A Good Man Is Hard to Find by Flannery O'Connor - Research Paper Example

?Client’s xx May A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O’Connor A disconnected family of obnoxious and ungrateful adults with their wild and uncontrollable children on their way to Florida for a vacation is depicted in Flannery O’Connor’s short fiction “A Good Man is Hard to Find.” On their route they encounter an accident and met a dangerous felon who eventually brings them to their death. As they forced to face their own mortality, the grandmother tries to find some goodness in the murderer in an attempt to postpone her own death and consequent Judgment. In the story, the aptly named character of “The Misfit” serves as a symbol both of evil as well as a symbol of the villain’s inability to fit into society. The family also represents a bunch of misfits as demonstrated through their ungratefulness and disregard for other’s emotions. The mother ignores her children except for her baby; the children have no qualms about littering and talking back to adults. The family is living without really being aware of the fact that life is precious. The vacation that the family is taking also has symbolic significance as a journey away from their familiar surroundings. The fact that the family is going further South might be indicative of the direction they are heading in the afterlife. Even their stop along the way at Red Sam’s resembles a place of purgatory. The grandmother revisits moments of her life as the family drives along on their way to Florida and is the only family member who seems to learn anything on the road of life. When it comes to the historical background of the story, Flannery O’Connor takes special care in presenting the differences between the old generation of Southern gentility and the current (1950’s) generation, which is more abrasive and fast-paced. Stephen Bandy in his review of O’Connor’s A Good Man is Hard to Find indicates that a personal history is explored as the grandmother reflects on plantation homes, unpaved roads and formal clothing while riding with her son and his young family on a highway to the trendy vacation spot of Florida (110). This is true as the grandmother appears to be struggling with the changes occurring throughout the time period. These changes are reflected in her children and grandchildren. In the 1950s, the population was growing and expansion of cities and suburbs was occurring across the country while farmland began to decrease. The advent of rock n’ roll music fed the desire of the nation’s young people to rebel against their parents’ traditional values. Clothing became more colorful and casual. Restaurant and entertainment chains multiplied, leaving the traditional “mom and pop” joints, lie Red Sam’s to fade away. In addition, the rise of communism and the threat of espionage and nuclear war led to a population filled with fear and uncertainty (Bandy 112). I agree with Gary Sloan in his article entitled O’Connor’s A Good Man is Hard to Find that the story presents a contrast between the grandmother's generation and that of her children and grandchildren (118). This kind of theme in the story is creatively and figuratively demonstrated as both generations are depicted as imperfect. The grandmother is unknowingly racist; the children are unknowingly inconsiderate to their elders. The grandmother tells her grandchildren that they have no respect for anything these days, which is true as seen in their speech and actions such as trying to throw trash out the car window. However, in the next breath the grandmother shouts, “Oh look at the cute little pickaninny!” and “Little niggers in the country don't have things like we do” in reference to a black child they happen to drive past (O’Connor 118). Flannery O’Connor acknowledged in her essay “The Element of Suspense” in ‘A Good Man is Hard to Find’ that the old woman resembles a Southern stereotype and said that most Southern readers have an older relative who resembles the grandmother. She retains elements of Southern hospitality and manners, but it is exclusive to non-common folk and those of the white race. She is ignorant of her own ignorance. The fact that the whole family dies at the hands of The Misfit and his random violence parallels the author's own belief that society (in the 1950's) was going fiercely downhill. Even the innocent baby is murdered. The Misfit is the epitome of everything that is wrong with society. He lacks faith, manners, and has no respect for laws and moral standards of any kind. His appearance is a contradiction in itself. He is middle-aged, graying and wearing scholarly glasses, yet he is shirtless and is wearing tight jeans. He agrees with the grandmother on many levels and entertains her talk of Jesus but shoots her without thought as soon as she tries to get close to him. He represents the hypocrisy of both the older and younger generations, but his dominance in the story reveals an apocalyptic glimpse of the future. On the other hand, the ironies presented in the plot of O’Connor’s story demonstrate the author’s devoutly pious Roman Catholic and Christian principles. Kaplan mentions in her review of O’Connor’s short fiction that in “A Good Man is Hard to Find” O’Connor wrestles with the nature of good and evil, but even more so, presents the reality that most people stumble through life on a less than righteous path (1). This is apparent particularly when Bailey and his wife and children appear consumed with their own desires and have little concern for others. The grandmother, as unlikable as she is, is the only character reflective enough to see how far removed society is from what really matters in life. In her essay on this story, O’Connor states, “The heroine, the Grandmother, is in the most significant position life offers the Christian. She is facing death. And to all appearances she, like the rest of us, is not too well prepared for it” (O’Connor 57). “A Good Man is Hard to Find” is a story that reminds the reader that evil does exist in the world and the day of judgment is always just around the corner. The story forces the reader to take a second look at his or her own life and ask the question – am I ready? This story first appeared in a collection by the same name with the following quote from St. Cyril of Jerusalem as an opening, “The dragon is by the side road, watching those who pass. Beware lest he devour you. We go to the father of souls, but it is necessary to pass by the dragon” (Drake 187). Whether the dragon is the devil or Christ is up for debate, but regardless, according to O’Connor, this figure is watching and judging us all. The Misfit and his sidekicks represent the embodiment of evil and The Misfit could be compared to the devil, but even he seems more human and complex than that. The Misfit is troubled by the evil in the world even though he is a contributor. He more likely represents one more troubled soul on earth that lacks religion. Works Cited Bandy, Stephen C. “One of my Babies: The Misfit and the Grandmother.” Studies in Short Fiction, 33.1 (1996): 107-17. Print. Drake, Robert. “The Bleeding Stinking Mad Shadow of Jesus in the Fiction of Flannery O'Connor.” Comparative Literature Studies, 3.2 (1966): 183-96. Print. Kaplan, Carola M. “A Good Man is Hard to Find.” Masterplots II: Short Stories, Revised Edition, 2004: 1-3. Print. O’Connor, Flannery. “A Good Man is Hard to Find.” Atlanta Magazine (March 2008 Issue): pp. 117-119, 150-155. Print. --- A Good Man is Hard to Find. Frederick Asalas (Ed.). New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1993. Slaon, Gary. “O’Connor’s Good Man is Hard to Find.” Explicator, 57.2 (1999): 118-120. Print. Read More