"A Good Man Is Hard To Find"

1363 words - 5 pages

A good man is hard to find, and there are good and bad people in everyday settings. Flannery O'Conner is the author of "A Good Man is Hard to Find" in which there are many instances where people disrupt lives of others by great amounts. O'Connor chooses a theme for every story that she holds on to throughout the book, but in the "Displaced Person" everything is twisted around and completely changed. "The Displaced Person" is the antithesis of the other works, because a good man is found, the intruder is a Christ-like figure, and the intruder dies in the end.One of the most obvious reasons "The Displaced Person" opposes her other stories is, because a good man is actually found. In her previous stories, her characters are searching for someone to fulfill a need or repair the farm. For example in "A Good Man is Hard to Find" the grandmother is looking for a good man to save the life of her family and herself, but instead gets "the misfit" who is disguised as a good man. The grandmother really wants the "misfit" to be a good man but instinctively he is a killer. In "The Life You Save May Be Your Own" Shiftlet comes to the farm of the Crater's and appears innocent, but then he acts as a violent intruder in which he takes the family's money, and car, and leaves the innocent girl at a diner. In "Good Country People" Manly Pointer acts as a Bible sells man who earns the trust of Hulga. He intrudes into the life of Hulga and takes what she has based her life around, the fake leg. In contrast, Mr. Guizac comes to the farm and to the rescue of Mrs. McIntyre and is thought to be a bad man by many, yet he is a good man that was not very hard to find. No one seems to know who has actually stumbled upon them as they seem to skip right over him. Mrs. McIntyre had been looking for someone to run the farm since the Judge had died, and now she finds Mr. Guizac who she "can depend on"(208). Mrs. McIntyre has a piece of gold in her presence and does not even realize it, but one thing she does realize is that he "has to work! He wants to work!"(209). Mr. Guizac comes into America looking for somewhere to work, and he comes to this farm to make a living. At the same time all Mrs. McIntyre is looking for is that he has to work to live and she needs workers to keep her farm afloat. Not only can Mr. Guizac "operate the silage cutter,....drive the tractor, use the rotary hay-baler, the combine, and the letz mill"(206), he is a good man in every other sense. Not only is Mr. Guizac a good man for helping Mrs. McIntyre get herself out of the hole, he is a truthful man who would not harm anyone, steal anything, or even think of doing something bad. To truly be a good person there has to be some type of resemblance to Christianity, and Mr. Guizac is a Christ-like figure who parallels Jesus in many different ways.In addition, a Christ-like figure is perceived as an intruder who comes in and stirs up everyone's life. In all of the other stories in the book there has been a...

Read more

Find Another Essay On "A Good Man is Hard to Find"

A Good Man is Hard to Find

1167 words - 5 pages After the end of World War 2, the Red Scare took hold in the United States. A nationwide fear of a Communist takeover grabbed the American psyche. Americans acknowledged a sense of fear from intruders entering and changing the lives of individuals. A contemporary writer emerged who would later be considered one of Americas greatest fictional writers. Flannery O’ Connor’s use of an intruder in, “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” characterized by a

A Good Man Is Hard To Find

1190 words - 5 pages A Good Man Is Hard to FindIn the short story, "A Good Man is Hard to Find", the main character is the grandmother. Flannery O'Connor, the author, lets the reader find out who the grandmother is by her conversations and reactions to the other characters in the story. The grandmother is the most important character in the story because she has a main role in the stories principal action. This little old lady is the protagonist in this piece. We

A Good Man Is Hard To Find

554 words - 2 pages A Good Man Is Hard To Find The story "A Good Man is Hard To Find" begins with a family planning to take a vacation to Florida. The grandmother who does not want to take the vacation in Florida is persuading the family. She has read about a crazed killer by the name of the Misfit, who is on the run, heading for Florida. The mambas of her family ignore the grandmother. On the day of the trip, ironically, the grandmother is dressed in her

"A Good Man Is Hard To Find"

708 words - 3 pages Throughout most of "A Good Man is Hard to Find" by Flannery O'Connor, the grandmother is a discourteous character. She lies, insults, complains, and makes offensive remarks until the story is near over. Towards the end she goes through a dramatic change. The story begins with the grandmother complaining about going to Florida. She wanted to go to Tennessee and she made it clear to her son, Bailey, and his wife and children every chance

A Good Man is Hard to Find

1213 words - 5 pages A Good Man is Hard to Find: Draft two “A Good Man Is Hard To Find” is a short story written by Flannary O’Connor talking about a family vacation that has gone wrong. Family is an interesting topic when reading this story. The children, John Wesley and June Star, are spoiled children who have no respect to anyone. The father has a temper. The grandmother is a very judgmental person. Each family member plays a role of the outcome of the family

