A Good Man is HArd to Find
In Flanney O'Conner's, "A Good Man is Hard to Find" a great deal of irony is used to express her views on how society and culture in the present day and how it has changed from the past. O'Connor used the family's grandmother as a key component in the story because of her personality and also because of her old age. She was able to show her feeling about the deterioration of respect for family and elders through the grandmother. The tale's idea explores into deeper things then just respect. As the story continues many spiritual observations are made and the regards to how the "old South" views on religion and "common blood" used to be. The beginning of the story is an important part because the reader is first exposed to the idea that the grandmother is little respected or listened to by any of the family members. She begins by challenging the family against taking a trip to Florida, because she had just learned a crazed killer by the name of the Misfit who is on the run into that area. When this argument is brought forth to the family, "Bailey didn't look up from his reading, so she wheeled around then and faced the children's mother" (232) who also showed the same interest and respect as the father did. One important
Finally Bailey can not take anymore of the children's acting out and he concedes to visit the house that the grandmother spoke about. I remember the day you could go off and leave your screen door unlatched. June Star and her brother begin slapping each other and the grandmother. She tried to explain to them that in her time children were more respectful of their native states and to their parents. It was on this bumpy and windy road where ironically the newspaper concealing the cat moves causing Pitty Sing to lurch on Bailey's shoulder resulting in the car being overturned. She was astounded that her son would be willing to take his family into such a place with possible danger and remarked with, "I wouldn't take my children in any direction with a criminal like that a lose in it. When the trip continues the grandmother makes the mistake of telling the children about a house with secret panel that is nearby. The grandmother and the Misfit engage in a conversation which is supposed to convey a message which I explained what life was, and what it is turning into. At one point John Wesley says:"Let's go through Georgia fast so we don't have to look at it much, John Wesley said. The grandmother once again had to take it upon herself to scold June star for making such a rude comment to the woman. The world is an ever-changing place and it is human nature to follow your own road, whether it be wrong or right. The grandmother responds in the only way she knows how to by clinging to her beliefs about "good blood" and men behaving as a gentleman would. As everyone is getting their bearings, June Star was said to be, "sad with disappointment as the grandmother limped out of the car" (237).
Common topics in this essay:
O'Conner's Hard,
John Wesley,
June Star,
Star Red's,
Red Sammy,
Finally Bailey,
Misfit Ironically,
Pitty Sing,
Red Sam's,
june star,
Let's Georgia,
john wesley,
common blood,
grandmother tries,
society culture,
trip florida,
red grandmother,
life grandmother,
red sammy,
modern world,
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Acceptance Essays
