Preview

A Good Man Is Hard To Find Literary Analysis Essay

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
694 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
A Good Man Is Hard To Find Literary Analysis Essay
Tania Pacheco
English 1A
Mrs. Solorzano
Essay #4
November 8, 2010 Literary Analysis on “A Good Man Is Hard To Find” “Jesus!” the old lady cried. “You’ve got good blood! I know you wouldn’t shoot a lady! I know you come from nice people! Pray! Jesus you ought not shoot a lady. I’ll give you all the money I’ve got!” In the story “A Good Man Is Hard To Find,” the major theme is the theme of religion. The story is about a family that ends up going on a vacation to Tennessee, instead of Florida because the grandmother wants to go there. On their way the grandmother directs them to a dirt road, which she claims had a house that was pretty amazing with a secret panel. When to far in she realizes they are in the wrong place its not in Georgia but in Tennessee. It is to late they get in a car accident fortunately all of them are fine, but they come against the famous “Misfit,”(O’Connor) which happens to be a criminal that has escaped from jail and is on the loose and is very dangerous. The grandmother recognizes him and everything goes down hill for them at that point. In the end the poor family ends up getting killed. The main points in this story are Grace, and the way the word “Good” is misinterpreted by the grandmother. The grandmother tries to use grace as a way of not …show more content…
In this story there are two different aspects of a good man. First of all there is one good man that is mentioned in the story, which the grandmother calls Red Sammy a good man. Red Sammy was considered a good man because he let those couple of strangers charge their own gasoline. In the other hand the grandmother refers the Misfit, as being a good man also, despite the fact that he’s a criminal whom she knows is about to kill her family and her. In this case the grandmother has the meaning of a good man all wrong, these people are not good at all. One is a poor judgment, blind faith guy, and the other is a who never agrees that he will not kill
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Fiction: O'Connor's Quotes
    • 1071 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Fiction: O'Connor's Quotes

    O’Connor’s quotes/theories: “It is the extreme situation that best reveals who we are essentially” and “The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it” as it relates to the writing, “A good Man is Hard to Find” in which the main character, Grandmother, who lives with her only son and his family and who is domineering at best, but believes that she is a good, graceful, well-reared, and a devout Christian. While on a family trip during which the Grandmother insists on driving down a dirt road to see an old plantation home she once visited, they have a terrible accident. The Misfit, an escaped convict, stumbles across the family after their accident and whom Grandmother recognizes after seeing news reports. The extreme situation is of course that the Grandmother realizes it is her selfishness that has caused her entire family to be killed and she is probably next. While The Misfit and his friends contemplate killing the entire family, Grandmother attempts to relate to him and his “class” stating, “You wouldn’t shoot a lady, would you? “I know you come from nice people.” (582) While The Misfit seems to have good manners by apologizing to the ladies for not wearing a shirt and calling them ma’am, this is not a time for manners, and it is obvious he has no remorse for his earlier mistakes as he tells Grandmother he cannot remember why he was sent to the penitentiary. He further states, “Jesus thown everything off balance.” “I call myself The Misfit because I can’t make what all I done wrong fit what all I gone through in punishment.” (584) This is also the family’s experience of The Misfit’s violence. It is here that Grandmother realizes she is not the person she purports to be. It is through The Misfit that she achieves grace, and accepts that she is selfish and perhaps not a good person.…

    • 1071 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    A Good Man Is Hard To Find Summary
    • 1307 Words
    • 6 Pages

    A Good Man Is Hard To Find Summary

    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…

    • 1307 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    A Good Man Is Hard to Find By Flannery O’Connor
    • 1264 Words
    • 6 Pages

    A Good Man Is Hard to Find By Flannery O’Connor

    “You’ve got good blood.” “I know you come from nice people,(504) cried the grandmother. “Pray!”(505) she pleads using grace and religion to plead to the better nature of what she thinks is still a good man. The story “A Good Man is Hard to Find” is about a family on vacation to Florida. The family takes a detour down a dirt road to look at an old plantation house that the grandmother tells a story about. She describes the house in such an intriguing way that most of the family is very eager to see it. However on the way the grandmother realizes that the house isn’t in Georgia at all but in fact in Tennessee, where she was longing to go instead of Florida. This startles her and she begins knocking things around and the cat jumps out of the basket landing on Bailey’s neck causing the car accident that leaves them stranded on the lonely road. When a passing car stops to help the grandmother quickly recognizes one of the men as “The Misfit”, a dangerous man who has escaped from prison. The grandmother confronts him and he tells her “It probably would have been better for your family if you had not recognized me at all lady.”(504) While the…

