Satire In A Good Man Is Hard To Find

It is possible to address a large group of people about a problem in the society? People like to think so, and they try through a process called a satire. A satire is a way to point out a problem of society through a form of writing. It is meant to promote change. Examining a story’s theme is a way of revealing what is being satirized. A lot of satires can be very comical, while others are dark and serious. Flannery O’Connor’s short story, “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” is one of those deeper, dark satires. After reading this text it really shocks its readers into a reality check about society. The most distinguished theme within this story is that there are not any truly good people in the world. Every person has flaws in their personality, …show more content…
Society believes that children are supposed to be pure, harmless, and innocent beings. And, when they’re older is when they might show themselves as “bad” people. However, in this story, John Wesley and June Star are two children, probably a little younger than their teenage years, and they’re both extremely disrespectful and deceitful. O’Connor has used these characters to show that even children have negative traits. This can first be seen with June Star. June Star has a very disrespectful personality, which is obvious after she does her tap dance routine at a restaurant and the waitress asks if she’d like to come be her little girl. In response to this compliment, the text reads, “‘No I certainly wouldn’t,’ June Star said. ‘I wouldn’t live in a broken-down place like this for a million bucks!’ and she ran back to the table” (O’Connor 14). This disrespectful reaction to a stranger proves how mean and disrespectful she really is, especially because she didn’t feel any guilt for treating the waitress, someone she didn’t know, like that. Not only is June Star disrespectful towards strangers but also the people in her family. This is evident when both of the children are begging to see the house with the secret panel while riding in the car. The narrator states that “John Wesley kicked the back of the front seat and June Star hung over her mother’s shoulder and whined …show more content…
Society believes elders are sweet and innocent, and every one shall respect them. However, it is clear, O’Connor makes a point to show that not everyone does respect the grandmother. She also shows that she is not sweet or innocent. One can see the grandmother’s manipulative personality when the family is discussing where they want to go on vacation to before leaving. The narrator suggests the grandmother says, “I wouldn’t take my children in any direction with a criminal like that aloose in it” (O’Connor 3). The grandmother only says this statement for her own benefit. She doesn’t want to go to Florida like everyone else and she’s trying to make reasons why they shouldn’t go there, so she brings up The Misfit getting loose hoping the family realizes how dangerous it is to travel there and change their mind. Throughout the whole story the grandmother makes a point to show how christian-like she is, however, after analyzing her through the end of the story we realize that is not the case. One can see how not very christian-like the grandmother is when they’re driving through Georgia and the grandmother is talking to John Wesley and June Star about her younger years. The narrator says, “Little riggers in the country don’t have things like we do. If I could paint, I’d paint that picture,” (O’Connor 4). In this passage, the grandmother is not only being judgemental, but also very