Flannery OConnors A Good Man is Hard to Find - Book Report/Review Example

Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find” Published in 1953, Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find” raises moral and behavioral issues in the society. O’ Connor’s Catholic upbringing has a great impact in her writing and motivates her to portray deep philosophical and moral matters involving communities. Thus, the short story exposes the deep complexities of human nature that causes behavioral and moral problems that affect societies in general. Therefore, the tragic encounter between the Misfit and the unfortunate family represents O’ Connor’s illustration of the disturbance in societies reflected through the uncontrolled and instinctive reaction of the Misfit. This destructive spree that results in the tragic death of a whole family expresses the chaos prevailing in societies but also the decimation of fundamental moral values likely to sustain communities. O’Connor’s short story exposes the complexities of human nature that turns the Misfit into a violent beast. This dramatic portrayal invites a deep reflection about the nature of humans that leads to such desperate and tragic act. “A good Man is Hard to Find” depicts the tragic death of Bailey and his family who have the misfortune to meet the Misfit. The latter, a prisoner who escapes from jail, finds no alternative than kill them in order to pursue his way safely. This destructive spirit reflects the evil nature of this man who cold-bloodedly puts an end to the lives of an entire family, including children and an old woman. The narrator describes the tragic murder of Bailey and his son and the pitiful reaction of his mother: “There was a pistol shot from the woods, followed closely by another. Then silence. The old ladys head jerked around. She could hear the wind move through the tree tops like a long satisfied insuck of breath. ‘Bailey Boy!’ she called” (O’Connor 376). This painful reaction of a mother who witnesses powerlessly the murder of her only child demonstrates the evilness of the Misfit. This evil characteristic demonstrates the complexity of human behaviors that may result in violence and chaos. This critic observes: “The freak is an image of human nature deformed by sin, as is the Misfit in ‘A Good Man is Hard to Find,’ or an instance of human nature transformed by Gods grace”(Niederauer 3). If the Misfit embodies human nature, then evil is overwhelmingly present in societies. Moreover, another illustration of behavioral issues displayed in the short story resides in the killing of a nursing mother and her baby. Mourning the death of her husband and son, the nameless woman in the story got punished and sent to the woods to be executed with her remaining children. The way the Misfit sends his boys to accomplish his evil mission shows that he does not feel any regret or remorse. And the obedience and near professionalism of the boys also indicate that, for them, killing does not represent a big issue, which reveals that they are used to such a practice. The narrator presents one of the killings: “There was a piercing scream from the woods, followed closely by a pistol report” (O’Connor 377). This statement informs of another death in the family, which may be either the mother or one of her children. The narration continues: “There were two more pistol reports and the grandmother raised her head like a parched old turkey hen crying for water and called, ‘Bailey Boy, Bailey Boy!’ as if her heart would break” (O’Connor 377). This new information reveals that even the baby has been shot, which demonstrates the degree of wickedness of this gang that cannot even save a baby’s life. Even though the adults may constitute a threat to the Misfit and his gang who fear of being reported, this innocent baby is certainly not. The killing of the baby dehumanizes the gang and expresses their evil characteristics even further. Bailey and his family didn’t do anything wrong to the Misfit, their random encounter put their lives in danger since the escapee saw them as a threat to his own freedom. Therefore, he just put an end to their lives to secure his own liberty; which foregrounds his evil spirit. Besides, the beginning of the story is significant to the end because the grandmother had warned the family not to go to Florida because a prisoner was on the loose. Additionally, the grandmother’s mistake about the house in Tennessee turned out to be fatal because this deviation caused the encounter with the Misfit. This connection between the beginning and end of the story also conveys the relationship between life and death because the dynamism and livelihood of the family resulted in their sad decimation at the end. As the last member of the family to meet her fate, the grandmother dearly pleaded with the Misfit to save her life, in vain. Even though the old woman made the fatal mistake to recognize the Misfit and to clearly let him know it, she did not really represent a danger to him, especially in the middle of the forest. The narrator depicts the events: “She reached out and touched him on the shoulder. The Misfit sprang back as if a snake had bitten him and shot her three times through the chest” (O’Connor 377). While the grandmother was reaching out and trying to nurture him and express some form of kindness, the Misfit felt threatened and shot her. Shooting an old woman three times exposes the degree of meanness of the Misfit, who in one afternoon put an end to the lives of three generations of the same family. He just saw them as an obstruction to his freedom and disposed of their lives. His name reflects his displacement which explains the excess he indulges in, but the title of the story also expresses O’Connor’s skepticism about the good in human nature. Moreover, O’Connor’s