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…
Next, the Misfit comes to a strange realization: he wishes he could have been there, because if he had he “wouldn’t be like [he is] now” (14). It is as if the Misfit is becoming aware of the man he could have been as he speaks, and more importantly, he appears to desire the different life. The realization hits the reader awkwardly, coming across as out of place and unexpected. This sudden emotional response mimics that of the grandmother, who is able to sense the Misfit’s sudden vulnerability and use it to her advantage. At this moment, the grandmother does something unprecedented: she reaches out to the killer and calls him “one of my babies . . . one of my own children”…
“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”.…
This story starts out with a grandmother who lives with her son and his family. The Family decides to drive down to Florida for a vacation even though the grandmother protests it and states that she would rather go to Tennessee. The main reason why she doesn't want to go to Florida is because she has read about a crazed killer by the name of the Misfit who is on the run heading for Florida. The story starts out normal and on a steady pace but then all of the sudden a surprising turn of events take place. In the story, A Good Man is Hard to Find, Flannery O'Connor uses a lot of foreshadowing which hints towards how the story will end.…
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.…
The tragic heroes and narcissists in the short story “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor are the Grandmother and the Misfit. However, the focus is on the Grandmother and how she is in the grandiosity phase of being a tragic hero. There are personality characteristics associated with this phase, some of which the Grandmother has. She feels entitlement to get and do what she wants. In the story she takes her pet cat with her on the trip even though Bailey tells her not to. The Grandmother is a judgmental person. She judges other people based on petty things like clothes or first impressions. Finally, the Grandmother’s omniscience personality gets her killed.…
A family endeavor changes into a road of discovery and grace in Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find”. This southern gothic gives a tragic look at self-discovery. The story allows us to focus on the negative aspects of characters. As the plot rises the reader discovers grace behind the worst of faces. This ordinary road trip and talk of an estranged criminal turns deadly as the story unravels.…
For instance during this conversation she exclaims, "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 to shoot a lady. I'll give you all the money I've got!" (O’Connor 715). The reader begins to feel as though this is just simply a poor old woman on the verge of a breakdown. Finally the use of actions to determine the Misfit’s characterization is very different from the rest of the characters. Stephen Bandy in his article "`One of My Babies': The Misfit and the Grandmother" states that “Although the Misfit is not physically present until the final pages, his influence hangs over the story almost from the beginning” (Bandy 107). The reader knows the misfit is not a “good man” by what the grandmother reads from the newspaper in the beginning of the story and also what is discussed throughout. This is also supported by the action of the Misfit having the whole family killed after the accident happened. However, at the end of the story we get a glimpse the opposite through the misfit’s actions. Margaret Earley Whitt, in her book Understanding Flannery O’Connor describes the Misfit’s…
A Good Man is Hard to Find" by Flannery O'Connor is a short story that depicts a family road trip to Florida that ends in an abysmal tragedy when they meet the Misfit, a remorseless convict who has escaped from prison. In the beginning, the Grandmother is obsessed with everything worldly and superficial. She is completely focused on herself in relation to how others think of her. Towards the end of the story, the grandmother finds herself in ominous dialogue with The Misfit. In the story, The Misfit represents a quasi-final judgment. He does this by acting like a mirror. He lets whatever The Grandmother says bounce right off him. He never agrees nor disagrees with the grandmother, and in the end, he is the one who kills her. At the end of the story, before the Grandmother meets her fate, she has a moment of redemption. She finally distinguishes The Misfit for who he really is, not a psychopathic killer on the loose; but a person just like herself. The Misfit, being a man who is not created from social class; he is a simple human being just like the grandmother. At this point she sees herself in relation to everyone else. She finally realizes that she is not made by her class. Society makes the class, and she just fits into it. She shows this by claiming that The Misfit could be one of her own children. This story is meant to be interpreted as a parable, whereby O'Connor made skilful use of symbolism to bring about messages such as the social-superiority and the lack of spiritual faith that exist amongst common people; and the grace in humans is exposed, only when facing adverse and fatal circumstances.…
