The concept of being a “good” person has painted the picture of how people have handled their lives throughout history. On the same note, this concept has also been the subject of much debate; such is the case in Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find”. The protagonist, the unnamed grandmother struggles to find the “good” in others and herself. O’Conner uses foreshadowing, characterization, and a distinct point of view to make her point. In my interpretation, her point is that only through conflict and turmoil can good truly be found.
The first time I looked at the story I did so only because it was assigned to me as homework. I ultimately found myself reading quickly, and not actively reading in the slightest way. Eventually however, I began to wonder whether or not “good” was going to prevail over “evil”. My burning curiosity and natural need for information was not satisfied with my initial sub-par reading. Upon closer and much more active reading I discovered Flannery O’Conner uses wonderful foreshadowing throughout the story to predict the ultimate demise of the grandmother and her family. The first bit of foreshadowing I would like to discuss is when June Star says “she wouldn’t stay home for a million bucks”… “Afraid she’d miss something. She has to go everywhere we go”. This statement is connected to the fact that the grandmother follows the family, even to their deaths. The second example of foreshadowing that really caught my eye was in the passage “they passed a large cotton field with five or six graves fenced in the middle of it.” In the story, John Wesley and June Star both find the graves interesting. I also find it thought-provoking for the reason that the six graves correlate exactly to the six members of the family traveling in the car. The third and final example of foreshadowing I would like to talk about is the name of the town in which the family gets into the automobile accident, and ultimately meet their demise. I do not believe it to be a coincidence O’Connor chose the name “Toombsboro” for the family’s final resting place. The town will forever be their Tomb, encasing them forever. Along with foreshadowing, characterization is also an extremely important aspect of “A Good Man is Hard to Find”. …show more content…
O’Connor’s story has many supporting characters, such as the children and the misfit’s accomplices whose characters and personalities can only be shown through their actions. We do not get a clear picture of how they feel, or who they truly are. The main character is a different story however, the grandmother lets us know how she is feeling throughout the story. The grandmother would be considered primarily a stock character, because for the most part, she fills the typical grandmotherly role. She is a nurturer, even if it is only to the baby, and her cat. She is also stuck in her ways of life, and doesn’t wish to change how she is. At the same time however, she is not a perfect fit to the mold. Most grandmothers are not selfish, egocentric, and conniving the way she is. These modifications in her personality cause the reader to be unable to predict what the grandmother is going to do. On the other hand, the Misfit is more than likely different than anyone you have ever meet, or read about. The Misfit’s character was in no waya stock character. Nevertheless it seemed like his actions were slightly easier to predict. While his motives might have been a mystery, I felt that I knew what was going to happen. The story is told from the third person point of view, and it centers singularly on the grandmother. She is the character we are told the most about, by far. She is also the only character whose point of view we can access directly. We get to hear her thoughts and feelings, although we never get very much detail. We are usually given a direct, short summary that leaves a lot of room for imagination on the part of the reader. The only other character who is given comparable attention is The Misfit. Even so, we only learn about him through the grandmother's perspective. After the grandmother is killed, there is a brief switch to The Misfit's perspective.
The first time I looked at the story I did so only because it was assigned to me as homework. I ultimately found myself reading quickly, and not actively reading in the slightest way. Eventually however, I began to wonder whether or not “good” was going to prevail over “evil”. My burning curiosity and natural need for information was not satisfied with my initial sub-par reading. Upon closer and much more active reading I discovered Flannery O’Conner uses wonderful foreshadowing throughout the story to predict the ultimate demise of the grandmother and her family. The first bit of foreshadowing I would like to discuss is when June Star says “she wouldn’t stay home for a million bucks”… “Afraid she’d miss something. She has to go everywhere we go”. This statement is connected to the fact that the grandmother follows the family, even to their deaths. The second example of foreshadowing that really caught my eye was in the passage “they passed a large cotton field with five or six graves fenced in the middle of it.” In the story, John Wesley and June Star both find the graves interesting. I also find it thought-provoking for the reason that the six graves correlate exactly to the six members of the family traveling in the car. The third and final example of foreshadowing I would like to talk about is the name of the town in which the family gets into the automobile accident, and ultimately meet their demise. I do not believe it to be a coincidence O’Connor chose the name “Toombsboro” for the family’s final resting place. The town will forever be their Tomb, encasing them forever. Along with foreshadowing, characterization is also an extremely important aspect of “A Good Man is Hard to Find”. …show more content…
O’Connor’s story has many supporting characters, such as the children and the misfit’s accomplices whose characters and personalities can only be shown through their actions. We do not get a clear picture of how they feel, or who they truly are. The main character is a different story however, the grandmother lets us know how she is feeling throughout the story. The grandmother would be considered primarily a stock character, because for the most part, she fills the typical grandmotherly role. She is a nurturer, even if it is only to the baby, and her cat. She is also stuck in her ways of life, and doesn’t wish to change how she is. At the same time however, she is not a perfect fit to the mold. Most grandmothers are not selfish, egocentric, and conniving the way she is. These modifications in her personality cause the reader to be unable to predict what the grandmother is going to do. On the other hand, the Misfit is more than likely different than anyone you have ever meet, or read about. The Misfit’s character was in no waya stock character. Nevertheless it seemed like his actions were slightly easier to predict. While his motives might have been a mystery, I felt that I knew what was going to happen. The story is told from the third person point of view, and it centers singularly on the grandmother. She is the character we are told the most about, by far. She is also the only character whose point of view we can access directly. We get to hear her thoughts and feelings, although we never get very much detail. We are usually given a direct, short summary that leaves a lot of room for imagination on the part of the reader. The only other character who is given comparable attention is The Misfit. Even so, we only learn about him through the grandmother's perspective. After the grandmother is killed, there is a brief switch to The Misfit's perspective.