposefully swayed into thinking everything is typical, it is easy to notice.

Figures in A Good Man Is Hard to Find exemplify the Southern Gothic style by being peculiar and profoundly dysfunctional. The ” grandmother,” is a woman who looks to be a picky, sanctimonious, and resentful troublemaker. Considering her perceived self-esteem, she seems to have no problem fabricating a falsehood when it benefits her and frequently disparages her family (O’Connor 205). This way, the reader views the behavior of this character as atypical not expected of “the grandmother.”

Red Sammy, the tower’s owner, is another odd figure in the story. Notably, among Red Sammy’s pets is a “gray monkey about a foot high, tethered to a little chinaberry tree” (O’Connor 204). Furthermore, he treats his spouse like a slave and only perceives the faults in other people, which is indicative of his patriarchist inclinations. A Good Man is Hard to Find differs from European Gothic since O’Connor’s characteristics are disguised in comic style, which renders them less obvious to the reader. She explores society’s shortcomings on a profound level, entrusting others to individual perceptions and behavior.

Work Cited

O’Connor Flannery. A Good Man Is Hard to Find. Faber Faber. 2019.

Symbol of Weather in Flannery O’Connor’s A Good Man Is Hard to Find

One of the most observable literary techniques in Flannery O’Connor’s short story “A Good Man is Hard to Find” is symbolism. In the plot, the author applies symbolism to add meaning to the narrative. Several symbols are evident throughout the story, and each stands out to represent specific themes or meanings in the storyline. For instance, the grandmother symbolizes negative traits of people; the tower is a symbol of danger, while the Misfit represents evil. Nevertheless, an in-depth analysis of symbolism shows that the weather is the most dominant symbol in the story, and every scene is described in a given type of weather. Arguably, O’Connor uses weather symbols in different scenarios to foreshadow the consequent occurrences in every scene.

In multiple times, the prevailing weather condition is something that appears throughout the story. After his identification, the Misfit discusses the sky, “there is no cloud in the sky. I do not see the sun, but I also don’t see clouds” (O’Connor 147). Also, when Misfit describes his first time in the penitentiary, he looks up and says that it is cloudless (O’Connor 150). Surprisingly, in both cases, the weather is not cloudy and not sunny but empty. An in-depth analysis would reveal that an empty sky symbolizes a bad omen or a bad sign. After the car accident, the family is trapped in the middle of nowhere, and the members are desperate (O’Connor 149). They do not have hope of finding help and returning home, just like the empty sky. Similarly, the empty sky can also symbolize the character and meaning of Misfit. For example, he claims to have forgotten the crimes he had committed and keeps everything he signs. He is a desperate man with no moods, feelings, and hope for life. He does not have a family and murders people without feeling guilty. He is also a thief who does not care what other people feel when he steals from them. After the Misfit discusses Jesus and Salvation, the ready would think that he has finally become a civilized man. But within a few minutes, he shoots the grandmother three times, which shows that he is a man without respect for human life. Arguably, the Misfit is an empty man with no life, and that is why he only sees empty skies above his head.

The weather can also symbolize the state of mind, as seen in various scenes in the storyline. For example, when Wesley and June realize that they have anything to do, they play a game by choosing a cloud and make the other two guess the shape each item suggests. Wesley’s cloud has the shape of a cow, which June makes a correct guess (O’Connor 36). John does not accept June’s correct guess and states it looks like a car, and they start fighting in front of their grandmother. Consequently, the cloud symbolizes the aura or state of mind that the two have, especially John Wesley’s unfairness in his mind.

At the start of the journey, the sky is not empty but full of clouds. In this case, the family is full of hope that they will complete the journey successfully. However, they appear to have blocked thoughts, blind minds, and misinterpreted meaning. For example, the two children have wrong or blinded perceptions of the meaning of cloud shapes in their game, which describes their empty states of mind (O’Connor 84). In the same way, the grandmother’s perceptions of the nature of goodness are wrong as she has blocked thoughts. The audience can see that the grandmother cannot see the reality because there are clouds in her mindset.

