a good man is hard to find thesis ideas

111 A Good Man is Hard to Find Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

🏆 best a good man is hard to find topic ideas & essay examples, 📌 interesting topics to write about a good man is hard to find, ✍ good research topics about a good man is hard to find, ❓ a good man is hard to find essay questions.

What do you think the phrase “a good man” means? Is there somebody whom you can call “a good man”?

Flannery O’Connor’s short story is a polarizing novel which will make you think about good and evil, relationships with your relatives, etc. We will provide you with some ideas that will help you to cope with the “A Good Man Is Hard To Find” essay.

“A Good Man Is Hard To Find” Character Analysis

There are 12 characters: The Grandmother, the Misfit, Bailey, June Star, John Wesley, the Mother and the Baby, Bobby Lee, Hiram, Red Sammy and his wife, and Pitty Sing.

You can choose any for your character analysis.

If you choose a Granny, you can examine her manipulations to get the desired. For example, you can explore the way she makes her family travel to Tennessee instead of Florida.

She also states that she’s a lady. What does being a lady mean for her? What does “being a lady” mean for you?

Grandmother talks about Jesus, but is she a religious person? State your opinion and provide examples.

Another character to analyze is the Misfit, the misguided escaped prisoner. How do you think, was he “the Wrong Guy”? Why was he sent to the penitentiary? Is he a religious man?

Think about other characters and their roles in the story.

5 “A Good Man Is Hard To Find” Essay Themes

If you’re looking for “A Good Man Is Hard To Find” essay ideas, check our list below:

• Theme of grace. What is the moment of grace? If grandmother did not bring God into the picture, how it would change the plot?
• Theme of good and evil. Whom does the granny calls a “good man” and why? What does a “good man” mean, according to her? Is The Misfit a good or evil man?
• Theme of religion. Was The Misfit a religious person or not? Prove your opinion with the quotes. And what about the grandmother?
• Theme of manipulation. What is manipulations? Is the granny a manipulative person? Provide your opinion and supporting evidence.
• Theme of family. Do you think is the family described in a story realistic? Do they care for each other? Provide your evidence.

When you will be reading the story, ask these “A Good Man Is Hard To Find” essay questions:

What do you think about the story: is it a cynical tale about manipulation and human pettiness and manipulation? Or it’s rather a simple horror story?

What is being “good” means for you? Does it mean being religious or being kind?

Do we really need a religion to be a good person?

If you need more topic samples, you can always turn to IvyPanda free essays for more inspiration.

A Good Man Is Hard To Find Essay Tips

Before you start writing the paper, check our essay writing tips:

• Write a thesis statement that will reflect the topic of your paper. Include it at the end of your intro. The thesis is aimed to help your readers understand what you are going to discuss.
• Focus on the topic and determine points to support it. Avoid deviations from the essay subject because it would only distract your reader.
• Separate the essay body into structured sections with descriptive titles. This will make the navigation easier.
• Make sure that your “A Good Man Is Hard To Find” essay conclusion restates the thesis and does not provide any new ideas you haven’t covered in the body.

Do not let essay on O’Connor’s short story control your life and take away your sleep. Find free high-quality samples at IvyPanda!

