One of the specific ideas that I came across in “A Good Man Is Hard To Find” that I would have missed if I had not read the article, “Flannery O’Connor On Writing” was the gesture. I knew that this scene in the story was deeper than I thought it was. At first, I thought she said that just because she was scared. Although, after reading the article I am aware that she said this because she felt she was responsible for the Misfit. Also, this scene could’ve been a turning point for the Misfit. After reading the article it is possible that he will seek out to be the prophet he was made to be and it was because of that moment with the grandma. I think these points definitely make sense looking back at the story. Although, I would have never thought of this myself. The article gave me good insight into this moment.
Daily Archives: March 28, 2024
When I read the story I did comprehend the significance of the grandmother’s behavior towards the Misfit at the end of the story. Her calling him one of her own children seemed like a sudden change, but now I see it differently. Throughout the story, the grandmother judged people based on superficial appearances, like saying the Misfit must come from nice people, the grandmother had a selfish behavior making the family fall into the tragedy,In that moment, facing death, she showed genuine care and acceptance. It’s like she finally saw beyond the surface. After reading the article I realized the deeper religious themes in the story, like the struggle between good and evil, the grandmother’s attempts to bring the Misfit to Christ reflect Connor’s vision of redemption of the actions throwout the history. It’s tragic that she only grasps this after the tragedy of the other members. The Misfit’s past and his longing for connection with his father add layers to his character, making the grandmother’s gesture even more critic and emotional.
The idea that I came across in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” in which I would’ve missed if I hadn’t read the article by the author in Activity 1 was basically the importance on the changes in emotions to the grandmother because at first, she seemed like she didn’t really care about anything but herself. Then throughout the whole story she kept expressing to the Misfit about how she felt. By the end of the story before dying, the grandmother’s emotions changed and actually felt like a grandmother to the Misfit as she saw him as one of her kids. I would’ve probably missed the purpose of the change in emotions if I hadn’t read the other article because it played a big role in the story for the grandmother, from being careless to actually caring for someone. I actually find changes in emotions significant because it shows how people can change from the way they used to be.
(“A Good Man Is Hard to Find” is also in my used textbook — now I can say that the title is “The Literary Experience” by Beiderwell/Wheeler. I recommend it even for those works within it that aren’t part of this course, they’re great! But this isn’t part of my word count, heh) When I read this short story on my own, it never so much as crossed my mind that there might be a False Prophet reflected in The Misfit; it’s especially baffling considering that my source has both a biographical paragraph stating that “[Flannery O’Connor’s] works are essentially religious, in that they express her Catholic vision of the world as a fallen place in need of redemption”, and this quote by St. Cyril of Jerusalem: “The dragon is by the side of the road, watching those who pass. Beware lest he devour you. We go to the Father of Souls, but it is necessary to pass by the dragon.” Honestly, the religious overtones to characters and not just dialogue could’ve decked me in the face, and I still would have just shaken my head at some *nebulous evil that inspires senseless violence* and gone about my day, so Baudelaire was right. Something else I only noticed after reading the preceding article was the structure of the confrontation that demonstrates some of O’Connor’s vision: the many attempts and failures of the grandmother to get The Misfit to see the light of Christ. All of her platitudes glance past him because she doesn’t know him at all — and even when he dumps his tragic history she still can’t synthesize any of it effectively until everyone else she traveled with (except Pitty Sing, a cute immortalization of her now that I think of it) has been murdered. “You’re one of […]
The article does not touch on how the parents act, and it did not describe how little of a role they played in the story. Throughout the story, the parents were hardly mentioned. They clearly were extremely passive with disciplining their children, and the mother was even referred to as a “cabbage”. The father also did very little while the family was being taken by the Misfit. The article did not discuss the narcissistic tendences of the Grandmother. She was extremely concerned about her appearance and how she wanted things to go in the car. She derailed their trip by looking for a house from her childhood without a map, removing them from the main road and causing the accident. The Grandmother also did not check in with her family to make sure they were alright after the car crash. Her main concern was with herself, and whether she would get attention if she was injured.
The specific idea that Flannery O’Connor brings into her explication of “A Good Man is Hard to Find” is violence as a conduit of grace. In that view, violence was not an end but was the means of shaking the characters out of their complacency to make room for grace. Violence was not an end but a means of shaking the characters out of their complacency to make room for grace. In that view, there is a purpose served deeper than mere sensationalism. It makes the reader face the moral and existential issues of the characters, which eventually leads toward the spirituality of insights and deliverance through the happenings of violence. Violence in O’Connor’s stories is a theme that would trigger one to think deeply about spiritual growth, as it symbolizes the complex nature of man’s existence and possible transformation through grace. In addition, O’Connor’s study of Catholicism as an underpinning influence in the literary repertoire context highlights the rich theological foundations that mark the author’s brand of storytelling. Her statement, “All my stories are about the action of grace on a character who is unwilling to support it,” reveals how deeply religious themes and motifs are woven into her fiction. These tales of O’Connor are remythologized through the overlays of Christian mysteries such as sin, grace, and redemption. Such invites the reader to grapple with precisely the questions of faith and morality that are their own and of all human beings. By framing her stories within the Catholic context, O’Connor interpreted her stories to allow penetration of the paradoxes of man and the perennial tug-of-war between transgression and redemption.