In conclusion, the symbol of weather is the dominant literal technique that O’Connor uses in the story. In every scene, the author uses the prevailing weather to predict the events likely to follow. Also, the weather symbolizes the characters’ states of mind, which mainly appear to be empty or compromised in most scenarios.

Work Cited

O’Connor, Flannery. A Good Man is Hard to Find. Rutgers University Press, 1992.

Interpreting O’Connor’s “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”

Flannery O’Connor’s tales may be disturbing and unsettling despite their seeming lightheartedness and ease. O’Connor’s writings have a certain allure because of their bizarre plots, blood and violence, dismal religion, stereotypical southern location, and bands of strange, demonic characters. Her best-known work is the short book “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” which veers between the ludicrous and the graceful with unforeseen results.

O’Connor concludes that the family’s tragedy caused by “the Misfit” is a narrative about original sin and salvation. It is consistent with the view held by most critics of literature who feel that this Catholic writer only has one story to tell (Zhao 40). Two critics, Jefferson Harmsworth and Claude Richard believe that the grandmother is in heaven due to “the Misfit” (Zhao 40). Richard argues that the grandmother receives a “moment of grace” from God (Zhao 40). While it is not the only topic in “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” redemption is certainly one of the most prominent. Reviewer Susan Paulson previously said that if one reads O’Connor’s works carefully, one would see the virtues of Catholicism, the regularity of contemporary philosophy, and the evolution of the human psyche (Zhao 40). Susan is unwavering in her conviction that O’Connor’s writings include a philosophical undercurrent (Zhao 40). The protagonists, storyline and certain incomprehensible elements or pictures in O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find” all point to the novel’s extension and exploitation of this philosophical theme-absurdity (Zhao 40). Despite Grandma’s best efforts, the randomness and chance of the world frequently go against her plans. The family’s tragedy is a direct consequence of her insistence on going to Tennessee to avoid The Misfit and to educate the children and of her choice to take the cat along for the ride despite her fears that the animal would accidentally suffocate itself.

O’Connor’s use of disruption and distortion to reconfigure ethical-religious forms of being in the world is illuminated by the Levinasian themes of alterity, anarchy, and the absolute. Her writing style steers clear of too simplistic morality tales and dull dramatic escapism (Wood 33). In addition, the suggested reading is given a place to ponder ethical questions because of her tales’ power and uniqueness. Nevertheless, despite the cozy at-home-ness due to the Same’s economy, such introspection reveals a chasm in front of the text, where it becomes almost palpable that real life is empty (Wood 33). This narrative begins with Ruby Turpin entering a doctor’s office waiting area. Through O’Connor’s portrayal of the incident, one can immediately foresee Mrs. Turpin’s manner of relating to Others. O’Connor described as she surveyed the sitting arrangement, her small, dark-colored eyes scanned all the patients (Wood 33). Mrs. Turpin, acting as a kind of transcendental ego, constantly sorts the people sitting in the waiting room, “a microcosm of the South”, into her predetermined social classes (Wood 33). In this void, which is accentuated by the mediocre, perceived goods of classism, racism, narcissism, and mistaken optimism, there exists the potential of ethical transcendence (Wood 33). However, only for a fleeting instant, it came for the grandmother and Mrs. Turpin when it comes to ontology.

To summarize, O’Connnor’s narrative incorporates absurdist and Levinasian claims about the Other. This sets up a potentially harsh and ironic circumstance. This short tale is emblematic of O’Connor’s ability to combine humor, kindness, dullness, and brutality into a picture of a world that most readers would invariably identify as partially their own, despite its flaws. O’Connor portrays the world as a place where good and evil are at odds with one another, and her characters often find out the hard way that the forces of darkness are very real.

Works Cited

O’Connor, Flannery. The Complete Stories. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1971.

Wood, Dan. “Misfits, Anarchy, and the Absolute: Interpreting O’Connor through Levinasian Themes.” Literature and Theology 29.1 (2015): 33-46.

Zhao, Yang. “The Absurd Theme in “A Good Man is Hard to Find”.” 3rd International Conference on Economy, Management and Education Technology, Francis Academic Press, (2017): 40-42.