Examples Of Foreshadowing In A Good Man Is Hard To Find

Throughout the short story A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O’Connor, there are slight inklings that hint towards the horrific demise of the family. These hints include various uses of foreshadowing and symbolism. However, there are three key aspects that leads readers to suspect not all is normal on this family road trip. The specific events that indicate the ending result of the story are the beginning conversation revolving around The Misfit, the siting of the old family burying ground, and the conversation with Red Sammy. In the beginning of the short story, the grandmother is trying to persuade Bailey and his family to go to east Tennessee rather than Florida. The most crucial point made by the grandmother was the The Misfit’s presence in Florida. Although the family does not take much to any interest in the grandmother’s bantering, she inquires what the little boy, John Wesley, would do if the Misfit caught him. The boy confidently replies that he would smack The Misfit in the face. Ironically, this is far from the truth, as John Wesley clutches onto his father’s hand as the father-son duo are led into the woods in the end (O’Connor 3). While the family …show more content…
Red Sammy begins to discuss with the family about two men who came in earlier with a old beat-up Chrysler. The Misfit and his gang are seen in a battered hearselike car later on, which could possibly be the car of the two men. This would explain why The Misfit was missing a shirt, had jeans on that were too tight for him, and how the crew found some friends to “borrow” clothes from. This is later proven as the The Misfit steals Bailey’s shirt from his body after he was shot. There is also mentioning of The Misfit again at The Tower, which Red Bailey states “a good man is hard to find.” This is a clear mentioning of the short story title and the ending conversation between The Misfit and the grandmother (O’Connor