In Flannery O'Connor's short story "A Good Man Is Hard To Find," the gruesome ending comes as somewhat of a shock. Through the use of foreshadowing, there are signs of an ominous end pervading the work. This story contains pervasive images of death to give hints and clues that lead up to the ultimate demise of the nameless family at the hands of the malicious Misfit and his henchmen. The grandmother, who is the center of the nuclear family, possesses many foreshadowing elements from her actions to her dress. Immediately, the grandmother opposes the plans to travel to Florida on vacation and requests everyone travel to Tennessee to visit family. The grandmother tried persistently to change Bailey's mind about Florida saying "here this fellow that calls himself The Misfit is aloose from the Federal Pen and headed toward Florida... I wouldn't take my children in any direction with a criminal... in it," (Pg.266). In notifying Bailey about the Misfit and his crimes, she foreshadows the coming events and the family's approach to doom. Despite the grandmother's warnings, the family decides to pursue their trip as planned. The grandmother did not argue and was actually "the first one in the car, ready to go," just as June Star predicted when she said, "She wouldn't stay at home for a million bucks... afraid she'd miss something" (Pg.267). The grandmother dressed in a manner so that if anyone finds someone "dead on the highway they would know at once that she was a lady" (Pg.267). She wore a navy blue sailor hat with white violets on the brim, to match her navy blue dress covered with tiny white polka dots, and her white organdy, lacy collars and cuffs. O'Connor added this description to represent the grandmother preparing for death.
             Despite the grandmother's disagreement of the excursion, she refuses to go without her cat, Pitty Sing. She did not want the cat to "accidentally asphyxiate himself" on the gas burners (Pg. 267). This a...