Good Man Is Hard To Find By Flannery O'Connor - Research Paper Example

O’Connor drew experiences for her work from growing up as a Catholic in the South and this explains why she featured religious themes by having priest characters in her work. She had her first publication while at the University of Iowa undertaking her master’s degree. Afterwards, she went on to spend time at a Sarasota Springs, Yaddo that is acclaimed as a retreat for New York artists. Her most recognized work was A Good Man is Hard to Find and other stories published in 1955 and in 1965 Everything that Rises must Converge.

She received various awards, most prominent the O Henry Award in 1957 and posthumously, in 1972 the National Book Award. Introduction Cited as one of the best examples of Southern Gothic literature, A Good Man is Hard to Find is set around a family of six- a grandmother, Bailey, his wife, baby and two children as well as a character known as The Misfit. These are the main characters of the story that is centered on the family going on vacation to east Tennessee as suggested by the grandmother, instead of Florida which was Bailey’s original idea. . The family ignores Bailey’s mother referred to simply as The Grandmother and heads off to Florida from their home in Georgia the following day.

In the morning the family sets off with The Grandmother being seen to have gained enthusiasm for the trip, she secretly stows away her cat in a basket and wears a dress and a hat with flowers stating that this would ensure that if they had an accident people would be able to recognize her as a lady (O’Connor 3b). This paper seeks to explore a theme of grace versus contradictory Christian beliefs following the beliefs held by The Grandmother and The Misfit. The contradictory Christian belief is a general mistrust of others that The Grandmother mentions whereas The Misfit is seen to live a life of remorselessness yet he wonders about Jesus.

The story is generally a dark comical tale where its comical feature is mainly brought out by the character of The Grandmother. While in the car headed towards Florida, The Grandmother tells the children various stories one such being about one of her suitors a man by the name Edgar Atkins Teagarden who brought her a watermelon each week carved with his initials- E.A.T but one time a black kid ate the watermelon because he read the watermelons as eat (O’Connor 5b). The family then proceeds to stop by a restaurant known as Tower owned by a man named Red Sammy Butts, here O’Connor highlights the theme of mistrust through Red Sammy who states that he had sold gas to some men promising that they would return to pay him but they did not.

He tells this story to The Grandmother who commends him for being kind and calls him a good man. Red Sammy’s wife comes into the conversation stating that she also does not trust anyone, her husband included. Red Sammy maintains