theme of a good man is hard to find essay

Literary Theory and Criticism

Home › Literature › Analysis of Flannery O’Connor’s A Good Man Is Hard to Find

Analysis of Flannery O’Connor’s A Good Man Is Hard to Find

By NASRULLAH MAMBROL on May 25, 2021

Frequently anthologized, “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” exemplifies Flannery O’Connor’s southern religious grounding. The story depicts the impact of Christ on the lives of two seemingly disparate characters. One is a grandmother joining her son’s family on a trip to Florida. Accompanied by a silent daughter-in-law, a baby, two unpleasant children, and her smuggled cat, she wheedles the son into making a detour to see a plantation that she remembers from an earlier time.

Moments of recognition and connection multiply as the seemingly foreordained meeting of the grandmother and the killer she has read about in the paper takes place. She upsets the basket in which she has hidden her cat; the cat lands on her son’s neck, causing an accident. Soon three men appear on the dirt road, and the grandmother recognizes one of them as the notorious killer the Misfit.

Flannery O’Connor/National Catholic Register

O’Connor weaves the notion of punishment and Christian love into the conversation between the Misfit and the grandmother while the grandmother’s family is being murdered. Referring to the similarity that he shares with Christ, the Misfit declares that “Jesus thrown everything off balance” (27), but he admits that unlike Christ, he must have committed a crime because there were papers to prove it. When the grandmother touches his shoulder because she sees him as one of her own children, she demonstrates a Christian love that causes him to shoot her.

This story typifies O’Connor’s mingling of comedy, goodness, banality, and violence in her vision of a world that, however imperfect, most readers inevitably recognize as part of their own. O’Connor views the world as a place where benevolence and good intentions conflict with perversity and evil, and her protagonists frequently learn too late that their lives can crumble in an instant when confronted by the very real powers of darkness.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Kessler, Edward. Flannery O’Connor and the Language of Apocalypse. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1986. Orvell, Miles. Flannery O’Connor: An Introduction. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1991

Share this:

Categories: Literature , Short Story

Tags: American Literature , Analysis of Flannery O'Connor’s A Good Man Is Hard to Find , criticism of Flannery O'Connor’s A Good Man Is Hard to Find , essays of Flannery O'Connor’s A Good Man Is Hard to Find , Flannery O'Connor’s A Good Man Is Hard to Find , Flannery O'Connor’s A Good Man Is Hard to Find appreciation , Flannery O'Connor’s A Good Man Is Hard to Find guide , Flannery O'Connor’s A Good Man Is Hard to Find plotFlannery O'Connor’s A Good Man Is Hard to Find , Flannery O'Connor’s A Good Man Is Hard to Find story , Flannery O'Connor’s A Good Man Is Hard to Find structure , Flannery O’Connor , guide of Flannery O'Connor’s A Good Man Is Hard to Find , Literary Criticism , notes of Flannery O'Connor’s A Good Man Is Hard to Find , plot of Flannery O'Connor’s A Good Man Is Hard to Find , story of Flannery O'Connor’s A Good Man Is Hard to Find , structure of Flannery O'Connor’s A Good Man Is Hard to Find , summary of Flannery O'Connor’s A Good Man Is Hard to Find , themes of Flannery O'Connor’s A Good Man Is Hard to Find

Related Articles

You must be logged in to post a comment.

A Good Man Is Hard to Find Analysis: Essay Example & Summary

Are you about to write  A Good Man Is Hard to Find theme essay? Then, make sure to check this sample out! Here, you’ll find the story’s summary, moral lesson, themes, and other aspects of the analysis. Keep reading to get some inspiration for your A Good Man Is Hard to Find thesis! 

A great writer Flannery O’Connor has always been a central figure in American literature. Just like her colleague Nadine Gordimer, she covered the moral issues in her bizarre stories. Her short story A Good Man is Hard to Find provides a solid ground for literary analysis. Flannery O’Connor’s A Good Man is Hard to Find analysis will help you better grasp the story.

Introduction

A Good Man is Hard to Find appeared in 1955 and remains a widely-discussed story up till nowadays. Flannery O’Connor combined the most thoughts-provocative issues of that time in a short piece (Kinney 1). Although society has developed since then, people still deal with the problems mentioned by Flannery O’Connor. A Good Man is Hard to Find analysis will discuss two key themes of the story: selfishness and individualism.

A Good Man Is Hard to Find: Summary

A Good Man is Hard to Find is a tragic short story about a family. A grandmother, father, mother, and three kids are going to visit Florida. At first sight, they seem to be good country people. However, there are many pitfalls. Their older children – John Wesley and June Star – are very boorish and ignorant. The mother devotes herself to her kids, not having enough time to live a fulfilled life. The father seems to be annoyed by his children. Finally, the grandmother thinks only about herself, not paying enough attention to the family.

Despite the rumors about the escaped prisoner, The Misfit, the family goes on a trip. While on the way to Florida, the grandmom suddenly remembers an old plantation. Many years ago, she was astonished by its incredible beauty. So, she convinces Bailey, the father, to go off the road and visit that place. Being unsure if she is pointing in the right direction, the grandmother loses her control. As a result, she does not manage to hold her cat. It jumps on Bailey’s shoulder, causing a car accident.

