ipl-logo

Sufjan Stevens 'Song A Good Man Is Hard To Find'

499 Words2 Pages

Sufjan Stevens’ song title, “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” is complex and full of common grace insight. To begin, the lyrics, “Once in the back yard,” in my opinion refers to the Misfit trying to recall his childhood and how innocent children are initially. Furthermore, the Grandmother calls the Misfit one of her own children, implying that she viewed him as one of her own innocent children. The next lines, “she was once like me, she was like me,” reflects the Misfits realization that the Grandmother was just as jaded as he was; only he had a full understanding of his capacity to sin. Whereas, the Grandmother had believed that because she was a good southern “Lady”, she was blinded from the truth of her own sins. “Twice when I killed them,” …show more content…

“Put off all the beast, paid a full of these, I wait for it,” refers to the Misfits belief that because Jesus died and paid for our sins, that he can just put off all his sins and know that they are paid in full by our Lord, therefor the Misfit awaits death. “But someone 's once like me, She was once like me,” refers to the fact that anyone can sin, but sometimes it takes another sinner for us to realize our own sins. “I once was better,” signifies the Misfits own realization that his capacity to sin has grown out of control, and that he can no longer seek help. In other words, he has lost hope for himself. “I put off all my grief. I put off all my grief,” shows that the Misfit disregards worrying about the consequences of his actions, both spiritually and mentally. “So I go to hell, I wait for it” shows that the Misfit realizes that he is in fact not going to go to heaven, but all he can do is wait and continue to sin while he awaits his judgment. “But someone 's left me creased, someone 's left me creased,” the crease refers to the mental and spiritual tear in the Misfits psyche. It is a gaping chasm caused when the grandmother comes to the realization of her own sins, and reaches out and touches the Misfit, changing his course of thinking of life and

Show More
Related

  • Psychological Lens Essay On A Good Man Is Hard To Find

    577 Words  | 3 Pages

    In this moment, the grandmother realizes that she has a commonality with the Misfit, and that they both truly do have some good in them. Her observation that his face was momentarily like hers causes her to see the emotion that the Misfit is experiencing, and she makes the connection between his emotion and hers. She finally is transformed by this realization and her own actions of kindness, as she died and “her face [smiled] up at the cloudless sky” (212). The goodness that the grandmother had been seeking throughout the entire story had at last been realized through her own actions of kindness toward the Misfit, who was also momentarily affected and taken back by her grace towards

    Read More

  • Redemption In Flannery O Connor's A Good Man Is Hard To Find

    946 Words  | 4 Pages

    This notion of redemption is primarily seen with the Misfit and his character development away from the pleasure of a murderer. Had it not been for the collision of the Grandmother and his paths, redemption would have been unlikely, even unachievable, for him. O’Connor intended for this story to have a positive ending, despite the death toll that is present at the end of the story. With her Catholic beliefs, the small act of the Grandmother’s compassion and the Misfit’s questioning of his morals are rather impactful to each of their redemptions. Perhaps O’Connor’s religious views could be insightful to religious scholars on the question of whether human nature is

    Read More

  • Similarities Between The Grandmother In A Good Man Is Hard To Find

    814 Words  | 4 Pages

    As you can see her stories are surrounded by her belief. In today’s world societal morals and values have drastically crumbled making the world an unacceptable place. Flannery O’Conner’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find” moves from a family comedy into a brutal revelation while on a family vacation. While on the way to find the homestead where grandmother grew up, she puts them down the wrong path right into a murderer’s escape route.

    Read More

  • Character Change In A Good Man Is Hard To Find

    1287 Words  | 6 Pages

    Another way that the two readings are related is that "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" incorporates the idea of leaving things up for interpretation. The big questions that come to mind, is why did the Misfit not kill the grandma right away? Why did the grandma plead with the Misfit about how prayer would solve everything? Why did the Misfit not know why he went to jail?

    Read More

  • A Good Man Is Hard To Find Symbolism Essay

    1904 Words  | 8 Pages

    Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find” was published in 1955. O’Connor was also known for her novel The Violent Bear it Away (published in 1960) and her collection of short stories Everything That Rises Must Converge (published in 1964). The author often used violence and greed to show how she saw humanity that was without God. She liked to write about pettiness and vanity in the rural south, both of which play large parts in “A Good Man is Hard to Find.” This particular piece of work is about a family who goes on a road trip that takes an unexpected turn when they cross paths with a murderer and his henchmen.