Piedmont-Marton, Elisabeth. "An overview of 'A Good Man Is Hard to Find'." Short Stories for Students. Detroit: Gale, 2002. Literature Resource Center. Web. 2 Feb. 2017.…
The grandmother dramatically tried to get their attention to make them stop to help. The grandmother saw the man and had a feeling she knew the man that came to help. The grandmother, then put the pieces together and realized that the man was the Misfit. The grandmother mentioned to the Misfit if he would actually plan on hurting a lady. Rather than thinking of her family, the grandmother fights to try and save her own life. The grandmother was was confronting to the Misfit that he was a good man and does not want to harm a lady. The grandmother also began to appeal the characteristics of a Christian to the Misfit. By trying to reach out and reasoning with the Misfit it causes the Misfit to take drastic measures. The Misfit gathered each family member one by one leading them into the woods which resulted in the death of each family…
The Flannery O’Connor short story “A Good Man Is Hard To Find” was an amazing story. Ms. O’Connor wrote the short story in 1955 and even in today culture the story is still being analyzed as one of the most powerful and best seller short story in today society. The story “A Good Man Is Hard To Find” begins with an family of six from Atlanta, Georgia in the mid-1950. The family of six foundation started with the Grandmother (the husband mother), Bailey (the husband), the wife, the infant baby (girl), John Wesley (the oldest boy) and June Star (the second oldest girl). Bailey and his wife planned a trip to Florida for a family vacation. The grandmother wasn’t happy about the trip to Florida because she wanted the family to go to East Tennessee…
Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find” is a traumatic short story about a family, that is taking a trip to Florida, but never makes it because of their run in with the outlaw the Misfit, who in the end kills the whole family. Throughout, the story O’Connor shows what a good man is through the Characterization of the Misfit, the grandmother, and Bailey.…
The Misfit. The Misfit, The Misfit, The Misfit. So many questions are raised about character called “The Misfit”. Was he born to be a killer? Was he a victim of childhood curiosity? Was he simply a good man turned bad over time? Or was his whole attitude a struggle of his true belief system? The Misfit stays on his own moral code regardless of the evil that he has committed. His morals are his own right, not by traditional standards, but by his steadfast and consistent actions. He’s an unlikely source, seeming to have not a moral fiber in his being, but demonstrates deep convictions that others in the story are not able to reveal. As deviant and depraved as The Misfit might have been, he still relied on his moral code to guide his actions. There are several parts of this story that show where The Misfit doesn’t actually take pleasure in his crimes. Was he simply a good man turned bad over time? When he first meets the family, The Misfit mentions that children make him nervous. If he is a strong, armed man and they pose no threat to him why is he so nervous? It seems to be that in his mind the children represent his own innocents, and in turn they could pose a threat to his conscience. The children make him nervous because he knows he will be taking their lives so possibly he feels like he is killing his own inner child, his innocents.…
The Misfit is a more modern man who spends his time murdering the innocent, also known as a serial killer. The Misfit is a complicated man with what can be debated as the character with the least amount of character development, yet the most at the same time. He himself does not know if he has done what he has been told he has done. He said himself, “It was a head doctor who said what i had done was kill my daddy but I know that was a lie. My daddy died in nineteen ought nineteen of the epidemic flu and I never had a thing to do with it.” The Misfit spoke well of his father, and said himself that he called himself the misfit because he could never make what he had done wrong fit in what he had been through himself through punishment. The Misfit does not have religious beliefs, as many Jews in the Holocaust lost their faith in god, he did as well after the trauma of his father dying, and the Misfit paying the consequences for it. The Misfit is a new type of evil and makes the story unique with the rare epiphany for the villain in a story. He seemed like the stereotypical evil in the beginning of the story, but later changes to be a slightly chaotic neutral as he says, “"Some fun!" Bobby Lee said. "Shut up, Bobby Lee" The Misfit said. "It's no real pleasure in…