Flannery O Connor's A Good Man Is Hard To Find

693 Words3 Pages

When I read the story “A Good Man is Hard to Find” looking for answers to the question what does it mean to be a good man or a good woman, it is definitely something that comes down to the reader’s opinion which is probably why this is such a tragic but very well written short story. Beginning with the grandmother, in some reader’s opinions, she could have been the mean, old biddy grandmother who was always out to get her way and impose her opinions and directions upon her son’s family. However, if you read this story in a manner that is sympathetic towards the grandmother where her constant nagging to have the family vacation in Tennessee could also be construed as constructive criticism because (as it is indicated in the story) the children …show more content…

He is a man who obviously works hard to provide for his family. Additionally, he provides well enough that his family can afford a vacation to Florida each year. However, the reader can also take the opinion that he is unwilling to take his mother’s suggestion of how educational a trip to Tennessee could be for his children; therefore, he must be an unbending tyrant of a son, husband, and father. In view of these two characters, one can see similarities that bind these two together as mother and son. Both of them believe that their decision is the correct choice and both seem hellbent to impose their will on the rest of the family. There are also indications within the story of what the grandmother’s opinion of a good man or woman is, such as on page 300, paragraph 36 where the grandmother makes the statement, “People are certainly not nice like they used to be.” (O'Connor, 2005). The character identified as Red Sammy, the owner of a barbecue restaurant which also sells gas, makes the statement “Two fellers came in here last week and said they were working for the mill.” (O'Connor, 2005). So, Sammy allowed these two men to charge gas without any true indication that they were who they said …show more content…

“Anything could generate a character, depending on how many characters you need. In certain non-realist short-shorts, situation or language almost alone generates the character.” (Harris, 2009). The author leaves it up to the reader to make several decisions on who was the villain in this story. Was it the father for not being open-minded and unwilling to change the family’s vacation destination even though he had received warnings from his mother about the convicts who had escaped and could have been possibly traveling the same roads they would travel to Florida? Or, was the grandmother, the villain for bringing her cat, which later caused the accident that stranded the family on the roadside so that the convicts were able to find them? As I read this story, I truly cannot find a villain other than the convicts who murdered the