A Good Man is Hard to Find
A Good Man Is Hard To Find
Christian faith is the underlying theme in much of Flannery O’Connor’s writing. As she herself writes, “I write the way I do because (not though) I am a Catholic” (O’Connor, “On Her Catholic Faith” 435). Without keeping her Christian background in focus, it is impossible to fully understand and interpret O’Connor’s stories. Her major subjects, according to Frederick J. Hoffman, include the struggle for redemption, the search for Jesus, and the meaning of ‘prophecy’ (33). It often takes a personal crisis to awaken someone to spiritual matters. In the context of eternal spiritual realities, the crises in life, despite their ominous outward appearances, take on a lesser significance than the spiritual realities that these crises often uncover. These interpretations accurately describe the journey that the grandmother takes in “A Good Man Is Hard To Find.” It is critical to read this story in light of O’Connor’s Christian focus and to look for the faith message embodied by the characters and their experiences. In this story, the grandmother's journey from manipulative self-absorption to grace symbolizes a Christian's journey toward salvation.
As we begin to look at the grandmother, it is important to note that she is nameless. The story opens, “The grandmother didn’t want to go to Florida” (405). She is one of three main characters in this story who are not given a name, the others being the children’s mother and the Misfit. Because the grandmother has no name and only a title, it is possible to see her as a generic example of the average person. She represents all, and her struggle with pride, manipulation, and self-importance is common to humankind. A further aspect of her pride and self-focus is her obsession with her outward appearance. She takes great effort to look well- dressed despite the casual attire of the rest of the family. She wore “A navy blue straw sailor hat with a bunch of white violets on the brim and a navy blue
Christian faith is the underlying theme in much of Flannery O’Connor’s writing. As she herself writes, “I write the way I do because (not though) I am a Catholic” (O’Connor, “On Her Catholic Faith” 435). Without keeping her Christian background in focus, it is impossible to fully understand and interpret O’Connor’s stories. Her major subjects, according to Frederick J. Hoffman, include the struggle for redemption, the search for Jesus, and the meaning of ‘prophecy’ (33). It often takes a personal crisis to awaken someone to spiritual matters. In the context of eternal spiritual realities, the crises in life, despite their ominous outward appearances, take on a lesser significance than the spiritual realities that these crises often uncover. These interpretations accurately describe the journey that the grandmother takes in “A Good Man Is Hard To Find.” It is critical to read this story in light of O’Connor’s Christian focus and to look for the faith message embodied by the characters and their experiences. In this story, the grandmother's journey from manipulative self-absorption to grace symbolizes a Christian's journey toward salvation.
As we begin to look at the grandmother, it is important to note that she is nameless. The story opens, “The grandmother didn’t want to go to Florida” (405). She is one of three main characters in this story who are not given a name, the others being the children’s mother and the Misfit. Because the grandmother has no name and only a title, it is possible to see her as a generic example of the average person. She represents all, and her struggle with pride, manipulation, and self-importance is common to humankind. A further aspect of her pride and self-focus is her obsession with her outward appearance. She takes great effort to look well- dressed despite the casual attire of the rest of the family. She wore “A navy blue straw sailor hat with a bunch of white violets on the brim and a navy blue