...Creation of Empathy in Flannery O’ Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find” Through the usage of dramatic irony and person vs society conflict in the short story, “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” Flannery O’ Connor is able to elicit empathy in her story, adding a captivating new level of interpretation. “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” is about a myopic and manipulative grandmother who struggles to live in the present, because her mind is stuck in the past. To the grandmother’s great discontent, she and her family went on a road trip to Florida. In one situation, the grandchildren, John Wesley and June Star, offended the grandmother by talking negatively about Georgia and Tennessee. “If I were a little boy...I wouldn’t talk about my native state...
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...Flannery O’ Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find” is a short story about a family road trip from hell. Early on in the story, the reader becomes appalled at the complete disrespect the members of the family have for one another, and how their dysfunctional family dynamic contributes to the horrifying trip. From the very beginning, O’ Connor’s tale gives the reader a sense of foreboding as she mentions the crazed criminal named “The Misfit” who recently broke free of the Federal Jail and is working his way to Florida—their destination. O’Connor continues to foreshadow the story’s terrible end when she describes the grandmother’s outfit: “the grandmother had on a navy blue straw sailor hat with a bunch of white violets on the brim and a navy...
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...literary analysis Tracy Wooten Elizabeth Isenkul February 20, 2016 A good man is hard to find is short story written by Flannery O’ Connor. Throughout the entire story O’Connor utilizes irony as a literary element to create multiple facets of her characters in the story such as those of Bailey's mother and The Misfit. O'Connor establishes the foundation of the irony very early in the story when she gives us the reason for the grandmother getting dressed up for the car ride, “In case of an accident anyone seeing the dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady” (O’Connor, 1993) . Later on in the story this could considered foreshadowing. Throughout the entire story the grandmother judges people either as good or bad solely based on how they look. For example, the first time the reader sees the phrase "A good man is hard to find," the speaker is Red Sam at the roadside barbecue restaurant where the family is having lunch. Just before that, however, Red Sam has described his willingness to allow some strangers to charge gas, and he asks himself the question, "Now, why did I do that?" (O’Connor, 1993). The grandmother's immediate response is "Because you're a good man." (O’ Connor, 1993). She makes this assessment with very little information about Red Sam, not on the basis of any meaningful knowledge about his character. When the grandmother is first introduced to the misfit, she makes one of those same judgments of him because he was polite. This is an assumption...
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...Eng.120 11/18/10 Research Paper “A Good Man Is Hard To Find” by Flannery O’Connor who is a Southern American novelist and short story writer, O’ Connor’s career expanded in the 1950sand early 60s, a time when the South was dominated by Protestant Christians.O’Connor was born and raised a Catholic. She was a fundamentalist and aChristian moralist whose powerful apocalyptic fiction is focused in the South.Flannery O’Connor was born March 25, 1925 in Savannah, Georgia. O’ Connorgrew up on a farm with her parents Regina and Edward O’ Connor. At the age offive, she taught a chicken to walk backwards. O’Connor attended Georgia StateCollege for women, now Georgia College, in Milledgeville, majoring in sociology.She had showed a gift for satirical writing, as well as cartooning since she wasa child. By the end of her undergraduate education, O’Connor knew that writingwas her true passion. She spent two years at the prestigious School for Writersat the State University of Iowa on scholarship. She received a master’s degree infine arts in 1947. In 1950, she had a near fatal attack of systemic lupus erythematosus, a chronic inflammatory connective tissue disorder that causes periods of joint pain and fatigue, and can attack the hearts, lungs, and kidneys. Her father died of the disease when she was fifteen. She would have to walk with crutches for the rest of her life. By her death at the age of 39, Flannery O’Connor won a prominent place in modern American literature. She was an...
