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A Good Man Is Hard To Find Theme Analysis

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This story by Flannery O’Conner has several different hidden themes in it. Two main themes include appearance, and fear. The main character, which is the grandmother has an interesting character. She judges people through appearance, including herself. She fears going to Florida because of a criminal so called the “Misfit” that she saw in the newspaper. This is considered foreshadowing because she does confront the criminal. Other themes in A Good Man is Hard to Find is selfishness and gracefulness. These themes don’t come in until the end of the story when the grandma confronts the misfit.
The theme of appearance is big, especially for the grandmother. Throughout the story, the grandmother shows herself to the reader that she looks at herself …show more content…

While the misfit has the grandmother on the ground, and about to shoot her, the grandmother thinks the misfit is soon to cry. She gets off the ground and tells the misfit that “you’re one of my babies. You’re one of my own children” (O’Conner) hoping that this would potentially save her life by spreading a little kindness to the misfit. Sadly, this does not do what she was hoping. This is the first and last time the grandmother shows courtesy to someone besides her own self in the story. The grandmother then tries to touch him then the misfit “sprang back as if a snake had bitten him and shot her three times through the chest.” (O’Conner). Not only does it look like the grandmother changed at the end of the story, but also the misfit might have changed. The misfit says: “It’s no real pleasure in life.” (O’Conner). The misfit might be talking about his evil ways, saying that his done with his evil ways as it brings no joy.
The story of “A Good Man is Hard to Find” is about a grandmother who cares nothing but about herself. She judges people based off appearance, and not their character. She is selfish as she doesn’t care about Baileys family when they are in the encounter with the misfit, but instead does everything she can to potentially save herself. Her gracefulness comes to late as she is compassionate to the misfit when she is about to die, and she pays the price for

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