'Good Man Is Hard To Find By Flannery O' Connor

The short story, “Good man is hard to find” revolves around a typical American family in which the main characters are the “grandmother” and the “misfit”. The story by Flannery o Connor portrays a glimpse of what’s man reality is. The fiction reveals the usage of religion and beliefs for humans own satisfaction and how “good” differ from the “bad” which are both paradoxical opposites of each other. The writer used a title which seems very ironic and an extensive use of symbolism can be observed in the story. The story opens when a family sets out for a vacation and the children, mother and the father are accompanied by the grandmother who seems to be very annoying old woman for the rest of the family. (Connor, 1953)

Meanwhile there is a criminal who is out on lose and is being presumably being tracked by the police. The grandmother on different events makes mention of the “misfit” who is believed to be very dangerous. While reading the story the name “misfit” draws the reader’s attention regarding the writer’s choice in naming the criminal. The “misfit” can be interpreted and referred to a group of people in society who have been rejected and pushed out of the society by its norms and value system. This represents figuratively the essence of criminal behavior which again is a society’s own construct.
On their way Grandmother insists on visiting their old house which she believes is on their way but she forgets and makes them take a wrong turn and the family ends up on a dirt road between the thick woods. This particular event “the wrong” turn, which was not anyone’s fault but seems like a predestined or a random event turns the whole story. The family suffers from an accident and the grandmother even after realizing her mistake never tells her son about