Preview

Allusions In A Good Man Is Hard

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
174 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Allusions In A Good Man Is Hard
The article acknowledges the allusions and the foreshadowing in O’connor’s “A Good Man Is Hard.” Piwinski notes the most obvious clue to the grandmother and her family’s near death by pointing out the “five or six graves” that the family passed on their journey.
The next clue that Piwinski notes foreshadows the families’ death by the grandmother’s response to her grandson. ‘The grandmother, unaware of her own family's imminent doom, jokingly replies, "Gone with the Wind."’ “Gone with the Wind” alludes to the book of Psalms in the Bible. The allusion represents “only through death can one hope to gain eternal life.” Piwinski explains that the grandmother has not comprehended the significance of death while being a Christian. The grandmother


You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    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
  • Good Essays

    Throughout Flannery O'Connor's "A Good Man is Hard To Find", hints are given to the readers that foretell what is in store, foreshadowing the grotesque ending that is to come. These insinuations of the forthcoming become coincidences later in the story when they actually do develop into reality, creating mocking irony. The names within the story can be considered foreshadowing themselves. For example, the name of the town where the family is murdered is called "Toombsboro." The word "Toombsboro" can be separated into two words: Tombs and Bury. These are words that signify death. The fact that the author chose this as a name for the town, implies the foul event that will insure later in the story. The first moment that foreshadowed the future was the article about the Misfit that the grandmother showed Bailey. She told him, "A Misfit is aloose from the Federal Pen and headed toward Florida...I wouldn't take my children in any direction with a criminal like that aloose in it."(368) This moment sets up a major coincidence when the family later runs into the Misfit. Plus, it was an irony because the Grandmother had attempted to persuade the family not to go in the direction the Misfit was heading. Yet, unfortunately only June Star paid any attention to the comment, and the family did run into the criminal. Additionally, a less obvious evidence of foreshadowing occurred when June Star announced, "She [The Grandmother] wouldn't stay at home for a million bucks. She has to go everywhere we go"(368) This can be read as a direct foreshadowing of the order and occurrence of the grandmother's death. When the family comes across the Misfit, and each family member is taken into the forest, the reader wonders why every time Bobby Lee and Hiram return without the family member. Eventually, one realizes they have all been killed. So, June Star's comment that the grandmother goes everywhere the family goes can be read as a signal that she will meet the same end that they did. Plus,…

    • 600 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    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
  • Good Essays

    In “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” one can tell that Flannery O’Connor is a dark person, and may even question if she is a Christian or not. In this short story, some people may think Flannery O’Connor may not be a Christian because of The Misfit character. Despite The Misfit character, I believe Flannery O’Conner is Christian and she shows it in several places throughout the short story through several characters.…

    • 666 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In A Good Man is Hard to Find, Flannery O’Connor uses foreshadowing and symbolism to portray the threat and eventual presence of death in her story. In the beginning of the story O’Connor foreshadows the appearance of The Misfit who has a big part to play in the later part of the essay (O’Connor 3). On page four, an accident is foreshadowed then the author states if someone finds “her (the grandmother) dead on the highway… they would know she was a lady”(O’Connor 4). One of the most glaring connection to death was in the part of the drive when the family sees “five or six graves” which symbolize the death of the 6 members of the family (O’Connor 5). The Misfit is mentioned again when the family stops at a barbecue place called The Tower (O’Connor…

    • 242 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “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
  • Good Essays

    Near the end of the story, the reader wonders why each time Bobby Lee and Hiram takes someone into the forest, they never come back. Well at the end of the story the whole family is taken to die. June Star's comment that the grandmother goes everywhere the family goes can be read as a sign that she will meet the same fate as them. There's also another blatant foreshadowing in the story. The author describes that the grandmother is dressed very nice on the trip and the reason she gives is, "In case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady." When a person dies, they usually are dressed in their best outfit, just like the grandmother was dressed in what seemed to be her Sunday best. This shows that there shouldn't be a shock if something fatal happens to her at the end. There's also one interesting foreshadowing image placed into the short story. While on the trip the family, "Passed by a cotton field with five or six graves fenced in the middle of it, like a small island." It's pretty fascinating how the number of graves matches the exact number…

    • 578 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    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
  • Satisfactory Essays

    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
  • Good Essays

    A focus on characters, especially the grandmother gives a theme of grace and self-discovery. Once faced with the misfit and possible death she changes from unreligious to religious trying to bid her survival. And in turn has an insight of herself and the misfit. The theme of self-discovery is shown with the grandmothers change. She isn’t as bad as she may seem, just like the misfit who she at first despises then later relates with.…

    • 553 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In Flannery O'Connor's short story "A Good Man is Hard to Find," the gruesome ending comes as quite a shock. But, upon a second read, signs of an ominous end permeate the work. Hints of the family's tragic finale exist throughout the plot until the time of the first murder. The story contains pervasive images of death and to foreshadow the ultimate demise of the nameless family at the hands of the malicious Misfit and his henchmen.…

    • 1477 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    In “A Good Man is Hard to Find” you meet a family, but the member of the family that sticks out is the grandmother. She says many things that makes one wonder what is going on in her head. For example, when she says “In case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady” (O'Connor). This is a one of the first sentences from the reading “A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O’Connor. When reading this sentence, it makes one wonder; why does the grandmother care so much about being know as a lady? The story about a family of five going on vacation and they bring their “well” mannered grandmother, who just seems very stuck in her ways. When it comes to her ways she thinks they are the “good” ways, but are they really? Even though, the grandmother in "A Good Man is Hard to…

    • 1150 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    All the spirituality is all great, but it is almost impossible for the reader to throw away what they already have in their minds concerning the dead bodies. The story is way more than a family being murdered on a vacation trip. Asals states that, “Any full discussion of the story must deal with both the grandmother 's soul and the dead bodies, and indeed with the tension between the two levels implied here, for that tension is at the very heart of the story.” The Misfit, which is the murderer in the story, partakes on the story 's most used passage from Flannery 's fiction:…

    • 1035 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The grandmother is the central character in the short story “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” by Flannery O’Connor. She is also a very well rounded and dynamic character. She shows various characteristics and reveals various remarks as they story progresses. Some of her qualities include selfish and a pushy person. She is also kind of manipulator in a way that she insists her family to change the plan. At the beginning of the story when we first realize her desire to visit her childhood house, she is being a very selfish person. Examining her conversation with her son Bailey, the grandmother is moreover a pushy person. She is convincing Bailey to change the trip plan according to her need only and which will benefit her only. She is trying to manipulate her family to do what she thinks is best. She is also a bit of criticizer at points in the story. Her characteristics remain same throughout the story that is even when her desire was ignored, she still kept praising it.…

    • 1670 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Do you find yourself shocked or frustrated right at the end of a good book? Do you end up scratching your head and wonder what just happened? That’s because good writers know how to persuade readers to think a certain way, like the most logic or obvious choice, and add a twist that will leave you saying, “I didn’t see that coming!” After going back and rereading you see hidden clues that lead up to the final conclusion. This is known as “breadcrumbs.” Great author’s love throwing breadcrumbs into their story to show that things aren’t exactly as they appear. One example of a great plot twist is “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’ Connor. When reading, you think it’s about a family vacation gone wrong. The story has many laugh-out-loud humor that we all can relate when it comes to vacations. Rotten little bother’s and sister’s, granny who gets what she wants, dad who is in charge, and mother who is just along for the ride. Then the ending happens. The story takes a dramatic turn from all the humor to…

    • 731 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays