Like the ancient Greek viewers of tragedy, readers “should know what is going to happen in this story so that the element of suspense in it will be transferred from its surface to its interior,” according to O’Connor’s essay about suspense in her story “A Good Man Is Hard to Find.” We know what the story is about on the surface. I believe the story’s internal labeling of “good” comes from the grandmother’s abuse of the word, applied to the wrong people and in the wrong situations. The grandma considers herself a “good lady” while hiding her inner imperfections behind nice clothes. The grandma is used as a metaphor of ignorance in the story, which is based on a social problem like racism. Her choice of the term “good lady” to characterize herself suggests that it might also be a reflection on society and the women that inhabit it, given her hypocritical and gossipy nature.
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One thought on “Brianna Sanchez Discussion 10”
Hello Brianna,
I agree with you point on the grandmother. She is supposed to symbolize goodness, and is constantly bringing up religion. I believe that through the use of irony, we are able to see past the “surface” of the grandmother and see that she is hypocritical. In her final moments she prays, and refers to herself as a good lady however it was her inability to be honest which led her entire family to dying.