A Good Man Is Hard To Find

932 words - 4 pages "A Good Man is Hard to Find": The Grandmother's Grace      Flannery O'Connor's "A Good Man is Hard to Find" tells the metaphorical tale of a family's fatal confrontation with The Misfit, an escaped serial killer. The incidents and characters throughout the story are aspects of a plot intending to symbolize the spiritual grace passed from one human to another, without regard for kindness or evil. The

A Good Man Is Hard To Find

822 words - 3 pages Sarah SetleyDual EnrollmentPeriod 3February 6, 2011"A Good Man is Hard to Find" by Flannery O' ConnorWhile the concept of grace seems like the last theme in this story of murder and selfishness, it is actually represented quite frequently and as a big part of the story line. "A Good Man is hard to Find" focuses mainly on the personalities and traits of the two main characters, grandma and The Misfit. These two seem like complete opposites, which

A Good Man Is Hard To Find

587 words - 2 pages Have you ever assumed that someone is a really nice person, but once you got to know the person you realized that you were wrong? In "A Good Man is Hard to Find" the Wesley family and their grandmother are on their way to Florida. Along the way, the grandma was explaining to her son, Bailey that she did not want to go to Florida because there was an escaped convict, whom they called Misfit, on the loose. It had been suspected that he was headed

A good man is hard to find

1012 words - 5 pages The character of the grandmother from A Good Man is Hard to Find, was manipulative and self-centered. She also seem conflicted in that she clearly tries to portray herself as a “lady” and religious with high morals, but the actions of this character do not seem to support this. The character serves as an antagonist as her character causes a majority of the controversy for the story. She is motivated by the desire to get her way, often

A Good Man Is Hard To Find”

2766 words - 11 pages One of the most memorable lines from “A Good Man Is Hard To Find” comes from the Misfit when he says, “She would have been a good woman if it had been someone there to shoot her for every minute of her life (O’Connor 309).” Flannery O’Connor’s depiction of Christian faith can be seen in almost all of her works. Inevitably, the plots in all of O’Connor’s stories end with a shocking conclusion, and this leaves the reader with freedom to interpret

A Good Man is hard to Find

1569 words - 6 pages A Good Man Is Hard To Find      “Adversity defines the essence of who we are and who we desire to be!” This can be best realized in the rural southern regions of the United States during the late 19 forties and early fifties. Without a specific location of long-term concentration, this story finds three generations of a family taking a vacation (planning at least) to Florida despite objections from the grandmother

Similar Essays

A Good Man Is Hard To Find

1073 words - 4 pages Since the beginning of mankind there is been an unsolved issue of good verses evil. We see this controversial issue in everyday life, Such as Television, Newspaper, etc. " It is not difficult to label the agent of evil in Flannery O' Connor's signature story, "A Good Man is Hard To Find", says John, Desmond. The family is described as a typical modern family, which has all type of problems. Agreeing with each other is one of the biggest

A Good Man Is Hard To Find

1171 words - 5 pages A brilliant storyteller during the mid-twentieth century, Flannery O'Connor wrote intriguing tales of morality, ethics and religion. A Southern writer, she wrote in the Southern Gothic style, cataloging thirty-two short stories; the most well known being “A Good Man is Hard to Find.” Mary Flannery O'Connor was born on March 25, 1925, in Savannah, Georgia. Raised in her mother's family home in Milledgeville, Georgia, she was the only child of

A Good Man Is Hard To Find

1511 words - 6 pages In the short story “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”, written by Flannery O’Connor, the theme of the mysterious definition of a “good man” is apparent. The true definition of a ‘good man’ is flawed, but one must also realize that it is difficult to universalize simply because every person is entitled to their own opinion. O’Connor conveys this theme through her excellent use of diction, imagery, foreshadowing, and symbolism as well as through a

A Good Man Is Hard To Find

653 words - 3 pages A Good Man is Hard to FindIn Flannery O'Conner's "A Good Man is Hard to Find", the Misfit; a criminal; is about to shoot the grandmother. But before doing so, it was stated "She would of been a good woman," The Misfit said, "if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life." The grandmother had the potential to be a good woman. Only in her last moments as she kneeled before the face of death was she a righteous woman; only

Other Popular Essays

Case Study: European Union and Genetic Testing
Orestes in Modern Drama: "Mourning Becomes Electra"
OUTLINE of Chapter 4 text - Elementary Statistics: A Brief Version (A. Bluman 3rd Ed., 2003)
Outline of Chapter 7 text - Elementary Statistics: A Brief Version(A. Bluman 3rd Ed., 2003)
The Declaration of Independence Essay
Take Home Test for Begining Social Work
Legal Process Paper
The Social Economic and Legal Impact Resulting From eBusiness
Get inspired and start your paper now!