The story ” A Good Man Is Hard To Find” by Flannery O’Conner took me completely by surprise. I didn’t know what to expect, but I did not expect that. That being said, what this story is about on the interior in my opinion is the darker corners of American society, and the horrific fascination with murder. In the beginning we get familiar with what would have been a typical southern American family preparing for a road trip. The grandmother seems to be the protagonist, she is the one leading the family. Her son, Bailey seems to reluctantly follow her orders the whole time. Unfortunately, it’s by following her order of visiting this house she suggested, that leads to the families demise. This story turns into an American horror story after they take that turn on the dirt road. Being a big fan of murder mysteries and horror movies, I can see this story playing out on the big screen.
I was now fully engaged in the story once I realized the strangers they encountered happens to be The Misfit. My curiosity was peeked, I wanted to understand why this character would do this. It’s like trying to understand why the killer in slasher movies does what he does. In reality there is no answer. He was honest, for him it was fun. He says “it’s nothing for you to do but enjoy the few minutes you go left the best way you can by killing somebody or burning down his house or doing some other meanness to him”. We have seen so many movies, stories, and documentaries about murders and serial killers. We as a society seem to be fascinated by it. The tragic ending of this story with the family being murder in and thrown in the woods is just a result of wrong place wrong time. I put myself in that situation, what would I have done? What could I have done? I am not sure, I hope I never have to find out.
One thought on “James Terry Discussion 8”
James, your comments reflect the true horror of this story even though there is a lot of dark humor in it. I do think that below the surface of this story, there is some scathing observation of American society—not just in the reader’s fascination with violence and murder but also in the presentation of bigotry, ignorance, and family dysfunction. In her essay on suspense in the story, O’Connor discusses her own spirituality-based interpretation of the story, but certainly, the psychology of the Misfit is under the surface. This story was written in 1953 when violence in the media was less prevalent than now. O’Connor explains why and how she uses violence in her stories and how it functions to change characters who seem to be oblivious.