Expressions Flannery O'Connor

             Flannery O'Conner's "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" is a story that has endless interpretations as to the meaning that the author is trying to convey. The story details a southern family of six taking a trip to Florida in the middle of the twentieth century. The family appears to be odd from the beginning of the story, and their rude and apparently unaffectionate mannerisms make the story one that is a very humorous read. I believe that O'Connor's southern roots, both as an aspiring writer, and as a Roman-Catholic helped shape the plot and characters in "A Good Man Is Hard to Find." This essay will analyze and question the symbolism that O'Conner uses, and how her background could have directed her writing style. Her views and accounts in her stories were often time grim and grotesque. This could likely have been the result of bitter feelings that stem from her personal battles with lupus.
             O'Connor grew up in Milledgeville, Georgia around 1940. Milledgeville is a fairly small town and O'Connor eventually took her studies to the Georgia State College for Women. The opinions that she formed living in the south are conveyed in "A Good Man Is Hard to Find." Early in the story the grandmother speaks of a young black man saying, "little niggers in the country don't have things like we do(329)." That view and way of teaching a child how to view someone is typical of the views that a white woman would have in Georgia during that era. A short story written by a modern day writer would likely, and deservingly so draw some criticism.
             It is odd that Flannery O'Conner would be a Roman-Catholic being that she is from Georgia. Georgia is typically known as being a predominately Baptist state. She does an excellent job of giving the story a religious feel. There are numerous accounts of foreshadowing that lean towards having a reli
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Expressions Flannery O'Connor. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 03:41, March 29, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/29308.html