Fortunately, everybody stayed alive. But then, the real troubles start. Trying to deal with the situation, the family hopes somebody will stop by them and offer help. Suddenly, the car appears on the road. The three men get out of the car, and the grandmom recognizes The Misfit among them. In desperate attempts to save her life, the grandmother tries to convince the criminal that he is a good man. She asks him to pray to become closer to Jesus. However, her effort is useless. Ultimately, The Misfit commands to kill all the family members and kills the grandmom himself. That is how dramatically the story ends. 

A Good Man Is Hard to Find: Literary Analysis

Selfishness and individualism are the essential themes covered in the story A Good Man is Hard to Find . In the story, the grandmother prioritized her interests rather than the interest of her family. As a result, the tragic ending occurred to everybody. With the example of the grandmom, the author shows how the desire to achieve personal needs affects society.

Selfishness

The main character of the story – the grandmother – is an entirely selfish woman. Her selfishness reflects in the way she acts, the way she interacts with her family, and even in the way she dresses up.

The grandmother is always concerned about her appearance. She is obsessed with the idea of being a lady. So, she dresses up in elegant dresses and fancy hats. She hopes that “in case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady” (O’Connor 2). Thus, she does not spend time with her grandchildren or help her daughter-in-law with household chores. Instead, the grandmother devotes all her time to herself, choosing appropriate dresses and hats.

Besides being ignorant, the grandmom is also a manipulative woman. She effectively manipulates her family members to suit her interests. For example, she takes her cat on a trip despite Bailey’s prohibition against doing that. She just thinks her cat would miss her if she left it alone at home. As a result, the cat becomes a cause of a terrible car crash.

Moreover, the grandmother manipulates her family to see a plantation she saw many years ago. After taking a nap in the car, she suddenly remembers a beautiful place she visited while young. She wants to recall these memories, so she urges her son to go off the road. The grandmother is sure that Bailey will not be willing to spend much time on an old plantation. Thus, she lies to her grandchildren’s children about a secret panel with plenty of silver in that house. The woman says: “It’s not far from here, I know. It wouldn’t take over twenty minutes” (O’Connor 5). In reality, she does not know for sure how long it would take to reach that place. However, her sense of self-importance makes her lie to her family. She manipulates her son to achieve the desired result.

Grandmom’s selfish purposes create dangerous circumstances for the family. Being under the pressure of his mother, Bailey follows her directions. As a result, they get into a car accident and meet The Misfit. 

Individualism

In addition to selfishness, the grandmother’s character traits also include individualism. In the story, the woman’s individualism is confronted with the individualism of the Misfit. Both characters achieve their own needs through surrounding people. They take whatever they need and move forward, not taking into consideration the needs of others. As a result of this behavior, the world becomes a place where “community holds no value” (Hooten 198).

Both the grandmom and The Misfit are predisposed to be humane. For example, the woman tries to convince the prisoner about the significance of spiritual values. Thus, she has a clear image of what kindness means. Similarly, The Misfit seems to be a well-behaved person from first sight. For instance, he apologizes for being dressed improperly. Nevertheless, in the inner battle of good and evil, evil wins in both characters. 

Therefore, individualism takes the upper hand in the character set of both: the grandmother and the Misfit. While being ignorant of other people, the woman and the criminal destroy society. Their individualistic nature becomes a real threat to the surrounding people. 

The analysis of A Good Man is Hard to Find reveals an intriguing aspect. The grandmother and The Misfit have very similar personalities. They both are ready to lie, manipulate, and murder to fulfill their desires.

A Good Man is Hard to Find essay covers Flannery O’Connor’s concern. The themes of selfishness and individualism worry the author. This issue is critical and should be dealt with immediately. If people keep being selfish individualists, the world will become a group of “self-focused wanderers without a community who use others as means to their own ends” (Hooten 197).

• Gresham, Stephen. Things Darkly Buried: In Praise of A Good Man Is Hard to Find. 2010, Shenandoah , 1-2: 17-18. Web.
• Hooten, Jessica. Individualism in O’Connor’s A Good Man is Hard to Find. 2008, The Explicator , 4: 197-198. Web.
• Kinney, Arthur F. A Good Man Is Hard to Find: Overview. 1994, Reference Guide to Short Fiction. Noelle Watson. Detroit: St. James Press 1-2. Print.
• O’Connor, Flannery. A Good Man is Hard to Find. 2 011, Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing: Custom Edition . X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. 1-12. Print.

How do you start A Good Man Is Hard to Find analysis essay?

The best way to start an essay on A Good Man Is Hard to Find is to state a clear thesis statement. First, decide on the main points you are going to present. Then, develop a strong thesis, including those ideas. Put everything in words and impress your audience from the very beginning of your essay.

What is the main theme of A Good Man Is Hard to Find?

A Good Man Is Hard to Find covers a lot of crucial issues. However, the central theme is the destructive nature of selfishness and individualism. Flannery O’Connor points out that these traits lead to the establishment of an immoral society.

How would you describe the grandmother in A Good Man Is Hard to Find?

The grandmother is a woman from the Old South. She considers herself an elegant and graceful lady. In fact, she is a selfish, judgmental, and manipulative granny. She gets what she desires by disrespecting the people that surround her.

What is the message in A Good Man Is Hard to Find?

