The Meaning of “A Good Man is Hard to Find”
The title of Flannery O'Connor's short story “ A Good Man is Hard to Find” has a deep meaning and influences key items in the story. The family that is depicted in the story learns how important the idea of “a good man is hard to find” is and what happens to them is influenced by this theme. The grandmother in particular is aware of the theme and is directly related to it because of her self acquired “lady-like” traits . The story reveals just how harsh society is and how it might not change no matter what you do. The title of Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find” highlights the key scenes, themes, and ironies in the story, and explains the true meaning of the story and why it was …show more content…
The idea of the “lady-like” grandmother has a relation to this because she eventually tries to use this as an excuse to not get murdered. Even though her attitude is not as much lady like, she firmly believes that she is and thinks the Misfit will give in to this. She dresses herself nicely to go on the trip just in case when they have an accident and people see her dead, they will know she was a lady. Not only is this ironic it also shows that the grandmother is egotistical and cares what people think about her even if she is dead. This quote describes the scene. “ Her collars and cuffs were white organdy trimmed with lace at her neckline she had pinned purple spray of cloth violets containing a sachet. In case of an accident, anyway seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady”(2). This scene is ironic because the grandmother does end up dying so she in a way predicted what was going to happen that day. Even though she thinks she is a lady she clearly does not act like a lady would. A lady would be unselfish and not always care about what she looked like all the time. The grandmother is not the only person who represents the title of the story. The other family members have role in the meaning of the title also. As the story goes on, the reader increasingly dislikes their character and their actions. The kids especially are rude as they arrive at The Tower and seem to have a bad attitude as they come closer to the accident. In a scene in the car both John Wesley and June Star make negative comments about Tennessee and Georgia, which marks the start of the reader beginning to dislike the family more as the story goes on. “ Tennessee is just a hillbilly dumping ground,” John Wesley said, “ and Georgia is a lousy state too”. “ You said it,” June Star said ” (2). Both the grandmother and the children of the family are related to the the title, “ A Good Man is
The title of Flannery O'Connor's short story “ A Good Man is Hard to Find” has a deep meaning and influences key items in the story. The family that is depicted in the story learns how important the idea of “a good man is hard to find” is and what happens to them is influenced by this theme. The grandmother in particular is aware of the theme and is directly related to it because of her self acquired “lady-like” traits . The story reveals just how harsh society is and how it might not change no matter what you do. The title of Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find” highlights the key scenes, themes, and ironies in the story, and explains the true meaning of the story and why it was …show more content…
The idea of the “lady-like” grandmother has a relation to this because she eventually tries to use this as an excuse to not get murdered. Even though her attitude is not as much lady like, she firmly believes that she is and thinks the Misfit will give in to this. She dresses herself nicely to go on the trip just in case when they have an accident and people see her dead, they will know she was a lady. Not only is this ironic it also shows that the grandmother is egotistical and cares what people think about her even if she is dead. This quote describes the scene. “ Her collars and cuffs were white organdy trimmed with lace at her neckline she had pinned purple spray of cloth violets containing a sachet. In case of an accident, anyway seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady”(2). This scene is ironic because the grandmother does end up dying so she in a way predicted what was going to happen that day. Even though she thinks she is a lady she clearly does not act like a lady would. A lady would be unselfish and not always care about what she looked like all the time. The grandmother is not the only person who represents the title of the story. The other family members have role in the meaning of the title also. As the story goes on, the reader increasingly dislikes their character and their actions. The kids especially are rude as they arrive at The Tower and seem to have a bad attitude as they come closer to the accident. In a scene in the car both John Wesley and June Star make negative comments about Tennessee and Georgia, which marks the start of the reader beginning to dislike the family more as the story goes on. “ Tennessee is just a hillbilly dumping ground,” John Wesley said, “ and Georgia is a lousy state too”. “ You said it,” June Star said ” (2). Both the grandmother and the children of the family are related to the the title, “ A Good Man is