Foreshadowing In A Good Man Is Hard To Find

Flannery O'Connor was an American novelist and short story writer. A woman once said of O’Connor after a reading of one of her stories, “It's a shame that someone with so much talent would look upon life as a horror show.” While this quote may hold some truth, Flannery O'Connor skillfully establishes complex characters of realism to illustrate the theme of negative yet natural humans naturally displayed throughout life. O'Connor crafts writing using calculated foreshadowing and symbolism to guild the reader to the theme. In the story A Good Man is Hard to Find, Flannery O'Connor uses a graveyard to foreshadow the end of the story. Early in the story, a family of 6 drives in a car to Florida. Along the way, they find a graveyard in a cotton

When Flannery tactically places the 6 individuals in the car looking out to the already deceased 6 individuals, the reader can find that this is foreshadowing the death of the 6 individuals in the car. Flannery O'Connor uses her superb writing skills to allow the reader to learn about catching details that make a large impact on the tone and thinking behind the story. In the same story, A Good Man is Hard to Find, Flannery O'Connor uses the number 3 to symbolize the Holy trinity in Christianity. Near the end of the story, O´Connor writes, "There were three men in it.¨ This is important because this demonstrates the 3 symbolize the Holy trinity. The Holy Trinity in Christianity refers to the relationship between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. When Flannery uses the 3 as a symbol she references the certain doom of her characters. Additionally, this is not the only place Flannery uses the 3. At the end of the story A Good Man is Hard to Find when the character is faced with the afterlife, O'Connor writes, "The Misfit sprang back as if a snake had bitten him and shot her three times through the chest.¨ This quote

In the story A Late Encounter, the character continues to see dark and harmful objects he is running from. O'Connor writes, ¨Then he saw the figure in the black robe sit down and there was a noise and the black pool in front of him began to rumble and to flow toward him from either side to the black slow music, and he said, Stop dammit! I can’t…Then he saw the figure in the black robe sit down and there was a noise and the black pool in front of him began to rumble and to flow toward him from either side to the black slow music, and he said, Stop dammit! I can’t do but one thing at a time! He couldn’t protect himself from the words and attend to the procession too and the words were coming at him fast.¨ This quote demonstrates the darkness found in many of Flannery O'Connor's pieces. To most people, the negativity created by Flannery would be seen as a reason to not read her work. This is not true. Ironically, when Flannery O'Connor covers the reader in darkness, the reader is allowed to see the meaning of the story. This can be showcased in the same story A Late Encounter when the man notices something different about his head. Flannery writes, "The figure was telling something about history and the General made up his mind he wouldn’t listen, but the words kept seeping in through the little hole in his head.” This is noteworthy