Flannery O’Connor’s message is that human compassion and grace may change even the most ignorant person. It is best seen during the final encounter between the grandmother and The Misfit.

Is the Misfit a good man?

It is a controversial question, and the reader needs to decide for himself. On the one hand, The Misfit is a dangerous escaped convict. He does not feel responsible for his actions and does not believe in God. On the other hand, he compares himself to Jesus. The Misfit gets into a deep philosophical conversation with the grandmother.

What literary devices are used in A Good Man Is Hard to Find?

A Good Man Is Hard to Find is full of literary devices. The author uses symbolism, irony, foreshadowing, and philosophical thoughts that awaken conversations. These literary devices help the reader understand the story’s moral and experience it better.

Cite this paper

• Chicago (N-B)
• Chicago (A-D)

StudyCorgi. (2020, July 8). A Good Man Is Hard to Find Analysis: Essay Example & Summary. https://studycorgi.com/a-good-man-is-hard-to-find-analysis-essay-example-summary/

"A Good Man Is Hard to Find Analysis: Essay Example & Summary." StudyCorgi , 8 July 2020, studycorgi.com/a-good-man-is-hard-to-find-analysis-essay-example-summary/.

StudyCorgi . (2020) 'A Good Man Is Hard to Find Analysis: Essay Example & Summary'. 8 July.

1. StudyCorgi . "A Good Man Is Hard to Find Analysis: Essay Example & Summary." July 8, 2020. https://studycorgi.com/a-good-man-is-hard-to-find-analysis-essay-example-summary/.

Bibliography

StudyCorgi . "A Good Man Is Hard to Find Analysis: Essay Example & Summary." July 8, 2020. https://studycorgi.com/a-good-man-is-hard-to-find-analysis-essay-example-summary/.

StudyCorgi . 2020. "A Good Man Is Hard to Find Analysis: Essay Example & Summary." July 8, 2020. https://studycorgi.com/a-good-man-is-hard-to-find-analysis-essay-example-summary/.

This paper, “A Good Man Is Hard to Find Analysis: Essay Example & Summary”, was written and voluntary submitted to our free essay database by a straight-A student. Please ensure you properly reference the paper if you're using it to write your assignment.

Before publication, the StudyCorgi editorial team proofread and checked the paper to make sure it meets the highest standards in terms of grammar, punctuation, style, fact accuracy, copyright issues, and inclusive language. Last updated: December 4, 2023 .

If you are the author of this paper and no longer wish to have it published on StudyCorgi, request the removal . Please use the “ Donate your paper ” form to submit an essay.

A Good Man is Hard to Find

36 pages • 1 hour read

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Story Analysis

Character Analysis

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Discussion Questions

Analysis: “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”

“A Good Man Is Hard to Find” is a story in the Southern Gothic tradition, a genre that Flannery O’Connor used in most of her writing. This genre is characterized by grotesque characters and settings, disturbing or highly unusual events, and often dark humor. It is also always deeply rooted in the post-Civil War American South and grew out of the contradictions of Southern society.

For example, traditionally the South is thought of as an idyllic, green landscape where the people have Old World manners and beliefs. Christianity is also deeply engrained in Southern society. What matters most are appearance and propriety. However, the South was built on a legacy of slavery, genocide, patriarchy, and violence. These dark, disturbing aspects of society are often repressed by the people living there. Flannery O’Connor, a native of Georgia, grew up experiencing this contradictory culture and thus explores these contradictions and hypocrisies through her use of the Southern Gothic style . However, she roots her stories in true, believable characters, thus preventing her writing from becoming comical or fully Gothic in the traditional sense.

Get access to this full Study Guide and much more!

• 7,400+ In-Depth Study Guides
• 4,900+ Quick-Read Plot Summaries
• Downloadable PDFs

Don't Miss Out!

Access Study Guide Now

Related Titles

By Flannery O'Connor

A Late Encounter with the Enemy

Flannery O'Connor

Everything That Rises Must Converge

Good Country People

Parker's Back

The Displaced Person

The Life You Save May Be Your Own

The Violent Bear It Away

Featured Collections

Christian Literature

View Collection

Southern Gothic

Home — Guides — A Good Man is Hard to Find

A Good Man is Hard to Find Study Guide

by Flannery O'Connor

• Introduction
• Plot summary
• All Characters
• The Grandmother
• John Wesley
• Good vs Evil
• All Literary Devices
• Point of View
• All Infographics
• Plot Diagram
• Character Map
• Who is a Good Man?
• Biography of author

A Good Man is Hard to Find: Introduction

Immerse yourself in the interesting world of A Good Man Is Hard to Find as you explore the haunting themes and moral complexities of this iconic literary work

A Good Man is Hard to Find: Plot Summary

Explore the gripping storyline of A Good Man Is Hard to Find, filled with twists and turns, moral dilemmas, and deep insights into the human condition

• Full Book Summary

A Good Man is Hard to Find: Characters

Dive into the rich palette of characters in A Good Man Is Hard to Find as each person brings their own unique traits, conflicts, and complexities to this thought-provoking narrative

A Good Man is Hard to Find: Themes

Exploring the Profound Themes in “A Good Man is Hard to Find”: From Morality and Innocence to the Fragility of Life

A Good Man is Hard to Find: Literary Devices

The Power of Rhetoric: Examining the Skillful Employment of Literary Devices in A Good Man is Hard to Find