    • 1264 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Foreshadowing In A Good Man Is Hard To Find
    • 135 Words
    • 1 Page

    Foreshadowing In A Good Man Is Hard To Find

    In Flannery O'Connor's short story “A Good Man is Hard to Find” O’Connor uses Foreshadowing of the family’s fate, sadistic and dramatic Irony, and biblical allusions to develop a well planned, beautiful short story. O’Connor was born in Savannah, Georgia and raised as devout Roman Catholic. Therefore, her background explains why the family drives through Georgia on their way to Florida, and why her stories have strong moral characters and biblical references. These remain familiar to the writer and helps create a believable story. The story’s foreshadowing begins when they pass a gravesite containing six white crosses, because the six family members would soon be murdered.…

    • 135 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” Literary Analysis
    • 1115 Words
    • 5 Pages

    “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” Literary Analysis

    “A good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O'Conner depicts a southern family, who is at odds about where they should go for a family vacation. They will eventually agree to head for Florida, once in the car the family will go through a series of events that will shapen each indivudal character. One of the main characters in the story, “The Grandmother”, who is known for her critical , savvy ways gives the audience her definition of what exactly it means to be a lady. The Grandmother and her family will be put to death by an escaped criminal by the name of the Misfit, who the grandmother warns the family of before there voyage to Florida. In the story one will see that although the Grandmother had not been a known convicted felon, like the Misfit, her way for thinking and immoral behavior was no different than that of the Misfit and that they were alike in many different ways. Although the Grandmother in “A Good Man is Hard to find”, tries to portray herself has a good role model and a Christian lady one will later see as story evolve that she was a woman contrary of her word and was indeed the ultimate “misfit”.…

    • 1115 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Literary analysis of "A Good Man is Hard To Find"
    • 1403 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Literary analysis of "A Good Man is Hard To Find"

    In the short story A Good Man Is Hard to Find by Flannery O’Conner, the reader is taken on a journey and tags along with a self-centered family as they explore the sights of the rural south while en route to their destination, a family vacation in Florida. As they travel the dusty road, O’Connor (2012) takes them from heaven, “all at once, they would be on a hill, looking down over the blue tops of trees for miles around,” (p. 139) and spirals them down to hell “then the next minute, they would be in a red depression with the dust coated trees looking down on them,” (p. 139) where they meet their sudden and unexpected demise. Through it all, O’Connor spins a violent, dark and dismal tale, utilizing symbolism, allusions, irony and psychological aspects to effectively convey her theme of good versus evil, and reminds us that good does not always win.…

    • 1403 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    A Good Man Is Hard To Find Misfit
    • 558 Words
    • 3 Pages

    A Good Man Is Hard To Find Misfit

    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.…

    • 558 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    A Good Man Is Hard To Find By Flannery O Connor
    • 1146 Words
    • 5 Pages

    A Good Man Is Hard To Find By Flannery O Connor

    The story A Good Man is Hard to Find raises a point on violence and grace, which is emphasized in these three points: the grandmother calls the Misfit her son, where he represents her grace, also the story raises a argument that there is no pleasure on earth, and finally the grandmother accepts her grace but sometimes grace doesn’t respond nicely. The relationship between the Misfit and the grandmother is rather complicated because it is not exactly clear what he is to her. The grandmother mentions this, "Why you're one of my babies. You're one of my own children!"(O’Conner, 10).…

    • 1146 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    A Good Man Is Hard To Find Perspective Essay
    • 458 Words
    • 2 Pages

    A Good Man Is Hard To Find Perspective Essay

    The perspective of an individual can greatly affect the morals that a person has which is shown in Flannery ‘O Conner’s southern gothic short story A Good Man is Hard to Find. If you were to take two children and put those two into separate control rooms that had contrasting themes, or even two people that have grown up in a different country or a different side of town, from growing up in different environment the children’s actions show that their individual perspectives on the world are very distinct and cause them to have different morals, much like the grandma and The Misfit in A Good Man is Hard to Find. The grandma, as shown in the short story, has a very religious background, unlike The Misfit who is unsure of what he believes in and…