• A Good Man Is Hard to Find: Literary Critical Analysis Essay The short story “A Good Man is Hard to Find” stands as the American Southern Gothic writer Flannery O’Connor’s most disturbing work of fiction.”A Good Man Is Hard to Find” is the title work of […]
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• A Good Man Is Hard to Find Grace In A Good Man is Hard to Find, O’Connor explores the theme of grace through her two characters: Misfit and Grandmother.
• Psychoanalytical Analysis of a Book “A Good Man Is Hard to Find and Revelation” by Flannery O’Connor The stories under analysis A Good Man Is Hard to Find and Revelation focus on the psychological and moral analysis of the main actors with regard to their perception and attitude to the external social […]
• Flannery O’Connor’s Story “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” Despite the varied opinion about the grandmother, her manipulative behaviour is very clear to the reader throughout the story. The grandmother knows that Bailey would not allow her to visit the old plantation.
• Representation of Family in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” According to Bandy, the selfish nature of the grandmother and her disregard to her family is evidenced when she seems to care the safety of the other family members.
• The Message of Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” The phrase ‘good man’ and the theme of who a good man is, according to peoples’ judgment in the play, stand abused.
• “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor Later, the entire family’s death was caused because of the cat’s sing following the car accident, which derived into the encounter of the Misfit.
• Religion-Based Morality in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor After all, as the author shows in this particular story, it is named on the account of self-righteous/pious but perceptually arrogant individuals that the saying “road to hell is made out of good intentions” continues […]
• Symbol of Weather in Flannery O’Connor’s A Good Man Is Hard to Find Nevertheless, an in-depth analysis of symbolism shows that the weather is the most dominant symbol in the story, and every scene is described in a given type of weather.
• Violence in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” Violence situation in the story entitled “A good man is hard to find” begins when the family is on a road trip to Florida during the vacation.
• Analysis of (Mary) Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” Concurring with the behavior of Misfit and Grandmother, O’Connor gives the elusive description of a good man relating it to gracility as a Christian value.
• Dialogues in O’Connor’s “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” The dialogue aspect of A Good Man is Hard to Find is the story’s key component for delivering the characters’ thoughts, their personalities, their points of view on the events described in the story, and, […]
• Knowledge and the Loss of Innocence: “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” The reason for that is the gain of knowledge about social reality. Without a doubt, knowledge of this kind leads to the loss of innocence.
• Biblical Analysis of “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” Thus, the essay will consider the short story from a Biblical perspective and demonstrate that O’Connor’s short story introduces Biblical allusions to critique people’s attitude to Christianity. Thus, the author tries to demonstrate that religion […]
• Flannery O’Connor’s Message in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” She argues that what individuals truly mean by the phrase “good men” is the opposite of what they actually mean in her powerful masterpiece, A Good Man is Hard to Find.
• Interpreting O’Connor’s “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” O’Connor’s use of disruption and distortion to reconfigure ethical-religious forms of being in the world is illuminated by the Levinasian themes of alterity, anarchy, and the absolute.
• Gothic in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by O’Connor The grandmother persuades the family to take a detour to an old farm, but they crash the vehicle on the route and get trapped on a remote road.
• “Barn Burning” by Faulkner and “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by O’Connor The main themes are class problems and social issues, and the overall atmosphere is pervasive and terrifying to the reader. The woman is a burden to be borne because of the deep-seated belief in the […]
• Grandmother From O’Connor’s “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” Essay Not a single person from her family took her seriously, so the grandmother grabbed the opportunity to be noticed. The decision to speak out becomes the doom of the grandmother and her entire family.
• The Short Story “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor Perhaps it was this passage that served the emergence of various interpretations of the conclusion and perpetuated the story in the category of American classics. The quintessence of this hope is expressed in the exclamation, […]
• Grandmother in O’Connor’s “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” Despite her image of a genteel, conscientious lady, the grandmother is a selfish hypocrite whose irresponsibility directly leads to the death of her family. However, in her final moments, she is able to recognize the […]
• Gothic Aspects of “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” This paper aims to identify and discuss O’Connor’s understanding of the good and the evil in the religious context, based on the A Good Man Is Hard to Find plot and characters.
• Symbolism in O’Connor’s “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” The current essay discusses the implementation of symbolism in A Good Man is Hard to Find and its effects on the narrative.
• O’Connor’ System of Characters in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” Below, the possible ideas of O’Connor within A Good Man are Hard to Find will be analyzed in various contexts through the prism of the system of characters in the story. The main and most […]
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• Subtle Religious Overtones Portrayed in O’Conner’s “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” Based on the actions of the grandmother it can be said that the short story “A Good Man is Hard to Find” contains subtle religious overtones portraying how aesthetics and what it means to truly […]
• Qualities in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by O’Connor The confrontation between the Grandmother and Misfit has many direct allusions to Christianity such as that the criminal plays the role of the Devil’s advocate.
• A Rose for Emily and A Good Man Is Hard to Find In order to highlight this idea, the writers focus on the values and worldviews of the characters who prefer to live in the imaginary world of their past.
• Grandmother Character in O’Connor’s “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” The grandmother asserts that she could paint the picture of the black boy if granted the chance. The grandmother seems to be complaining about the dramatic destruction of the environment since plantations that used to […]
• ‘A Good Man Is Hard to Find’ by Flannery O’Connor’s When the grandmother holds the baby, there is an apparent difference between the two, the wrinkled face of the grandmother and the smooth face of the baby.
• The Old Age Concept in O’Connor’s “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” Furthermore, the face of the woman is compared to that of the baby she is curdling. This shows the changes that old age has brought to the grandmother.
• A Good Man Is Hard to Find and Other Stories She had a plan that was contrary to what the rest of the family had. She easily accepted to travel with the family to the destination she was against initially.