• Tone&Mood

A Good Man is Hard to Find: Quotes

Significant Quotes that Shed Light on the Themes of A Good Man is Hard to Find

A Good Man is Hard to Find: Infographics

Exploring the Complexities of “A Good Man is Hard to Find”: Infographic, a visual representation of the themes, characters, and symbolism

Explore the life and legacy of the author behind A Good Man is Hard to Find: A Biography of Flannery O’Connor

Our writers will help you with any type of work on the topic of "A Good Man is Hard to Find"

Dive Deeper into A Good Man is Hard to Find

Free essay examples database

Questions & Answers

Featured Essays

4 pages / 1870 words

2 pages / 994 words

4 pages / 1861 words

2 pages / 752 words

1 pages / 383 words

3 pages / 1288 words

Recommended for You

by F. Scott Fitzgerald

by Mary Shelley

by William Shakespeare

We use cookies to personalyze your web-site experience. By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy .

• Instructions Followed To The Letter
• Deadlines Met At Every Stage
• Unique And Plagiarism Free

A Good Man is Hard to Find

Flannery o’connor, ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

The characters of “A Good Man is Hard to Find” live by a variety of moral codes, and both the story’s title and the Grandmother ’s conversation with Red Sam bring up the idea of goodness, and what makes a “good man.” In the end, as the Grandmother still insists that the Misfit —who has just murdered her entire family—is a “good man,” the question lingers: does being “good” depend on one’s internal character or external actions? Or does it depend on something else entirely?

The Grandmother seems to believe that being a good person means being honest, respectful, and polite. She tells Red Sam that he is a “good man,” even though all she has seen of him is that he puts on a show of friendliness and easy nostalgia in order to help his business. The Grandmother also laments that the family can no longer leave their screen door open without fear of theft—as they used to, apparently. She blames, somehow, Europe for her own country’s decay, and criticizes Europeans for spending too much, as frugality seems to be another part of her criteria for decency. Speaking to the Misfit, she repeatedly insists that he would never shoot an old lady. Her sense of goodness is so based on traditional morals (and just tradition) that, even in the face of cold-blooded murder, she thinks that her old age and “respectability” will prevent the Misfit from harming her.

To the Misfit, however, the question of what makes a good man seems utterly irrelevant. He claims to have always known that he was not a good person, that he was always different from his sisters and brothers. He views crime casually—a way to make the most of his limited, pointless time on Earth. Other than when he is talking to the Grandmother, he does not seem to compare himself against any standard of good character—and thus he does not consider himself morally inferior or wicked. Instead, he simply does what he wills.

O’Connor does not attempt to answer what true “goodness” is, but rather adds complexity to the question itself. By presenting different and even ironic models of a “good person”—the Grandmother, Bailey , Red Sammy—she makes the reader feel the difficulty of the question, and the ambiguity of morality itself. Then, cutting through the heart of the issue entirely, she brings in the Misfit, whose very existence threatens the validity of any kind of objective “goodness.” O’Connor’s purpose is not to answer such questions, but to dissolve them: to make us more aware of how verbalized concepts and platitudes cannot touch the true mysteries of existence.

Goodness ThemeTracker

Goodness Quotes in A Good Man is Hard to Find

Her collars and cuffs were white organdy trimmed with lace and at her neckline she had pinned a purple spray of cloth violets containing a sachet. In case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady.

“Let’s go through Georgia fast so we won’t have to look at it much,” John Wesley said. “If I were a little boy,” said the grandmother, “I wouldn’t talk about my native state that way. Tennessee has the mountains and Georgia has the hills.” “Tennessee is just a hillbilly dumping ground,” John Wesley said, “and Georgia is a lousy state too.”

“Oh look at the cute little pickaninny!” she said and pointed to a Negro child standing in the door of a shack. “Wouldn’t that make a picture, now?”

The grandmother said she would have done well to marry Mr. Teagarden because he was a gentleman and had bought Coca-Cola stock when it first came out and that he had died only a few years ago, a very wealthy man.

“A good man is hard to find,” Red Sammy said. “Everything is getting terrible. I remembered the day you could go off and leave your screen door unlatched. Not no more.”

“I know you’re a good man. You don’t look a bit like you have common blood. I know you must come from nice people!”

“Nome, I ain’t a good man,” The Misfit said after a second as if he had considered her statement carefully, “but I ain’t the worst in the world neither. My daddy said I was a different breed from my brothers and sisters. ‘You know,’ Daddy said, ‘it’s some that can live their whole life out without asking about it and it’s other has to know why it is, and this boy is one of the latters. He’s going to be into everything!’”

“I never was a bad boy that I remember of,” The Misfit said in an almost dreamy voice, “but somewhere along the line I done something wrong and got sent to the penitentiary. I was buried alive.”

“Well then, why don’t you pray?” she asked trembling with delight suddenly.

“I don’t want no hep,” he said. “I’m doing all right by myself.

“Then it’s nothing for you to do but enjoy the few minutes you got left the best way you can—by killing somebody or burning down his house or doing some other meanness to him. No pleasure but meanness.”

“She would have been a good woman,” The Misfit said, “if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life.”