    • 458 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    A Good Man Is Hard To Find Religion Analysis
    • 517 Words
    • 3 Pages

    A Good Man Is Hard To Find Religion Analysis

    Flannery O’ Conner has been known for including may biblical symbols in her short stories and these are no exception. The reading for this week “A Good Man Is Hard To Find” and “Revelation” both show us the troubles of self-righteousness and weak faith. These two attributes are seen throughout all religions and societies across the globe.…

    • 517 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Good Vs Evil
    • 491 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Good Vs Evil

    Good vs. evil is a classic theme often found in literature. In “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by O’Connor and “Young Goodman Brown” by Hawthorne, the authors focus on this theme to unravel their plots. O’Connor uses the grandmother and a thief, The Misfit, to compare and contrast the good and evil in people. On the other hand, Hawthorne’s, “Young Goodman Brown,” uses the main character, Young Goodman Brown, and his journey from being a respected man to being summoned by the devil. Both authors use their main characters as a comparison of what being good means, however the evil of the story is presented differently.…

    • 491 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    A Good Man Is Hard To Find Essay
    • 731 Words
    • 3 Pages

    A Good Man Is Hard To Find Essay

    O’Connor purposely wanted readers to think this way to distracted what it’s actually meant to mean. If your one of the reader’s who fall into this trap then the story’s conclusion will leave you completely shocked. So what does O’Connor mean by a good man is hard to find? Several clues, if not carefully read, presents us with an idea of what the main character means by “good.” One would be when the grandmother and her family are at a small restaurant called Red Sammy’s. Her and the owner get to talking about how good men are hard to find. ”A good man is hard to find.....I remember the day you could go off and leave your screen door unlatched. Not no more.” Here, the owner says exactly what the reader believes the title to be, but when the grandmother speaks her interpretation of “good man” is different. The first clue is how she…

    • 731 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Literary Analysis Of A Good Man Is Hard To Find
    • 891 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Literary Analysis Of A Good Man Is Hard To Find

    The mentioning of the word “grandmother”, is often followed by an image of a sweet elderly woman who will often encourage, support, and model what type of person another should strive to be. In cases like the one presented by Flannery O’Connor in his short story, “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” the grandmother possesses qualities that are rarely associated with grandmas. Most fictional characters have flaws and redeemable qualities to parallel living people and the “grandmother” in the story follows the same trend by having some redeemable qualities because she is dishonest, manipulative and selfish.…

    • 891 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    A Good Man Is Hard To Find Values Essay
    • 601 Words
    • 3 Pages

    A Good Man Is Hard To Find Values Essay

    Have values really change over the years? In Flannery O’Connor’s short story “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” values are really portrayed as being a thing in the past. Values such as family values and people values are really important and O’Connor really tries to get her point across by using the character from the family to show how they have lost respect towards each other and other people as well. The worst thing is that the characters don’t even realize how they act with each is actually wrong and don’t seem to do anything about it because of the lack of discipline.…

    • 601 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Good Country People Character Analysis
    • 1670 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Good Country People Character Analysis

    In “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Conner, the characters of the Grandmother and the Misfit are juxtaposed in order to show contrast in the ways that a person can be evil. In the story “A Good Man is Hard to Find” the Grandmother is highly materialistic and superficial and speaks of the Misfit, an escaped convicted killer headed for Florida, which is the same state that they are going to for their vacation. She hides her beloved cat in the car and dresses in her Sunday best so that even if she dies, people will know she died “a lady” (O’Connor, Flannery). Ironically enough the cat jumps out of the basket and jumps onto her son Bailey’s neck, causing an accident. When the Grandmother signals for help, she ironically enough signals the Misfit’s car and exclaims that she recognizes him. While the Misfit’s accomplices kill the family, the Misfit himself shoots the Grandmother after she refers to how he should believe in Jesus—making him extremely angry since he dislikes Jesus. While the Grandmother portrayed the image of the perfect Southern Christian lady, she was lying to herself and living out the image for the sake of reputation. The Grandmother’s dishonesty and materialistic ways are shown in her hiding the cat in the car and the importance she gives to what she is wearing and how people view her, ironically resulting in her death in her “Sunday best” (O’Connor, Flannery). The Misfit is spiritually…

    • 1670 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More

Related Topics