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Good Man Is Hard To Find Response

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In her short story “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”, Flannery O’Connor introduces the reader to a world of family issues, danger, and murder. The story was written in 1955 during a period of social and racial unrest in the southern United States. Mostly, the story follows O 'Connor 's basic Southern Gothic writing style. A work that is "cold and dispassionate, as well as almost absurdly stark and violent" (Galloway). While the quote gives major insight into the theme of the story, it does not offer a glimpse into O 'Connor 's real message of the story. Her take on the antagonist is a complex mixture of agreement and disapproval. The reader almost wants to feel sorry for him, which is one reason why this work is controversial. In an eye opening …show more content…

The story opens with a man named Bailey who is going on a trip with his family to Florida. However, his mother had other plans and becomes the "manipulative grandmother lecturing her apathetic son" (Sparrow). At first she tries to convince her son to change the trip destination saying ""(O 'Connor). It might be inferred that she meant well by warning Bailey about the prison escapee traveling in the same direction. Unfortunately, later in the story the reader finds out that . Throughout the piece, the unnamed grandmother is shown to be an annoying and deceitful person. The Grandmother 's "selfish focus" has made the people around her miserable particularly her son (Brown 2). Bailey 's relationship with his mom is rocky but it is never shown just how long it had been deteriorating. In later paragraphs, the grandmother is revealed to be …show more content…

The Misfit 's mind is one of the most complicated of any villain in O 'Connor’s stories and in all literature. His mental state is most evident in "the scene between the Grandmother and the Misfit at the climax of the story" (Walls 3) This recent escapee 's psyche can be described as "tails short of the athlete’s morality, for he plays by no one 's rules except his own" (Fike). This mental state is typical of most criminals but the Misfit’s perception on religion is not so conventional. Usually, when a person commits a heinous act and if the person is spiritual they will say God told them to do it. Compare that to the Misfit 's view. Not only does he believe in God but even claims that Jesus has "thrown everything off balance" (O 'Connor 144). Going even further he states that if he had seen Jesus 's crucifixion he would not be a criminal. This throws a reader on a tangent because it does not make any sense. Notwithstanding, the Misfit is an excellent addition to this story that the

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