A Good Man Is Hard to Find Themes

This Custom-Writing.org article explains every key theme of “A Good Man Is Hard to Find.” Good vs. evil, religion , and death are the core issues represented in the short story by Flannery O’Connor.

Our specialists will write a custom essay specially for you!

So, what is the theme of “A Good Man is Hard to Find?” Keep reading to find out the message and moral lesson of the story!

• 👼 Good vs. Evil
• ✝️ Religion
• 🔑 What Is the Main Theme of the Story?
• ✍️ Theme Essay

🔗 References

💡 what is the message of a good man is hard to find.

“A Good Man Is Hard to Find” focuses on the topic of morality and its inherent ambiguity. Themes of good vs. evil, death, and religion help to convey this message:

• Good and evil are not clear-cut concepts. For example, the Grandmother is the representation of outward goodness that is accepted by society, while The Misfit is seen as an immoral killer. As the story progresses, the readers learn that not everything is as simple as it seems.
• Death doesn’t differentiate between whether a person is good or bad – it will come for everyone. It’s arbitrary, and no righteous behavior can stop it from happening.
• Religion offers moral guidance to people, but it isn’t necessarily the only interpretation of ethics. The Misfit’s views of good and evil differ from religious dogma, but it doesn’t mean his ideas are wrong.

👼 Good vs. Evil Theme of A Good Man Is Hard To Find

Good vs. evil in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” can be one of the most critical themes to mention in your essay . The Grandmother , with her fake morality, confronts the Misfit, who represents the bad guy. The old lady may seem like the embodiment of goodness. But it’s what lies below the surface that matters. If you analyze the characters, you’ll see that we can’t say for sure who the antagonist is.

The Grandmother sees having good manners and grace as the signs of a “good man.” And then she meets the escaped convict, a sinful murder and the total counterpart of the image of a “good man.” Still, the elderly lady tries to talk him out of killing her. Her behavior can most likely be explained by the desire to save her life and not his soul.

Meanwhile, the Misfit is entirely lost, trying to understand what’s right and wrong . He knows he is no saint, but he doesn’t see anything wrong in his actions. We can notice from some of the quotes that the Misfit’s sense of “goodness” is different when he comments on the Grandmother in the end. However, his real intentions are unclear, and they keep changing throughout his life.

Just in 1 hour! We will write you a plagiarism-free paper in hardly more than 1 hour

A Good Man Is Hard to Find: Quotes on Good vs. Evil

Listen… I know you’re a good man. You don’t look a bit like you have common blood. I know you must come from nice people! A Good Man Is Hard to Find

I found out the crime don’t matter. You can do one thing or you can do another, kill a man or take a tire off his car, because sooner or later you’re going to forget what it was you done and just be punished for it. A Good Man Is Hard to Find

✝️ Religion in A Good Man Is Hard To Find

Since the Grandmother is a believer, it comes as no surprise that religion in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” is the central theme. She is convinced that she is the only good Christian among other characters, which ultimately makes her the embodiment of religious hypocrisy .

The climax of the story is the Grandmother’s and the Misfit’s conversation about Jesus. The lady tries to save her life by calling for the Misfit’s sense of faith. However, her manipulation fails because the murderer doesn’t have trust in Jesus.

It turns out that the Misfit gave this topic much more thought than the Grandmother, who is supposedly a model Christian. The Misfit’s point of view comes down to the lack of belief in Jesus and the total loss of the sense of life.

“You’re one of my own children!” – these are the last words of the Grandmother. This quote from “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” shows that she finally experiences the divine power of love in her final moments. The Grandmother accepts and forgives the Misfit as if he were her relative . We can conclude that one of the main themes of “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” is that experiencing and spreading unconditional love is the true meaning of life and religion itself.

A Good Man Is Hard to Find: Quotes on Religion

Jesus shown everything off balance. It was the same case with Him as with me except He hadn’t committed any crime and they could prove I had committed one because they had the papers on me. A Good Man Is Hard to Find

Jesus was the only One that ever raised the dead… and He shouldn’t have done it. He shown everything off balance. If He did what He said, then it’s nothing for you to do but throw away everything and follow Him, and if He didn’t, then it’s nothing for you to do but enjoy the few minutes you got left the best way you can-by killing somebody or burning down his house or doing some other meanness to him. No pleasure but meanness. A Good Man Is Hard to Find

A Good Man Is Hard to Find Religious Symbolism

In many conventional interpretations, The Misfit is likened to a Christ-like figure. However, a closer examination reveals that he represents the Anti-Christ and embodies the inversion of divine characteristics:

Receive a plagiarism-free paper tailored to your instructions. Cut 20% off your first order!

• The Misfit’s discomfort around children echoes the biblical contrast between Jesus’s love for children and the devil’s aversion to innocence.
• His self-imposed title of “the misfit” symbolizes societal alienation and mirrors the rejection of Satan by God.

Through these symbols, O’Connor further underlines the ambiguous nature of faith and morality.

💀 Themes of A Good Man Is Hard to Find: Death

All the themes in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” are interconnected, and this one is not an exception. The theme of death is even mentioned at the beginning of the short story when the Grandmother nags about the escaped murderer and worries about her cat dying alone. Even the setting suggests this underlying theme.

Death is an important idea in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find “which finds reflection in several important symbols . The last moments of the Grandmother’s life become the revelation. The Misfit’s role is to give her a chance to change. At the end of the story, the Grandmother realizes that only love and forgiveness are salvation. Having led such a meaningless life before, she has to pay the price.

