Preview

Good Vs Evil In A Good Man Is Hard To Find

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1130 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Good Vs Evil In A Good Man Is Hard To Find
Throughout literature there is a theme that seems to be constant, the protagonist against the antagonist, good versus evil. It is a theme that reoccurs throughout time because it provides the audience with an interesting conflict and reveals more about the true nature of humans. In Flannery O’Connor’s short story, “A Good Man is Hard to Find.” she exposes her audience to the veracity of human nature; through various rhetorical devices and the demeanor of her characters, O’Connor reveals a new perspective on good versus evil. In literature, there is a protagonist and an antagonist that depict the good and the evil. O’Connor portrays these good and evil facets through the Grandmother (the protagonist) and The Misfit (the antagonist). She is able to support her theme through foreshadowing near the beginning of the story. The grandmother tells her son, Bailey:
“Now look here Bailey...This fellow that calls himself the Misfit is [loose] from the Federal Pen and headed toward Florida and you read here what it says he did to these people. Just you read it. I wouldn’t take my children in any direction with a criminal like that aloose in it. I couldn’t answer to …show more content…
The theme seems to attract people from all backgrounds and cultures, there is just something about the theme that hooks people. In Flannery O’Connor’s story, “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” there is a well-established theme of good versus evil. The grandmother that represents the good, sees the best in others and has innocent intentions, whereas The Misfit is the archetype character representing the evil, who seems to be anything by good. The way that O’Connor approaches the theme through the use of symbolism and rhetorical devices allow the readers to better grasp what she is trying to instill in her short
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    A Good Man is Hard To Find
    • 946 Words
    • 3 Pages

    A Good Man is Hard To Find

    Not only does O'Connor use symbols in this story, but also foreshadowing. O’Connor’s use of foreshadowing tends to clue the reader in on future events. The grandmother expresses in the beginning of the story how she doesn’t want to go to Florida with the rest of the family. While she…

    • 946 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Summary of Literary criticism of O'Connor's "A Good Man is Hard to Find"
    • 361 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Summary of Literary criticism of O'Connor's "A Good Man is Hard to Find"

    Nancy Nester’s “O’Connor’s A Good Man is Hard to Find” construes that it is “Bailey whose “goodness” accrues throughout the story, that it may be Bailey, in fact, whose goodness the grandmother affirms at its climax.” She believes that Bailey is a “good but overlooked man” in the story. She denotes the numerous instances, which were often ignored by other critics, Bailey symbolizes or acts as the one piece of good represented throughout the story.…

    • 361 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Jeremy Garcia 4
    • 1354 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Jeremy Garcia 4

    First, several linkages between Capote’s story and O’Connor’s story arises. Among the other similarities between O’Connor’s short story and Capote’s book includes foreshadowing, and the premise of the American landscape violated by an invader. In addition to that, similarities between the murdered families and the killers persist. Moreover, revelations of mistrust among members of an apparently complacent American community among others linger throughout their styles. Perry Smith’s fantasy of a parrot that defeats a snake (Capote, 92) is uncannily similar to the ending of “A Good Man is Hard to find”. It is where The Misfit, wearing a parrot shirt, shoots the grandmother now when she appears snakelike. All the same, O’Connor’s grandmother and Mrs. Bonnie Clutter share similarities since they both suffer moments of mental instability. In addition, they both are lost members of their families through shooting. It is evident that Capote borrows a speech O'Connor offers as the grandmother loses her life. The grandmother insists, "I know you're a good man. You don't look a bit as if you have common blood. I know you must come from polite people!' (Capote, 147) Another second borrowing is the Misfit’s words relating to how one…

    • 1354 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Explication Of Good Country People By Flannery O Connor
    • 1143 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Explication Of Good Country People By Flannery O Connor

    In Flannery O’Connors short story, “Good Country People,” the main theme is about a southern family and their faith, identity and education. Another key theme in the story is the concept of reality vs. illusion. The story employs irony and symbolism to portray the main character’s nihilism, immaturity and rebelliousness as well as the other character’s traits and personalities.…

    • 1143 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” Literary Analysis
    • 1115 Words
    • 5 Pages

