A Good Man Is Hard To Find Symbolism Essay

Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find” was published in 1955. O’Connor was also known for her novel The Violent Bear it Away (published in 1960) and her collection of short stories Everything That Rises Must Converge (published in 1964). The author often used violence and greed to show how she saw humanity that was without God. She liked to write about pettiness and vanity in the rural south, both of which play large parts in “A Good Man is Hard to Find.” This particular piece of work is about a family who goes on a road trip that takes an unexpected turn when they cross paths with a murderer and his henchmen. It’s a meeting that ends fatally for the family, but nonetheless changes two characters for the better. The main character, the grandmother, is displayed similarly to many other protagonists that O’Connor had written- selfish, rude, and vain. She and the murderer, called The Misfit, are both used to show that people can change with the help of God’s grace. Symbolism is also prevalent in

O’Connor successfully conveys humanity through realistic and uncomfortably relatable or recognizable characters. She illustrates the human ability to be redeemable, but amplifies it with characters who require the grace of God to get them there. It is almost a challenge to her readers to be better people. O’Connor grew up in the rural south, seeing discrimination with her own eyes, but was still able to hope that humans could change for good. It’s a good idea to read her works because they include messages like the one in this, and could help people see the world more clearly, in a less selfish way. Her medical issues and the struggles she went through in her early life made her see the world in an unselfish way, which definitely affected the stances she took in her writing. Hopefully humanity starts to see the world through her eyes, and people will be kinder to each other as a