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A Good Man Is Hard To Find Literary Analysis

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Words 979
Pages 4
Ruth Boro
Professor Hernandez
ENGL 1302-71701
30 Nov. 2016
Literary Analysis of a Good Man is Hard to Find.
“A Good Man is Hard to Find” is a short story written by Flannery O’Connor. The exposition of the story is a family from Atlanta preparing to travel to Florida for three days. The grandmother does not want to go to Florida because there is a criminal, the Misfit, aloose from the Federal Pen heading to Florida and she thinks that it is dangerous to for the family to head to Florida. The Grandmother tries to manipulate the son, Bailey to change the destination, and she prefers Tennes-see because she has connections there. The central purpose of the story is to show the rivalry between good and evil. According to an article by Alex Link, …show more content…
The family gets into an accident as soon as the grandmother realizes that the house she was talking about is in Tennessee and not Georgia. This moment of realization is also accompanied by symbolic events. The valise which has been personified is upset and moves, the newspaper rose with a snarl, and Pitty Sing, the cat springs onto Bailey’s shoulder and it is then the accident occurs. This is when the family’s vacation turns from a fun – filled trip into a moment of being trapped as they have no means to continue with their journey. Bailey’s wife is portrayed as a sacrificial mother because she protects her baby when the accident occurs. June Star’s disappointment after the accident is ironical and it shows how her upbringing has shaped her as she grows. According to David Pawinski, (2001), the family’s death is foreshadowed when they pass by a cotton plantation with five or six graves. These graves are interpreted to mean that they each belong to the family …show more content…
This can be interpreted as a moment of divine touch. The Misfit shoots her three times in the chest and the three shots in the chest are symbolic because they are considered as a representation of the Holy Trinity, Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. According to Michael Clark, (1991), the touch can be referred to as “the moment of Grace” depending on a person’s point of view.
The falling action is when the Grandmother has a moment of clarity when the Misfit speaks in a cracking voice and she extends her hand to offer comfort and this happens right before she dies. The grandmother is seen as a vessel used by God to talk to the Misfit. The moment of clarity is also when we see change in the protagonist though it is almost unnoticeable, and this is when her soul is saved. Although the Misfit kills the entire family, he is portrayed as an angel whose mission is to help the Grandmother turn her life around, and this is achieved when she has her moment of

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