• Literature: A Good Man Is Hard to Find by Flannery O’Connor All these aspects observe the truth in the writer’s perceptions through the words of the grandmother that “a good man is hard to find”.
• Flannery O’Connor: Grandmother’s Act in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” The most dominant opinion though is that the grandmother’s final deed was graceful, thereby implying that “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” was penned by the author to depict a gradual change in the […]
• The Poor Treatment and Relationship With the Grandmother in “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor
• The Character Analysis of the Grandmother and the Misfits in “A Good Man is Hard to Find”
• An Analysis of a Family’s Fatal Confrontation With the Misfit in the Novel “A Good Man is Hard to Find”
• An Analysis of the Allusions in O’Conner’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find”
• The Mutifaceted Personality of the Grandmother in “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor
• An Analysis of Incidents and Characters in “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor
• The Use of Grotesque Character in “Good Country People” and “A Good Man is Hard to Find”
• An Analysis of the Analogy Between Apostle Paul and Misfit From “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor
• The Effective Use of Tone in Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find”
• The Theme of Conformation to Moral Standards and Thinking Before Acting in “A Good Man is Hard to Find”
• An Analysis of Parent-Child Relationship in “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor
• The Mocking of the Mankind’s Moral Code in “A Good Man is Hard to Find”
• An Analysis of Gullibility and Hypocrisy in the Life in “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor
• A Literary Analysis of the Protagonist in “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Conner
• An Analysis of Southern Gothic Elements in Flannery O’Connor’s Short Story Collection “A Good Man is Hard to Find”
• The Mistakes of Grandmother in “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor
• Tragic Heroes and Narcissists in the Short Story “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor
• An Analysis of the Effects of Violence in “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor
• The Special Part of Every Characters in the Short Story “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connora
• The Misconception of the Idea of Goodness in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor
• Confrontations With a Killer in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor
• A Literary Analysis of “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor
• The Grandmother’s Journey and the Virtues and Qualities of a Person in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor
• The Dark Writing Style of Flannery O’Connor in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”
• Analysis of Spiritual Themes in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor
• Analysis of the Agent of Grace Archetype in the Character of the Misfit in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”
• Analysis of Irony in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor
• The Perfect Choice of Setting in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor
• An Examination of the Crucial Character of the Grandma in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor
• Egotistical Nightmare in Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”
• The Religious and Ironic Interpretation of “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor
• The Lengthy Climax Ending in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor
• The Symbolic and Narrative Use of the Unlikely Character of the Misfit to Portray Christ in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”
• Analysis of the Foreshadowing in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by Flannery O Connor
• The Real Courage Comparison Between the Central Characters in Roger Malvin’s Burial and “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”
• Priorities and Values in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor
• The Fate of the Grandmother in Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”
• The Enjoyable and Likeable Character of the Misfit in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor
• Analysis of the Concept of Christianity in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor
• The Representation of Modern Culture in Each of the Character in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor
• The Lack of Genuine Spirituality in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor
• A Literary Analysis of “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”, “Revelation”, and “Everything That Rises Must Converge”
• Analysis of Real Grandmother’s Role in the Family in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor
• The Real Thoughts and Motives of the Misfit and Grandmother in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor
• What Are Examples of Gluttony in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”?
• How Does the Grandma in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” Describe a Good Man?
• Why Is the Aspect of Religion So Important in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”?
• How Does the Setting Affect the Plot and Character Development in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”?
• Who Dies in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”?
• Why Does the Main Character of “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” Have to Be an Elderly Lady?
• How Is the Theme of the Family Represented in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”?
• What Is the Flannery O’Connor’s Purpose in Introducing Red Sammy Butts in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”?
• Who Is a Good Man in O’Connor’s “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”?
• What Is the Message of “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”?
• Is the Misfit the Grandmother’s Son in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”?
• What Does the Misfit in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” Symbolize?
• Why Does the Grandmother in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” Insist on Dressing as Formally as She Does?
• What Is the Problem in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”?
• How Is the Grandmother a Hypocrite in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”?
• What Does the Misfit Mean When He Says of the Grandmother in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”?
• How Is the Grandmother Selfish in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”?
• What Does the Snake Symbolize in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”?
• Who Is Red Sammy in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”?
• What Does the Shirt Symbolize in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”?
• Who Convinces the Father in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” to Take the Road to the Plantation?
• What Does the Violence in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” Symbolize?
• How Does the Misfit Justify His Actions in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”?
• What Does the Grandmother Realize at the End of “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”?
• What Is the Irony in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”?
• What Is the Essence of Being a “Good Man” for the Misfit and the Grandmother in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”?
• What Kind of Character Is the Misfit in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”?
• Why Did the Misfit Go to Jail in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”?
• Is the Grandmother Racist in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”?
• Why Does the Misfit Call Himself the Misfit in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”?
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