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...A Good Man Is Hard To Find - Foreshadowing In "A Good Man is Hard to Find," by Flannery O'Connor, one is struck by the unexpected violence at the end of the story. However, if one re-reads the story as second time, one will see definite signs of foreshadowing of the ending. In the course of this story, O'Connor uses strong imagery to foreshadow the people and the events in this story. There are three significant times she uses this technique. They are the description of the grandmother's dress, the death of the family, and the conversation between the Misfit and the grandmother. The grandmother did not want to go to Florida; she ironically dresses in her Sunday best. She was dressed very nicely with, "A navy blue dress with a small white dot in the print. Her collars and cuffs were white organdy trimmed with lace and at her neckline she had pinned a purple spray of cloth violets containing a sachet." (11). A strong foreshadowing imagery can be seen in these lines. Knowing the ending of the story, the grandmother's elaborate dress Is this essay helpful? Join OPPapers to read more and access more than 550,000 just like it! ------------------------------------------------- get better grades symbolizes a preparation for her coffin. When a person dies, they are usually dressed in their best outfit, just like the grandmother was dressed in what seemed to be in her Sunday best. A stronger foreshadowing is when O'Connor states the reason for the grandmother's beautiful dress, "In...
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...Justin Ong Professor Y. Cooper-Grigg English 102 29 May 2013 Death Is a Catalyst For Characters to Change This paper is based on Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”, a short story. The theme for this research paper will be an analysis of the key characters in the story that are affected and changed by an encounter with death, with a near-death occurrence. The reason for this theme is to bring some significant insights into the literary work in a profound way. The grandmother and the Misfit are chosen to establish the theme in the paper. In “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”, death is a catalyst for characters to change; some characters are changed positively by their experience with death, while other characters are changed negatively. The Misfit shows why he became evil because his expectation of goodness in the society was put to death by the reality of injustice. In a polite tone, the Misfit explains to the grandmother, “I found out the crime don’t matter. You can do one thing or you can do another, kill a man or take a tire off his car“ (O’Connor 194). This opinion comes from the Misfit serving his lengthy time in jail where he experienced harsh prejudices. The Misfit continues to explain to the grandmother calmly, then came a “piercing scream” from the wood background where the Misfit ordered the grandmother’s family to be killed. Suddenly, Misfit’s tone turned nasty, “Does it seem right to you, lady, that one is punished a heap and another ain’t punished at...
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...As I was reading Flannery O’ Connors “A good man is hard to find”, the first thing that got my attention was the information about the escaped criminal known as the Misfit. This already creates a suspension the something terrible may occur later on in the story, and also something significant was the family in the story was taking a trip through the state nearby where the misfit escape. So as I keep reading I learn more about the family and the journey they desire to take. They do seem a bit dysfunctional and this may cause problems later on down the road. The Grandmother lives with Bailey and his family. She irks the family but at the same time the love between them is noticed. Baily is annoyed by his mom’s behavior and attitude but he still loves her. Bailey has three kids, John Wesley, June Star, and a baby with their mother. John Wesley is a young eight year old boy who is loud and out of control but is also full of wonder. His sister June seems straight to the point and has her own ideas about how she sees everyone and everything. The baby is still very young and not much information is given about it. The mother seems to be a nice lady with not a bad temper, she is the mother of Bailey’s kids, and her...
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...02 March 2015 “What Is In A Title” A Literary Analysis of Flannery O’ Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” “Good Country People,” and “Everything That Rises Must Converge” “I am not afraid that the book will be controversial, I’m afraid it will not be controversial-Flannery O’Connor Flannery O’Connor is considered one of the best short story authors of the 20th century. Born in Savannah Georgia in 1925, O’Connor was a devout Catholic. Her writings incorporated religious themes and her southern life (Bio). When reading O’Connor’s short stories, it is very surprising and shocking that the stories are often dark and controversial. Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” “Good Country People,” and “Everything That Rises Must Converge” use macabre, grotesque violence, irony, and grace through the depiction of her characters to illustrate that when an individual is faced with “grave” circumstances; those are the moments when grace is realized. Flannery O’Connor incorporates the use of macabre and violence in her short story “A Good Man is Hard to Find” masterfully to elicit an unforgettable moment of grace from a character when faced with her “grave” circumstance. The use of grotesque violence is vividly displayed as a southern family is horrendously murdered by an escaped convict, The Misfit and his accomplices. An “eerie” sense of foreshadowing is realized when the protagonist, the grandmother, tries to dissuade her son, Bailey, through a newspaper article...