    Read More

  • Pride In A Good Man Is Hard To Find

    421 Words  | 2 Pages

    According to Dictionary.com, pride is “a high or inordinate opinion of one's own dignity, importance, merit, or superiority, whether as cherished in the mind or as displayed in bearing, conduct, etc”. In the Christian religion pride is one of the deadly sins that are punishable in the after life. The characters that Flannery O’Connor uses to attack the sin of pride are Joy Helga in “Good Country People” and the grandmother in “A Good Man is Hard To Find”. In “A Good Man is Hard To Find” the grandmother is very prideful and this actually leads to the death of her family. When the family’s car breaks down the grandmother identifies the Misfit.

    Read More

  • Symbolism In A Good Man Is Hard To Find

    1254 Words  | 6 Pages

    (6:27). O 'Connor presents both the view of the Misfit as a fellow human being in pain, and the feeling of love for him, as a gift from God. The grandmother as a human being, is prone towards evil and selfishness, so she could never have come to feel such love without God 's help, as this man was going to kill her. This moment of grace is incredibly important in the story. The Misfit kills the grandmother, withdrawing from her and what seems foreign to him (human compassion), but the grandmother already had her moment of redemption.

    Read More

  • A Good Man Is Hard To Find Theme

    1583 Words  | 7 Pages

    The setting In “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” is in the south, near or around Florida. The Grandmother shows to be a religious woman who uses her religion as hope to get out of the situation she placed herself in. In “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, Flannery O’Connor writes, “ ‘If you would pray,’ the old lady said, ‘Jesus will help you.’ ‘That’s right,’ The Misfit said ‘Well them, why don’t you pray?’ she asked trembling with delight suddenly.

    Read More

  • A Good Man Is Hard To Find Misfit Character Analysis

    581 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Grandmother is the only member of the family still alive at this point. The misfit holds the grandmother at gunpoint. The grandmother uses faith as a way to escape death and pleads for the character to spare her life. “Pray!” The grandmother pleads pathetically.

    Read More

  • The Grandmother And The Misfit's A Good Man Is Hard To Find

    1601 Words  | 7 Pages

    The grandmother uses Jesus as a scapegoat to show how she is a child of God while the Misfit tells of how he really perceives Jesus and that there is no justification of his actions. In the event of the car accident, the Grandmother was left with a physical crisis that quickly showed as her family was sent off into the woods to be killed one by one. This soon transitioned to a spiritual crisis both between the Grandmother and the Misfit as she uses Jesus's name to try and escape her fate. This spiritual crisis leads the characters to express their personal conception of reality and how they perceive the revelation of the situation that they are in. The Grandmother has a sense that reality should revolve around her and that she should manipulate tools such as religion to benefit her outcome.

    Read More

  • Hypocrisy In A Good Man Is Hard To Find

    897 Words  | 4 Pages

    “A Good Man is Hard to find”, was one of Ms. Flannery O’Connor’s well known story that shows what she is known for in her writing : violence, well thought characters with humor, and shows her Roman Catholic faith. Throughout the story, there are certain details that make the story what it seems to be than what Ms. O’Connor had to portray. Although it would be seen as a shocking violent murder plot all in one, there can be another side to the story as well. In the story of A Good Man is Hard to Find shows that people would think O’Connor was mocking religion, in actuality she was not. The characters in the story are used to expose the idea between good and evil and hypocrisy.

    Read More

  • Manipulation In A Good Man Is Hard To Find

    786 Words  | 4 Pages

    She is only trying to convince the misfit that he is a good man because she wants to be freed, and her life is in shambles. Also, the grandmother has already gone back on her word multiple of times, calling the misfit a big, bad, and scary man. Now all of the sudden he is a good man. Therefore, the grandmother still has not changed a

    Read More

  • Good Man Is Hard To Find Response

    1016 Words  | 5 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Literary Analysis Of A Good Man Is Hard To Find

    1107 Words  | 5 Pages

    Literary Analysis essay- A good man is hard to find Authors often have a specific purpose to portray the character’s actions or personality. The story “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O 'connor 's shows a story about a family composed of a married couple two children, whose are about to go on a vacation. The grandmother tries to make them change their destiny using the fact that a murderer has escaped jail and that it could be dangerous to go to Florida because of that. The story continues with the journey on their way to Florida.

    Read More

  • A Good Man Is Hard To Find Moral Code Analysis

    731 Words  | 3 Pages

    She broke her own moral code. The grandmother has a very twisted view on the world. She can be backwards at times and also very wrong. The grandmother thinks a good man could fall for anything, like Red Sammy.

    Read More

More about Sufjan Stevens 'Song A Good Man Is Hard To Find'

Open Document