Explication of Theme in Flannery OConnors A Good Man is...

In Flannery O’Connor’s â€Å"A Good Man Is Hard to Find,† a family of six set out on a vacation to Florida while an extremely dangerous criminal is on the loose. The family takes the grandmother, who is outraged that the family is traveling while The Misfit is scanning the countryside. Throughout the short story, O’Connor drops many hints to the reader, ultimately leading to the terrifying climax. Foreshadowing is more commonly noticed the second time a story is read as opposed to the first. Readers will pick up on the hints that foreshadow the events to come. Foreshadowing is used when grandmother mentions The Misfit in the opening paragraph, when grandmother dresses formally in case of an accident, and when the graves are noticed in the†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"Her collars and cuffs were white organdy trimmed with lace and at her neckline she had pinned a purple spray of cloth violets containing a sachet. In case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady.† (394). Grandmother’s actions suggest that an accident will happen later in the story. â€Å"In case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway† suggests that the results of this accident could be fatal for grandmother or even worse, the entire family. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The last point in which foreshadowing occurs is when the family takes the overgrown country road past the cottonfield to get to the plantation. â€Å"They passed a large cottonfield with five or six graves fenced in the middle of it, like a small island.†Look at the graveyard!† grandmother said, pointing it out. â€Å"That was the old family burying ground. That belonged to the plantation.’† (395). O’Connor suggests that five or six bodies are to be buried very soon. Reading the story a second time could help the reader notice that the number of empty graves matches the numbers of family members in the vehicle. â€Å"‘Look at the graveyard!† grandmother said, pointing it out† suggests that the author wants the reader to pay close attention toShow MoreRelatedEssay on A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery OConnor1564 Words   |  7 PagesA Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery OConnor A Good Man is Hard to Find is an extremely powerful commentary that elucidates Flannery OConnors opinions about religion and society. Like the majority of her other works, A Good Man is Hard to Find has attracted many interpretations based on Christian dogma (Bandy 1). These Christian explications are justified because Miss OConnor is notorious for expressing Catholic doctrines through her fiction. Once she even remarked I see fromRead MoreGothic Literature : The Southern Gothic Fiction1476 Words   |  6 Pagesactivity and/or brutality. These writings are fraught with gender bias and typically centered on common southern themes such as the downfall of the southern upper class and the futility of the southern plantation. Southern gothic style attempts to uncover social issues specific to the south with the use of ghoulish and ironic events, disturbing and damaged characters, and grotesque themes ultimately revealing a less than desirable culture. Perverted countryside settin gs became the norm, with southernRead MoreANALIZ TEXT INTERPRETATION AND ANALYSIS28843 Words   |  116 Pagesresolved is one within the protagonist’s psyche or personality. External conflict may reflect a basic opposition between man and nature (such as in Jack London’s famous short story â€Å"To Build a Fire† or Ernest Hemingway’s â€Å"The Old Man and the Sea†) or between man and society (as in Richard Wright’s â€Å"The Man Who Was Almost a Man†). It may also take the form of an opposition between man and man (between the protagonist and a human adversary, the antagonist), as, for example, in most detective fiction. Internal