religious background plays a significant role in her writing because it allows her to convey meaningful messages that display moral and philosophical issues. Her portrayal of the Misfit is not fortuitous as the character expresses the decay of moral and behavioral values that make people act like animals. Her concern about the deterioration of certain ethical values motivates her to portray this subversion in order to draw attention to these issues. This statement addresses the problem: “OConnor remains remarkable as an avowed Catholic and as a writer because she resisted spelling out that mystery though her Catholic faith offered much in the way of dogma that might have sufficed” (Zornado 27). Even if the portrayal is implicit, O’Connor’s faith is always reflected through her work, and “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” is certainly not an exception. Indeed, the destructive actions of the Misfit represent an illustration of the evil in the society and reflect more of an individual problem but rather a serious moral issue that needs to be addressed. “O’Connor on faith” also addresses the author’s religious foundation and how it affects her writing. (407)This essay foregrounds the impact O’Connor’s Catholic upbringing has on her overall work, especially “A Good Man is Hard to Find.” Thus, the predominance of evil in communities constitutes a real danger that reveals people’s detachment from religious teachings likely to connect them to God and urge them to embrace the good. Even though O’Connor recognizes that religion cannot resolve all the trouble human nature poses all at once, she perceives faith as a solid foundation in the battle against subversion and moral decay. This critic notes: “While Flannery OConnor defended her Church against superficial and unfair judgments, she was neither a whitewasher nor a fatalist, and she was an implacable foe of complacency. She believed that the Church must struggle toward greater virtue as surely as each of its members” (Niederauer 11). A true religious foundation could have prevented the Misfit and others like him from adopting destructive behaviors detrimental to human beings and society in general. Moreover, “The Function of Violence in O’Connor’s Fiction” analyzes the portrayal of violence in the author’s work. (411) In fact, the Misfit’s killing spree urges many critics to ponder on O’Connor’s vision about violence. In addition, even the title of the short story “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” is revealing as O’Connor warns against the prevalence of evil over good in societies. Even though the Misfit represents evil in the story, precisely if we refer to the title, he is just an embodiment of the existing evil in communities. This statement informs: “A negative reading of baptism at first is a difficult prospect simply because OConnors texts rely on a steady use of metaphor, striking imagery, biblical allusions and allegorical effects in order to give substance to the abstract ideas she explores in her fiction” (Zornado 55). This metaphoric language makes the story an illustration of the moral and behavioral decay in the society. On a personal level, a deeper reflection about the Misfit’s state of mind and what he had experienced in jail may provide an explanation about his actions. However, for the reader nothing can justify the Misfit’s act because he sacrificed a whole family for the sake of his freedom. The Misfit’s incarceration for a crime he claimed he did not commit was closely related to the punishment he inflicted Bailey and his family. Though supposedly innocent, he was punished; therefore, he could not understand the innocence of the family since the logic of crime and punishment had to keep going. The Misfit explains his condemnation in these terms: “It was a head-doctor at the penitentiary said what I had done was kill my daddy but I known that for a lie. My daddy died in nineteen ought nineteen of the epidemic flu and I never had a thing to do with it” (O’Connor 176). The supposedly false accusation against him reflects another form of injustice that cost his freedom and led to the tragic death of a whole family. His refusal to go back to jail motivates him to indulge in the killing of this innocent family that reveals his wickedness. O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find” raises deep philosophical questions pertaining to the society. Through the Misfit and his tragic murder of a whole family, O’Connor draws attention to the complexity of human nature and foregrounds the moral and behavioral decay in the society. Her religious foundation motivates her to portray these philosophical questions, expose the concept of gilt and responsibility and at the same time depict the prevailing wickedness in the society. In making the circumstances around the Misfit’s imprisonment unclear, O’Connor questions the validity of his guilt and gives him a motive for the murders because he fears to return to jail. In a society where innocent people can be sent to jail or killed, a true subversion of values prevails and evil reigns. The Misfit committed atrocious acts of wickedness that express the evil in the society. Works Cited Niederauer, George H. “Flannery O’Connor’s Vision of Faith, Church and Modern Consciousness.” Center for Catholic Studies and Social Thought 7.1 (1997): 1-15. Print. O’Connor, Flannery. “A Good Man is Hard to Find.” The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature: Reading, Thinking, Writing. Ed. Michael Meyer. 9th ed. Boston: Bedford, 2011. 377. Print. “O’ Connor on Faith.” Meyer 407. “The Function of Violence in O’Connor’s Fiction.” Meyer 411. Zornado, Joseph L. “A Becoming Habit: Flannery OConnors Fiction of Unknowing.” Rhode Island College Digital Commons (2007): 27.59. Print. Read More