Now, if we review the Misfit’s last words about the Grandmother, they might make more sense. He says she would be a good woman “if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life.” The convict understands that only the fear of death brings enlightenment to the old lady .

It also hints at a popular belief that the best opportunity to truly change one’s life is to undergo a near-death experience .

Get an originally-written paper according to your instructions!

A Good Man Is Hard to Find: Quotes on Death

Her collars and cuffs were white organdy trimmed with lace and at her neckline she had pinned a purple spray of cloth violets containing a sachet. In case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady. A Good Man Is Hard to Find

Lady,.. there never was a body that give the undertaker a tip. A Good Man Is Hard to Find

She would of been a good woman… if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life. A Good Man Is Hard to Find

🔑 What Is the Main Theme in A Good Man Is Hard to Find?

You should combine all the issues discussed above to understand what the main theme in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” is. Death appears to be a revelation for the Grandmother. She has been following the wrong ideals her whole life, but in her final moments, she realizes that love and forgiveness are the true faith.

✍️ A Good Man Is Hard to Find Theme Essay Prompts

Need ideas for a theme essay about the story? Check out the prompts below to get inspired:

• The illusion of moral superiority in O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find.” In this essay, you can discuss how the Grandmother’s self-righteous behavior contributes to the family’s downfall. Consider how her flawed sense of leads to a clash with the Misfit and the eventual revelation of her own moral shortcomings.
• Redemption and grace themes in “A Good Man is Hard to Find.” What moments indicate the Grandmother’s and the Misfit’s redemption? Discuss whether redemption is achieved in the end and how O’Connor portrays the possibility of grace in a world of sin.
• Grotesque and Southern gothic elements in Flannery O’Connor’s story. In this essay, examine how O’Connor uses these literary devices to explore themes of moral decay and the conflict between good and evil in the American South.
• Religious symbolism and Christian allegory in “A Good Man is Hard to Find.” Discuss the significance of symbols such as The Misfit’s name, the Grandmother’s hat, and the black car. You can also consider how O’Connor uses religious imagery to bring themes such as sin and salvation to light.

We hope that you’ve enjoyed reading about “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” themes. If you’re looking for exciting essay ideas on the story, check out our list of topics and samples .

• A Good Man is Hard to Find – Johns Hopkins University
• Analysis of the novel, ‘A Good Man Is Hard to Find’ – ThoughtCo
• Symbolism and Foreshadowing Analysis of “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor
• Secular Meaning in ‘A Good Man Is Hard to Find’ – JStor
• Flannery O’Connor: ‘A Good Man is Hard to Find’
• (PDF) A Good Man Is Hard to Find – Academia.edu
• Share to Facebook
• Share to Twitter
• Share to LinkedIn
• Share to email

Expecting other people to be caring, we often forget to be caring ourselves. The only possibility to make this world a better place is to make yourself a better person. This “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” study guide by Custom-Writing.org explains why Flannery O’Connor chose such a murderous...

This Custom-Writing.org article contains everything you might need to learn about the plot of “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”: short story summary, a plot infographic, and quotes. 📈 A Good Man Is Hard to Find: Plot Infographic Below is a plot infographic of “A Good Man Is Hard to Find “by Flannery...

This Custom-Writing.org article contains all the information about “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” characters: the Grandmother, the Misfit, Bailey, June Star, John Wesley, Red Sammy Butts, and others. In the first section, you’ll find “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” character map. 🗺️ A Good Man Is...

Flannery O’Connor’s short story is stuffed with symbolism, metaphors, and other literary devices hidden from first-time readers. The analysis of “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by Custom-Writing.org experts aims to shed some light on these details. First of all, we discuss the symbols and imagery that compose the...

Is the American dream attainable? What makes someone a successful person? How does your image of yourself shape your life? Arthur Miller’s play is a tragic but true-to-life illustration of these philosophical questions without definitive answers. This Death of a Salesman Study Guide will help you understand the author’s intention...

F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby as a satire of society. Why did the novel appear in the given historical period? Why are there no positive characters in the book? What does it take to fulfill the American dream? The Great Gatsby Study Guide answers these and many other...

Modern literature experts have wrestled with the issue of Wuthering Heights genre for years. It points to the fact that the novel is more multifaceted than our mind can embrace. The more reason why we should explore its cultural background. This Wuthering Heights Study Guide leads the way to the...

Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist, creates a human-like creature in the course of a scientific experiment. But the beast murders his family and runs away. Science, religion, moral values, and persistence: which qualities make up a real human being? This Frankenstein Study Guide answers all your questions about the novel....

A young woman experiences postpartum depression. Her husband (a physician) takes her on vacation to a mansion to recover by “rest cure.” She loses her mind being confined to a room with a yellow wallpaper. But what is the short story really about? “The Yellow Wallpaper” Study Guide answers this...

As a Pulitzer Prize winner, Death of a Salesman deserves some attention, which is most likely the reason why you were asked to write an essay about it. Even though Arthur Miller wrote it in the middle of the twentieth century, the play is still relevant. This Custom-Writing.org article aims...

