A Good Man is Hard to Find

             "A Good Man is Hard to Find" by Flannery O'Connor is the story of a Grandmother who finds grace and reaches out to a murderer. During the climax of the story, she has a shocking realization of what it means to be a Christian moments before she dies. The Grandma's superficial devotion goes through a dramatic transformation during the course of the story and reaches out and touches the Misfit in an amazing way.
             Flannery O'Connor was born on 1925 in Savannah, Georgia. She moved to Milledgeville, which was Georgia's capital before the civil war in 1938. Soon she graduated in-state at Women's College in 1945. She earned her M.F.A in writing two years later at the age of twenty-two. When she was twenty-five O'Connor contracted disseminated-lupis, which forced her to move back home with her parents. She continued to publish her fiction until she passed away in 1964 (O 'Connor 177).
             "A Good Man is Hard to Find," is the most popular of all Flannery O'Connor's stories. This is a great selection of her work, because it possesses all of the major ingredients characteristic to her writing style. O'Connor has always identified herself as a Southern writer and a devout Catholic. Her stories are relentlessly informed by these identities and beliefs.
             O'Connor through sarcasm and humor informs us of her religious values (Piedmon 1). It is important to know the basic tenants of Catholicism to understand the meaning of the story. This is because the idea of a savior dying to forgive the sins of all humanity is a view held only by Christians. O'Connor believes that Christ provides signs that confer grace on individuals (In this view, grace is not earned but offered). That person then has the prerogative to accept it or reject it, like the Misfit does. These signs often appear as an act of violence.
             Setting also plays a big role in this story. The story takes place during...

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A Good Man is Hard to Find. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 04:37, March 29, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/6307.html