A Good Man Is Hard To Find by Mary Flannery O’Connor Essay

Mary Flannery O’Connor, the writer of many short stories known for their cruel endings and religious themes, wrote â€Å"A Good Man Is Hard to Find† in 1955. â€Å"Her works combine flat realism with grotesque situations; violence occurs without apparent reason or preparation.† (Roberts 429). â€Å"A Good Man Is Hard to Find† is about a southern family’s trip to Florida which takes a dramatic turn. This story was written in O’Connor’s first collection of short stories. â€Å"A Good Man Is Hard to Find† is a compelling story of tragedy that utilizes humor and irony to draw the reader’s attention, and two major characters to convey the authors central theme. Throughout the short story â€Å"A Good Man Is Hard to Find† O’Connor uses†¦show more content†¦June Star’s response was â€Å"No I certainly wouldn’t. â€Å"I wouldn’t live in a broken-down place like this for a million bu cks!† There are many more humorous descriptions in â€Å"A Good Man Is Hard to Find† these are examples of descriptions that our slightly more obvious in humor. As stated before O’Connor’s use of humor is one element that helps to enhance the story and draw the reader’s attention. After reading â€Å"A Good Man Is Hard To Findâ€Å" the irony of the story is very clear. The first sentence in this short story is â€Å"The grandmother didn’t want to go to Florida.† In fact, the grandmother goes on to try to persuade her son Bailey and is wife not to take their trip to Florida but Tennessee instead. The grandmother informs her family about the fellow, the misfit, and all the horrible things he says he has done to people. â€Å"Just you read it I wouldn’t take my children in any direction with a criminal like that a loose in it. I couldn’t answer to my conscience if I did.† Ironically, that is exactly what she does w hen she convinces her son Bailey to take the family down a deserted road to see a house with secret panels. The grandma’s sudden recollectionShow MoreRelatedMary Flannery OConnor: One of the Best Short Story Writers of Her Day684 Words   |  3 PagesOne of the best short story writers of her day, Mary Flannery O’Connor was a brilliant writer, and still is, highly acclaimed. Her unique style of writing has a large part in her continued popularity. Ann Garbett states,†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦O’Connor combined religious themes from her Roman Catholic vision with a comically realist character from the rural Protestant south to create a fiction that is simultaneously serious and comic† (1910). Mary O’Connor Flannery was an extremely talented young author who experiencedRead More Violence Leading To Redemption In Flannery OConnors Literature1482 Words   |  6 PagesViolence Leading to Redemption in Flannery OConnors Literature Flannery OConnor uses many of the same elements in almost all of her short stories. I will analyze her use of violence leading to the main character experiencing moral redemption. The use of redemption comes from the religious background of Flannery OConnor. Violence in her stories is used as a means of revelation to the main characters inner self. 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The first short story that O’Connor refersRead MoreIdentify Irony in Flanners Oconnors a Good Man Is Hard to Find1421 Words   |  6 PagesThe Irony in Flannery O’Connor’s Irony is a significant rhetorical technique used in demonstrating a condition which is conflicting or expression whereby the result is the exact opposite of what is anticipated. This device of literature creates absurdity in the story according to its tone. Irony has an element of indirectness hence making the writing interesting to the reader. In the story of Flannery O’Connor’s â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find,† Irony has aided deeper comprehension and understandingRead MoreFlannery O’connor’s Use of Symbolism, Theme, and Religion1057 Words   |  5 PagesFlannery O’Connor’s Use of Symbolism, Theme, and Religion In this essay I will be covering the similarities, differences, and uniqueness of theme in three of Flannery O’Connor’s short stories. The stories I will be discussing are A Good Man is Hard to Find, Revelation, and Good Country People. O’Connor was considered to be a type of religious propaganda. At least one character in her stories had a name or behavior that reflected religion. Her stories most often had an aggressive twist to them.Read MoreEssay Mary Flannery OConnor948 Words   |  4 PagesMary Flannery OConnor is one of the most preeminent and more unique short story authors in American Literature (OConnor 1). While growing up she lived in the Bible-belt South during the post World War II era of the United States. OConnor was part of a strict Roman Catholic family, but she depicts her characters as Fundamentalist Protestants. Her characters are also severely spiritually or physically disturbed and have a tendency to be violent, arrogant or overly stupid. (Garraty 582) She mixesRead MoreThe Genre of Southern Gothic in A Good Man Is Hard to Find Essay1347 Words   |  6 Pagesenough good in it to keep readers interested. The short story, â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† by Mary Flannery O’Connor, is often considered a perfect example of Southern gothic writing. In â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find†, O’Connor has characters typical of Southern gothic. Characters in this genre are â€Å"riddled with many broken bodies, and even more broken souls†. It contemplates innocence, and whether or not anyone really is ever innocent. The grandmother in â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† is a religiousRead MoreFlannery OConnors A Good Man Is Hard to Find Essay1418 Words   |  6 PagesThe Dysfunctional: Psychoanalysis of Flannery O’Connor’s â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† Murder of women, children, and even a baby is a harsh image used by Flannery O’Connor in â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find.† The imagery is an effective literary device used to convey ironic tragedy, the struggle of female characters, and the family unit. The story follows a family on a trip to Florida when their journey, interrupted by an ill-fated detour resulting in a car wreck, ends in murder after they cross paths