Critical literature paper about A good man is hard to find story

Name Instructor Course Date Due Critical literature paper about “a good man is hard to find” story Flannery O’Connor’s short story “A Good Man is hard to Find” is about a family on vacation which tragically ends as a result of a murderer and his gang intrusion. Grandmother’s insistence for the family to go to Tennessee rather than Florida prompts the family to divert from the main path as they embark on search for some lost treasure that is false. This risky decision makes the family to be befallen by the Misfit. At the beginning of the story there is a foreshadowing hinting the reader that the family is destined to encounter a Misfit on their trip to Florida (Desmond 130). For instance, “Here this fellow that calls himself The Misfit is aloose from the Federal Pen and headed toward Florida and you read here what it says he did to these people. Just you read it” (O’connor 45). This a clear forecast of what was envisaged to befall the family towards the end. However, there is an aspect of irony in the story because the Misfit that befalls the family seems to be more of Christian than what the grandmother thought. The author is very religious making me to believe the mentioned “good man” in the story title is actually God. Moreover, the story portrays the grandmother to be a good Christian, but her focus seems to be solely based on appearance (Westarp 132). She also believes that having a great outer shell and wearing nice clothes makes her a better person to some extent. Thus despite the fact that she claimed to be perfect in Christianity, she also did many questionable things such as using racial slurs, manipulating her family members, and lying (Kirk 76). O’Connor uses characterization in showing the break down of discipline and respect in the society and this message can be understood from the previous generations to present ones. The grandmother represents the past because of her “Southern Hospitality” heritage. This is illustrated in the following quote, “The old lady settled herself comfortably, removing her white cotton gloves and putting them up with her purse on the shelf in front of the back window.” The grandmother later states that, “In my time…children were more respectful of their native states and their parents and everything else” (O’connor 46). When the grandmother asks John what he would do if the Misfit confronts him he replies, “I’d smack his face” (O’connor 46). Towards the end of the story this turns out to be totally un...