Flanerry O'Conner
"A Good Man Is Hard to Find" is a short story that mainly focuses on the Grandmother and the Misfit. The other characters are her son, Bailey, his wife, and their three children. The tale is mostly told through the grandmother's perspective. From the beginning of the story, the Grandmother is not portrayed in a positive light. She's selfish, deceiving, and just an overall unpleasant person to be around. It could be argued that she's just wants to be appreciated, but I'm not sure this is the case.
The story begins with the Grandmother trying to convince her family to go to Tennessee instead of Florida. She stops at no lengths to try to achieve. There are a couple of foreshadowing events that take place here:
1) The Grandmother mentions that the Misfit, a serial killer, is headed that direction as well. This sets the stage for them to clash.
2) The Grandmother makes sure she dresses properly because she wants everyone to recognize her as a lady just in case she's found dead on the highway.
Even with the foreshadowing, it's still a surprise when they meet the Misfit. Their car ends up breaking down when the Misfit happens to come across them. After he and his partners take the Grandmother's family out in the woods and murders them, the true conversation between them comes into play. She selfishly pleads for life as she is still unsure of the fate of her family. O'Conner claims our true side comes out in the face of violence. This is the truth here as well.
The Grandmother employs many tactics to save her own life. First, she tries to reach out to the Misfit, exclaiming, "you wouldn't shoot a lady". It seems as if she's trying to get the Misift to envision her as his own mother so he won't shoot her. Assuming this will not work, she tries to convince him that there is still a chance to "save him". That it is not too late to be Good. That he is still one of God's children. Ultimately, she fails, and the Misfit shows his true side in executing her.
This story was good, but a couple of things bothered me. The main thing was the almost casual racist tendencies that were ignored by every character in the book. I'm not sure if this was just written to show the context of the time and place, but it was painful to read without anyone correcting the comments. Other than that, I would recommend this story to most people. It was a good read that should bring out some emotion in anyone who reads this.
The story begins with the Grandmother trying to convince her family to go to Tennessee instead of Florida. She stops at no lengths to try to achieve. There are a couple of foreshadowing events that take place here:
1) The Grandmother mentions that the Misfit, a serial killer, is headed that direction as well. This sets the stage for them to clash.
2) The Grandmother makes sure she dresses properly because she wants everyone to recognize her as a lady just in case she's found dead on the highway.
Even with the foreshadowing, it's still a surprise when they meet the Misfit. Their car ends up breaking down when the Misfit happens to come across them. After he and his partners take the Grandmother's family out in the woods and murders them, the true conversation between them comes into play. She selfishly pleads for life as she is still unsure of the fate of her family. O'Conner claims our true side comes out in the face of violence. This is the truth here as well.
The Grandmother employs many tactics to save her own life. First, she tries to reach out to the Misfit, exclaiming, "you wouldn't shoot a lady". It seems as if she's trying to get the Misift to envision her as his own mother so he won't shoot her. Assuming this will not work, she tries to convince him that there is still a chance to "save him". That it is not too late to be Good. That he is still one of God's children. Ultimately, she fails, and the Misfit shows his true side in executing her.
This story was good, but a couple of things bothered me. The main thing was the almost casual racist tendencies that were ignored by every character in the book. I'm not sure if this was just written to show the context of the time and place, but it was painful to read without anyone correcting the comments. Other than that, I would recommend this story to most people. It was a good read that should bring out some emotion in anyone who reads this.
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