Like any other literary work, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman contains various stylistic devices to discuss, symbols to interpret, and motifs to find. That is what this article written by Custom-Writing.org experts is about! This analysis can answer any question you might have about the play, including: What do...

This Custom-Writing.org article explains the key themes in Death of a Salesman. The American dream, family, betrayal and abandonment are the core issues represented in the play by Arthur Miller. 🗽 Death of a Salesman: American Dream One of the main themes in Death of a Salesman is the American...

Religion-Based Morality in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor Essay

One of the reasons why the short story A Good Man Is Hard to Find by Flannery O’Connor is being commonly referred to, as such that represents a high literary value, is that while exposed to it, readers become enlightened as to the fact that, while remaining affiliated with the provisions of the religion-based morality, people grow increasingly dangerous to themselves and their close relatives.

After all, as the author shows in this particular story, it is named on the account of self-righteous/pious but perceptually arrogant individuals (such as the character of Grandmother) that the saying “road to hell is made out of good intentions” continues to reflect the actual effects of this type of people being allowed to influence the society’s functioning. In her story, O’Connor also exposes the sheer fallaciousness of the Christian dogma that Jesus does help people that believe in his mission of ‘saving mankind’. In my paper, I will explore the validity of the above-suggestion at length.

The plot of O’Connor’s story is a rather straightforward one. It is being concerned with the description of the road-trip, undertaken by the members of one Southern family (the characters of Bailey, his wife, their two young children – John Wesley and June Star and the Grandmother) from Atlanta, Georgia, down to Florida. During this trip, the Grandmother never ceases to act as an ‘authority figure’, while manipulating her grandchildren psychologically.

Consequently, Bailey loses control of the car and, after having survived the accident, the travelers end up stranded on one of the secondary dirt roads. While there, they get to be approached by three dangerously looking men with handguns in their hand. The Grandmother recognizes the notorious Misfit (an escaped prisoner) in one of them. This seals the family’s fate – escaped prisoners decide to kill just about everyone that traveled in the car so that they would not be reported to the authorities.

The closer analysis of the story’s themes and motifs points out to the author’s implicit intention in making readers conclude that much of the blame for what happened to Bailey’s family can be assigned to the character of Grandmother, as an individual who was willing to misrepresent her real agenda, within the context of how she used to position herself in life. For example, even though the real reason why the Grandmother did not want to go to Florida is that she wanted to visit East Tennessee, she nevertheless never admitted to this.

Instead, the Grandmother was trying to convince Bailey and his wife that there could be very little educational value in preferring Florida, as the trip’s destination: “You all ought to take them (children) somewhere else for a change so they would see different parts of the world and be broad” (O’Connor 1). This, of course, reveals the character of Grandmother as a hypocritical person – ‘respectable’ on the outside, but strongly selfish on the inside. The author wanted to expose this particular psychological trait, on the part of the Grandmother, as being representative of how religious people go about addressing life-challenges.

For example, even though that the official reason why Catholic clergymen oppose the distribution of condoms in Third World countries, is that they want to prevent the ‘murder’ of unborn children, the actual rationale behind such their agenda is different. By acting in such a manner, these people simply want the Third World countries to continue to suffer from the problem of overpopulation, which causes poverty. After all, as sociologists are well aware, the more impoverished a particular society is, the more its members are willing to embrace religion – pure and simple. Thus, it is indeed appropriate in referring to the character of Grandmother as the embodiment of the well-meaning but essentially deceitful ‘Christian values’.

The validity of this suggestion can also be illustrated, in regards to how the Grandmother acted, after having realized that there was no ‘secret panel’ in the house, which she wanted to visit: “The horrible thought she (the Grandmother) had had before the accident was that the house she had remembered so vividly was not in Georgia but Tennessee” (4). Instead of admitting her mistake, the Grandmother decided to allow the rest of the travelers to remain uninformed that there was no reason for them to switch to the dirt road in the first place.

Enough, the Grandmother expected that her little dirty secret would remain concealed; while growing ever more self-convinced that there was no secret panel in the first place. It is understood, of course, that by continuing to keep her travel companions in the dark as to the secret panel’s non-existence, the Grandmother acted immorally. Yet, she did not act any more immoral than the Orthodox Church’s high-ranking officials, for example, who despite being thoroughly aware that the ‘miracle’ of the so-called ‘holy fire’ being ignited by God himself, during the Easter celebrations, is, in fact, a fake (they admit to it unofficially), nevertheless continue glorifying it.

Apparently, by exposing readers to this particular episode in her story, O’Connor strived to emphasize the fact that, despite the religious people’s belief that they do have what it takes to be able to lead others, this is far from being the case. This simply could not be otherwise; because one’s strong affiliation with the conventions of a religious morality naturally causes the concerned individual to adopt an intellectually arrogant stance in life. As a result, such a person becomes utterly incapable of assessing the surrounding reality adequately. Another consequence of the religious people’s intellectual arrogance is that as time goes on, they begin to accept as true the essentially nonsensical fables, such as the Biblical accounts of talking donkeys, impregnating ‘holy ghosts’ and the sun standing still in the sky.

Even though that, on a conscious level, religious people do realize the sheer fallaciousness of the earlier mentioned accounts, they nevertheless apply a mental effort into silencing the voice of reason in their minds, in this respect, so that they may continue to believe in the possibility of ‘miracles.’ This explains why, after having realized that there was no ‘secret panel’ in the house she wanted to visit, the Grandmother simply suppressed such her realization mentally, as it was causing her a great deal of emotional discomfort.