    “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” Literary Analysis

    “A good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O'Conner depicts a southern family, who is at odds about where they should go for a family vacation. They will eventually agree to head for Florida, once in the car the family will go through a series of events that will shapen each indivudal character. One of the main characters in the story, “The Grandmother”, who is known for her critical , savvy ways gives the audience her definition of what exactly it means to be a lady. The Grandmother and her family will be put to death by an escaped criminal by the name of the Misfit, who the grandmother warns the family of before there voyage to Florida. In the story one will see that although the Grandmother had not been a known convicted felon, like the Misfit, her way for thinking and immoral behavior was no different than that of the Misfit and that they were alike in many different ways. Although the Grandmother in “A Good Man is Hard to find”, tries to portray herself has a good role model and a Christian lady one will later see as story evolve that she was a woman contrary of her word and was indeed the ultimate “misfit”.…

    • 1115 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Grandmother Who Went Through Lengths to Manipulate Her Family
    • 733 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Grandmother Who Went Through Lengths to Manipulate Her Family

    The grandmother was doing her best to manipulate Bailey just so she could have her way and does what she wants, she was willing to lie and even make up things that were not true. She goes as far as disrupting Bailey while he is trying to read the newspaper journal. She tells him “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” (O’Conner, 308). She even told them to take her to Tennessee “You all ought to take them somewhere else for a change so they would see different parts of the world and be broad” (O’Conner, 309). This grandmother has been willing to just have her way at all cost, she even when as far as telling her grandkids about a plantation she worked on as a maiden lady and a man named Edgar Atkins Teagarden who would bring her watermelons everyday with his initials carved in it. This grandmother just does not know when to stop lying and manipulating her family with these imagery stories of a life that she never lived.…

    • 733 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Examples Of Evil In A Good Man Is Hard To Find
    • 193 Words
    • 1 Page

    Examples Of Evil In A Good Man Is Hard To Find

    This theme is used through the Misfit toward the end of the story. In the text it says "She would of been a good woman," The Misfit said, "if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life. " This is good vs evil, because throughout the story the grandmother was talking about…

    • 193 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    “Revelation” and “A Good Man is Hard to Find
    • 220 Words
    • 1 Page

    “Revelation” and “A Good Man is Hard to Find

    In two of Flannery O?Connor?s short stories, ?Revelation? and ?A Good Man is Hard to find? we find a lot of similarities in the author?s portrayal of the characters as well as themes. ?O?Connor?s stories are challenging because her characters, who initially seem radically different from people we know, turn out to be, by the end of each story, somehow familiar- somehow connected to us.? (424) However, each story also depicts it?s own unique tell of spirituality and understanding. O?Connor?s ?Revelation? is a tale of a middle class women, Ruby Turpin, who is certain about her place in society, as well as the rest of the town?s social standing. She judges people instantly and reflects on what kind of person she would be if given a choice between two equally undignified options. ?A Good Man is Hard to Find? tells the story of a family that prepares to go on vacation but before they reach their destination they take a detour prompted by the grandmother and after a car accident come in counter with a serial killer who has recently been released from jail. Both stories take place in the south and take the reader on a journey to a deeper emotional awareness, as well as beg empathy of the reader for both the protagonist as well as the…

    • 220 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    A Good Man Is Hard To Find Rhetorical Analysis Essay
    • 975 Words
    • 4 Pages

    A Good Man Is Hard To Find Rhetorical Analysis Essay

    There are several figures of speech represented throughout O’Conner’s short story. Most of which all detail grotesque and unflattering visuals of character's descriptions. For instance, John Wesley's description of how “Tennessee is just a hillbilly dumping ground” provides the audience not only Wesley’s prior opinion of Tennessee, where the grandmother would rather go, it also foreshadows the disturbing events to come. In addition to this, Misfit’s…

    • 975 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    A Good Man is Hard to Find
    • 1397 Words
    • 4 Pages