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... 10190 Erin Armstrong 11/23/11 “Most of the shadows of this life are caused by standing in one's own sunshine.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson A Life of Crime Isn’t Hard to Find The movie Crime d'amour, (or Love Crime), exemplifies the human ability to manipulate and so deceive oneself of morality, as does O' Connor in "A Good Man is Hard to Find". In regards to the subject of moral judgment, psychologists and scientists alike have been baffled at the way human beings rationalize what behaviour is ‘moral’ or ‘immoral’. Are the things our society encourages us to see as bad concrete rights and wrongs, or does everyone develop their own right and wrongs based on their beliefs? When seeing Love Crime and reading “A Good Man is Hard to Find” I saw prime examples of human beings choosing to react irrationally, and immorally, with cruelty, deception, manipulation, and unfairness. I had the privilege of seeing Love Crime on the big screen at the Loft cinemas, and the experience definitely affected how I was able to picture the movie. First...
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...In Flannery O'Connor's "A Good Man is Hard to Find", romanticism is the main theme reflected in this story. In this short story, we see O'Connor's views on American values and ideas of romanticism. She supports and refutes the ideas of Edwards, Emerson and Thoreau throughout this short story. O'Connor's idea of respect as an American value is shown with the grandmother and the children's differences and similarities. The grandmother values of respect are shown when she tells her daughter-in-law how her children should act which is respectful and obedient. “In my time,’ She said, the grandmother, folding her thin veined finger, “children were more respectful of their native states and their parents and everything else” (O'Connor225). At the same time the grandmother is hypocritical being that she also disrespected others just like the children. This is showing how O'Connor supports and refutes the American value of respect. Jonathan Edwards' view was that God is very revengeful and bad things happen to bad people. When the grandmother heard the gun shots, she knew she was going to be murdered. Although she keeps praying it didn't make up for the cruel things she said toward others. The only reason she was praying is so that she would be saved, not because she felt bad for what she did. God did nothing to help her, she was being punished and he had no remorse towards her. God showed that he didn't want anything to do with her and felt no kind of love toward her. In this way...
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...Christian Alonzo English 1302 Professor Duncan 16 June 2015 Topic Proposal: Religious affairs in A good Man Is Hard to find In Flannery O Connors southern gothic short story, “a good man is hard to find” the protagonists that are presented seem to be in a gloomy and fragile relationship in what seems to be your cliché American family. The family as you would expect from O’Connor’s writing is in its own way corrupt and what many catholic enthusiasts would say, need Jesus. The Grandmother being the worst case of them all and in the story shows examples of gluttony and lust, two major sins in the Roman Catholic faith. These sins are the eventual downfall of the entire family. This essay will view the repercussions that occur for lathering in a life of sin and argue that salvation can be disguised in many ways even as malicious at times. It will utilize research directly from the psychoanalytic concept, traumas, and realizations of the few characters who get passed they’re own demons and come to a self-religious realization. Additionally, the essay will pursue the relationships between the grandmother, the misfit, and the son, John Wesley and his Mother and their last minute, virtuous moments right before Gods jurisdiction is handed upon them. John Wesley realizes that his actions anytime before that moment were inexcusable towards his mother, but now it is too late as he is murdered in the woods and the grandmother’s having her salvation just before the Misfit eradicates her...
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...A Good Man Is Hard to Find Flannery O’Connor’s short story ‘A Good Man Is Hard to Find’ reveals a harsh, yet realistic view of the world by using three literary elements: foreshadowing, irony, and character. O’Connor begins the story with a mere family vacation. The story seems so simple and innocent, that the deeper meaning is often not recognizable at first. As the story develops the darkness of the plot is revealed to the reader. Overall, the stories three literary elements tie the stories theme together, which is prejudice, religion, and violence. Foreshadowing is an important element that is used several times throughout the story. O’Connor begins the story by foreshadowing the Misfit; a convict who has escaped from the federal penitentiary. It is important that he is mentioned because he eventually ends up murdering the family. The next element of foreshadowing takes place when the family is getting in the car, preparing to head toward their vacation. The grandmother has over dressed herself for the car ride. She is wearing a navy blue, polka dotted dress trimmed with lace and violets. She said that, “In case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead will know that she was a lady.” This statement clearly foretells that something tragic is going to take place. As the family rides along in the car they pass a cotton field with five or six graves in the middle of it. Once again there is an indication of death approaching the family. After the family’s car accident, a car...