What has been mentioned earlier, however, is only part of the problem. Because it is in the very nature of just about any monotheistic religion to divide people into those that are being favored by God (‘chosen people’), on the one hand, and ‘infidels,’ on the other, religiously-minded individuals are by definition intolerant. There is another memorable episode in A Good Man Is Hard to Find by , where the Grandmother applies a derogatory term to a Black boy, she saw out on the street: “’Oh look at the cute little pickaninny!’ she (the Grandmother) said and pointed to a Negro child standing in the door of a shack” (2).

It never occurred to the Grandmother that there was something wrong about the fact that her remark implied the Black people’s sub-humanity – just as it never occurred to White slave-owners back in the past that by treating Black slaves as a soulless commodity, they were acting immorally. After all, the ‘good book’ does endorse slavery as a thoroughly appropriate state of affairs.

The fact that the Grandmother was a hypocritical person is also being revealed in the scene, where she begs the Misfit to spare her life: “Pray! Jesus, you ought not to shoot a lady. I’ll give you all the money I’ve got!” (7). If the Grandmother was indeed faithful to Jesus, as she believed she was, she would not be trying to hang on to life with all her might. After not all, according to Jesus, people’s physical existence is not worth even a penny, and it is namely the prospect of being able to reunite with the ‘savior’ in the ‘kingdom of heaven,’ which true believers are supposed to prioritize above everything else.

Enough, the Misfit was presenting the Grandmother with such a prospect – yet, she proved herself rather unenthusiastic, in this respect. Instead, the Grandmother was trying to appeal to the Misfit’s basic humanity so that he would not kill her: “I just know you’re a good man” (5). By doing this, Grandmother wanted to elevate the Misfit to her level, as she never doubted her own ‘goodness.’ However, as we pointed out earlier, Grandmother’s ‘goodness’ was in essence illusionary.

Therefore, there is nothing too surprising about the story’s conclusion. It appears that O’Connor wanted to say that the Misfit was just as ‘good’ as the character of Grandmother – in the sense of being evil, of course. The only difference between the two is that, as opposed to the Grandmother, the Misfit did not have a socially imposed reason to have his evilness hidden. This explains the symbolical significance of the Grandmother’s death.

One of the story’s discursive implications is that there is indeed a good reason to think of the situation when the self-righteous ‘lambs of God’ even today are continuing to affect the process of policy-making in America, is utterly inappropriate. After all, as it was shown by O’Connor, despite these people’s self-adopted posture as ‘lambs,’ they are viciously minded ‘wolves’ – much worse than those ‘sinners’ (intellectually advanced individuals/atheists) that they never cease criticizing.

It is exactly the reason why self-righteous bible thumpers do not have the right to position themselves as ‘authority figures’ – being intellectually marginalized individuals, they cannot benefit the society, by definition. Thus, there can be only a few doubts as to the discussed story’s overall progressiveness, as it does expose what account for the eventual consequences of one’s intellectual arrogance – even if this arrogance is being disguised as religion.

I believe that the earlier deployed line of argumentation, as to what can be considered the story’s discursive meaning, fully correlates with the paper’s initial thesis

Works Cited

O’Connor, Flannery 1953, A Good Man Is Hard to Find .

• Short Summary
• Summary & Analysis
• Essay Examples
• Essay Topics
• Flannery O’Connor: Biography
• Questions & Answers
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2022, August 14). Religion-Based Morality in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by Flannery O'Connor. https://ivypanda.com/essays/a-good-man-is-hard-to-find-by-flannery-oconnor-essay/

"Religion-Based Morality in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by Flannery O'Connor." IvyPanda , 14 Aug. 2022, ivypanda.com/essays/a-good-man-is-hard-to-find-by-flannery-oconnor-essay/.

IvyPanda . (2022) 'Religion-Based Morality in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by Flannery O'Connor'. 14 August.

IvyPanda . 2022. "Religion-Based Morality in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by Flannery O'Connor." August 14, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/a-good-man-is-hard-to-find-by-flannery-oconnor-essay/.

1. IvyPanda . "Religion-Based Morality in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by Flannery O'Connor." August 14, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/a-good-man-is-hard-to-find-by-flannery-oconnor-essay/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Religion-Based Morality in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by Flannery O'Connor." August 14, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/a-good-man-is-hard-to-find-by-flannery-oconnor-essay/.

• Social Victimization in "A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner
• Advantages and Disadvantages of Euthanasia in Modern Society
• Religious Practices and Business Discrimination
• Religious Freedom and Labor Law
• Israeli and American Education and Lifestyle
• No Idling Educational Project in the UAE
• Flannery O'Connor: Grandmother's Act in "A Good Man Is Hard to Find"
• Themes of Flannery O'Connor's Works
• Nathaniel Hawthorne and Flannery O'Connor's Works Comparison
• Grandmother in O’Connor’s “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”
• African American Literature Digest Continued
• "Where the Red Fern Grows" by Wilson Rawls
• “Recitatif” a Book by Toni Morrison
• "The Short Bus" by Jonathan Mooney
• "Smell Detectives" by Melanie Kiechle: Concept and Relevance