    A Good Man is Hard to Find

    A Good Man is Hard to Find" by Flannery O'Connor is a short story that depicts a family road trip to Florida that ends in an abysmal tragedy when they meet the Misfit, a remorseless convict who has escaped from prison. In the beginning, the Grandmother is obsessed with everything worldly and superficial. She is completely focused on herself in relation to how others think of her. Towards the end of the story, the grandmother finds herself in ominous dialogue with The Misfit. In the story, The Misfit represents a quasi-final judgment. He does this by acting like a mirror. He lets whatever The Grandmother says bounce right off him. He never agrees nor disagrees with the grandmother, and in the end, he is the one who kills her. At the end of the story, before the Grandmother meets her fate, she has a moment of redemption. She finally distinguishes The Misfit for who he really is, not a psychopathic killer on the loose; but a person just like herself. The Misfit, being a man who is not created from social class; he is a simple human being just like the grandmother. At this point she sees herself in relation to everyone else. She finally realizes that she is not made by her class. Society makes the class, and she just fits into it. She shows this by claiming that The Misfit could be one of her own children. This story is meant to be interpreted as a parable, whereby O'Connor made skilful use of symbolism to bring about messages such as the social-superiority and the lack of spiritual faith that exist amongst common people; and the grace in humans is exposed, only when facing adverse and fatal circumstances.…

    • 1397 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Literary Analysis Of A Good Man Is Hard To Find
    • 891 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Literary Analysis Of A Good Man Is Hard To Find

    As soon as she reveals the unknown man’s true identity, she does not stop once to think about what he could do to her family. Instead, she pleads him to spare her life only. She goes on and on about the Misfit being a good man and that this means he could not possibly be able to hurt a good woman like her. As she tries to convince him to let her live, the Misfit’s companions, kill her family members one by one. She is able to see and hear when her son is taken away, and she does not beg the Misfit to spare her child’s life. Her moment of realization is described as follows, “You’re The Misfit...I recognized you at once! You wouldn't shoot a lady, would you? the grandmother said and removed a clean handkerchief from her cuff and began to slap at her eyes with it.” (O’Connor, 946-947). The grandmother even in a situation that involved harm to her own child, refuses to acknowledge anyone but herself. Her selfish thoughts and actions, prove to the reader that the “grandmother” is in reality a self-centered…

    • 891 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Salt of the Earth
    • 1338 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Salt of the Earth

    Flannery O 'Connor 's novels and stories are inhabited with unique and flawed characters who are the result of O’Connor 's satiric worldly perspective. While they are sometimes humorous, these misfits are usually unpleasant. Critics have termed them "grotesque," but O 'Connor has rejected this term because it suggests that the characters are too weird to belong in the real world. Instead, O 'Connor insists that the South is inhabited by many such people. For every good or evil thing, there is an antagonist or opposing force. One of Flannery O’Connor’s most successful stories, “Good Country People”addresses themes of this “good versus evil,” the possibility of redemption achieved through an encounter with violence, and the foolishness of intellectual pretensions.…

    • 1338 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    A Good Man Is Hard to Find - 4
    • 1874 Words
    • 8 Pages

    A Good Man Is Hard to Find - 4

    Many people struggle with the idea of what it means to be a “good” person and what it means to be a “bad” person. The human quest to be good drives virtually everything we do but sometimes in the end may not amount to enough. We all want to be good, but it 's not easy. If you ask an evil person and a good person the same question, "Are you a good person?" Who do you think is more likely to say yes, the good person or the evil person? Everyone has their own opinion about certain issues, and they depend on their values, judgment, and beliefs to see them through their difficulties. Flannery O’Connor, an American writer, was quoted as saying "I see from the standpoint of Christian orthodoxy. This means the meaning of life is centered in our Redemption by Christ and that what I see in the world I see in relation to that" (Contemporary Authors 402). In the short story "A Good Man is Hard to Find," Flannery O’ Connor illustrates her argument of good and evil through a grandmother who struggles with her own insincere sense of goodness, and the Misfit who represents evil. Only true goodness illuminates when in the face of something bad. In the story a character who views herself as good comes to realize that this goodness that she believes she has cannot protect against the works of evil.…

    • 1874 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    A Good Man Is Hard To Find
    • 1120 Words
    • 5 Pages

    A Good Man Is Hard To Find

    Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find” is a traumatic short story about a family, that is taking a trip to Florida, but never makes it because of their run in with the outlaw the Misfit, who in the end kills the whole family. Throughout, the story O’Connor shows what a good man is through the Characterization of the Misfit, the grandmother, and Bailey.…

    • 1120 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    a good man is hard to find
    • 750 Words
    • 3 Pages

    a good man is hard to find

    Precaution is always need it, in this short story the grandma warned his son about a criminal that called himself “the misfit” telling him he was headed to Florida. Bailey should have realized that traveling at this time could be very dangerous for him and his family.…

    • 750 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics