A Good Man Is Hard To Find Symbolism Essay
A Good Man is Hard to Find, written by Flannery O’Connor, displays violent and religious attributes. Flannery O’Connor uses Catholic realism in this short story, reflecting her own personal beliefs into a work of fiction. The grandmother in A Good Man is Hard to Find is a very religious woman finding the best in everyone, even the worst of people it seems. Although O’Connor uses the grandmother as a graceful and religious figure, she ties in violence to the story as well to bring in a distinct theme for the reader. Not only does this short story have many elements of Catholicism and violence, it is a postmodern fiction work of literature. Postmodern writers are the exact opposite of modernist writers. Whereas the modernist literary quest is for meaning, the postmodern literary quest is avoiding the possibility of
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meaning. O’Connor’s religious beliefs connects with postmodernism, because there is truly no meaning or proof of there actually being a God. Religion is an opinion of many but not something logical that modernist writers would include in their story as O’Connor did. The religious grandmother was saying, “Here this fellow that calls himself The Misfit is aloose from the Federal Pen and headed toward Florida and you read here what it says he did to these people. Just you read it. I wouldn't take my children in any direction with a criminal like that aloose in it. I couldn't answer to my conscience if I did” (O’Connor 6). This is postmodern wording, for irony and paranoia are tied into this sentence, which are two attributes of postmodernism. The irony comes later when the Misfit is coincidentally right where their car is. This postmodern example in the story, “The Misfit sprang back as if a snake had bitten him and shot her three times through the chest. Then he put his gun down on the ground and took off his glasses and began to clean them” (O’Connor 32). The Misfit, the murderer, had no meaning behind killing the grandmother or cleaning his glasses after. It was just a display of violence after the grandmother was trying to lead the Misfit on a religious path, which had no effect besides her dying. Furthermore, the grandmother and the other gruesome killings exhibit violent behavior throughout the story. Flannery O’Connor has been known for the violence she writes about in her stories. O’Connor conveys she actually hates the violence she writes about but believes it will have the opposite effect on her readers. Even though people find her stories gruesome, O’Connor assumes that the bad parts of her stories will lead her readers to the good things in life.. This part from the story gives a small glimpse of the terror O’Connor writes about, “There was a piercing scream from the woods, followed closely by a pistol report (O'Connor 30). Before or after the violence occurs in O’Connor’s stories, she integrates Catholic realism to help her readers learn about Christ either in a good or bad manner. In addition, the grace of the Lord that the grandmother lectures about to the Misfit is truly beautiful. O’Connor is a devout Catholic and wants the readers of her stories to somehow find something about Catholicism that interests them and learn about it.
The grandmother shows compassion and empathy towards this wicked man who just killed her son. It is such a devout act of Catholicism to try to help another person become better when they are misguided, especially since the Misfit was a murderer. O’Connor displays Catholicism in A Good Man is Hard to Find while almost reflecting on her own life. All things considered, she wants her readers to know her beliefs by incorporating religion into her stories. A Good Man is Hard to Find will always be a story with multiple styles of literature. There is the main part of this story that Flannery O’Connor herself labels it as, which is Catholic Realism. The violent and gruesome part of the story twists in with the religious aspect, making it slightly difficult for readers to comprehend. It is ironic, because O’Connor hates the violence she puts into her stories. A Good Man is Hard to Find is a postmodern short story that displays information with little meaning, but it is a fiction that people will find
fascinating.
meaning. O’Connor’s religious beliefs connects with postmodernism, because there is truly no meaning or proof of there actually being a God. Religion is an opinion of many but not something logical that modernist writers would include in their story as O’Connor did. The religious grandmother was saying, “Here this fellow that calls himself The Misfit is aloose from the Federal Pen and headed toward Florida and you read here what it says he did to these people. Just you read it. I wouldn't take my children in any direction with a criminal like that aloose in it. I couldn't answer to my conscience if I did” (O’Connor 6). This is postmodern wording, for irony and paranoia are tied into this sentence, which are two attributes of postmodernism. The irony comes later when the Misfit is coincidentally right where their car is. This postmodern example in the story, “The Misfit sprang back as if a snake had bitten him and shot her three times through the chest. Then he put his gun down on the ground and took off his glasses and began to clean them” (O’Connor 32). The Misfit, the murderer, had no meaning behind killing the grandmother or cleaning his glasses after. It was just a display of violence after the grandmother was trying to lead the Misfit on a religious path, which had no effect besides her dying. Furthermore, the grandmother and the other gruesome killings exhibit violent behavior throughout the story. Flannery O’Connor has been known for the violence she writes about in her stories. O’Connor conveys she actually hates the violence she writes about but believes it will have the opposite effect on her readers. Even though people find her stories gruesome, O’Connor assumes that the bad parts of her stories will lead her readers to the good things in life.. This part from the story gives a small glimpse of the terror O’Connor writes about, “There was a piercing scream from the woods, followed closely by a pistol report (O'Connor 30). Before or after the violence occurs in O’Connor’s stories, she integrates Catholic realism to help her readers learn about Christ either in a good or bad manner. In addition, the grace of the Lord that the grandmother lectures about to the Misfit is truly beautiful. O’Connor is a devout Catholic and wants the readers of her stories to somehow find something about Catholicism that interests them and learn about it.
The grandmother shows compassion and empathy towards this wicked man who just killed her son. It is such a devout act of Catholicism to try to help another person become better when they are misguided, especially since the Misfit was a murderer. O’Connor displays Catholicism in A Good Man is Hard to Find while almost reflecting on her own life. All things considered, she wants her readers to know her beliefs by incorporating religion into her stories. A Good Man is Hard to Find will always be a story with multiple styles of literature. There is the main part of this story that Flannery O’Connor herself labels it as, which is Catholic Realism. The violent and gruesome part of the story twists in with the religious aspect, making it slightly difficult for readers to comprehend. It is ironic, because O’Connor hates the violence she puts into her stories. A Good Man is Hard to Find is a postmodern short story that displays information with little meaning, but it is a fiction that people will find
fascinating.