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...believes that they are foolish. In the story, “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor, the author addresses the consequences of poor judgment and how this leads to the death of the main character. The grandmother attempts to talk her son and his wife into going to Tennessee instead of Florida because a man called the misfit has escaped prison. After they stop at the tower and speak with the owner, Red Sam, the grandmother remembers an old plantation that she would like to see again, and she even exaggerates about the house so her son will stop by. After having an accident on the dirt road leading to the plantation, the grandmother realizes the house is actually in Tennessee. The spoiled old lady waves down a car for help, and the people in the vehicle turn out to be the misfit and his henchmen. She makes a mistake by announcing that she knows who they are. As a result, the misfit and his crew kill her and the rest of the family, leaving her last to die. Through the author’s use of tone, symbolism, and characterization, O’Connor proves that labeling someone as “good” is only true if he has morals and grace, not selfishness and blindness. The grandmother describes someone as “good” if he is similar to her. However, she is gullible and has poor judgment. She believes Red Sam is a good man just because he allows two men to charge the gas. In other words, Red Sam is only naive, just like the grandmother. “Said they worked at the mill and you know I let them fellers charge...
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...a young, unemployed, con artist who is in love with himself. A Good Man is hard to find, is the story of a grandmother and her family on the road headed to Florida for a vacation. Both stories have to do with morals and good vs. evil. The common links between the two stories is both of them take place in traveling vehicles. They both touched on ideas of morals. Both stories are different because the main characters had different beliefs. Jake always had ill intentions. He gave false information to Mariana concerning the accident he had with her. Most of his thoughts were about his automobile and women. Jake was pretty much a con artist. Mariana is hardworking, honest and responsible. Mariana was suspicious of Jake’s behavior during the conversation regarding the accident; however, Jake still managed to give her false information. Jake intended on leaving the scene of the accident, but when he saw Mariana and how beautiful she was, his intentions changed. He wanted to know her on a more personal level. Mariana had honest intentions, and had no idea Jake was giving her false information. The grandmother was a judgmental liar. She wanted to go on vacation, but not to Florida because of the Misfits. Bailey, the father, thought he had control of his family, but they actually ran over him. He planned on having the vacation in Florida. He spoke harshly to the grandmother when she recognized the Misfits. The mother did not speak much in the story. June, the daughter, was rude to...
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...Eric Quach Paper 2: Compare and Contrast Good Country People vs A Good Man is Hard to Find Flannery O’ Connor was able to write two amazing pieces of writing through the stories of “Good Country People” and “A Good Man is Hard to find”. Through these two stories, she uses the similar theme of the Salvation, or Redemption, of the protagonist due to the evils committed by people who have no beliefs. To show this theme, she uses elements from both stories, similar and different. Through characters, conflicts and symbolism of the two stories I hope to show some new understanding of these two excellent stories. Based on description, the two protagonists of the two stories, Hulga and the Grandmother don’t seem to be similar at all. The grandmother looks back fondly on days when people acted nicer and looking for a good man was much easier. In “Good Country People”, Hulga is rude, has a degree in philosophy, and likes the idea of… well, nothing. There isn’t that much similarity based on the descriptions given, but there is a similarity that wasn’t stated: the fact that both characters are more shallow than they think they are. Even with all her university training, Hulga isn’t a full believer in nothing. She just knows what to say to give this assumption. This is shown when she was shocked in Manley’s change of behavior, from a simpleton and bible salesman, Manley turns into someone who declares the truth behind what he sells. “I hope you don’t think I believe that crap! I may sell...
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