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Literary Theory and Criticism

Home › Literature › Analysis of Flannery O’Connor’s A Good Man Is Hard to Find

Analysis of Flannery O’Connor’s A Good Man Is Hard to Find

By NASRULLAH MAMBROL on May 25, 2021

Frequently anthologized, “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” exemplifies Flannery O’Connor’s southern religious grounding. The story depicts the impact of Christ on the lives of two seemingly disparate characters. One is a grandmother joining her son’s family on a trip to Florida. Accompanied by a silent daughter-in-law, a baby, two unpleasant children, and her smuggled cat, she wheedles the son into making a detour to see a plantation that she remembers from an earlier time.

Moments of recognition and connection multiply as the seemingly foreordained meeting of the grandmother and the killer she has read about in the paper takes place. She upsets the basket in which she has hidden her cat; the cat lands on her son’s neck, causing an accident. Soon three men appear on the dirt road, and the grandmother recognizes one of them as the notorious killer the Misfit.

Flannery O’Connor/National Catholic Register

O’Connor weaves the notion of punishment and Christian love into the conversation between the Misfit and the grandmother while the grandmother’s family is being murdered. Referring to the similarity that he shares with Christ, the Misfit declares that “Jesus thrown everything off balance” (27), but he admits that unlike Christ, he must have committed a crime because there were papers to prove it. When the grandmother touches his shoulder because she sees him as one of her own children, she demonstrates a Christian love that causes him to shoot her.

This story typifies O’Connor’s mingling of comedy, goodness, banality, and violence in her vision of a world that, however imperfect, most readers inevitably recognize as part of their own. O’Connor views the world as a place where benevolence and good intentions conflict with perversity and evil, and her protagonists frequently learn too late that their lives can crumble in an instant when confronted by the very real powers of darkness.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Kessler, Edward. Flannery O’Connor and the Language of Apocalypse. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1986. Orvell, Miles. Flannery O’Connor: An Introduction. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1991

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A Summary and Analysis of Flannery O’Connor’s ‘A Good Man Is Hard to Find’

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

‘A Good Man Is Hard to Find’ is one of the best-known short stories by Flannery O’Connor (1925-64), who produced a string of powerful stories during her short life. First published in the collection A Good Man Is Hard to Find in 1955, the story is about an American family who run into an escaped murderer at a plantation.

Before we offer an analysis of some of the key details of the story, here’s a brief summary of its plot.

Plot summary

The story is about a grandmother, her son named Bailey, Bailey’s wife, and the couple’s three children, named June Star, John Wesley, and simply ‘the baby’. The family are going on holiday to Florida. At the beginning of the story, the grandmother points out to her son that a notorious criminal, known as the Misfit, is on the loose and she doesn’t think they should be going on vacation to Florida when the Misfit is rumoured to be heading there.

On their way to their destination, the grandmother tells the children a story of how she was courted by a wealthy man who used to leave her a watermelon every day with his initials, E. A. T., inscribed in it. However, one day a black boy saw the word ‘EAT’ on the watermelon and ate it. This story amuses the children.

The family then stop off for lunch a barbecue diner, The Tower, run by a man named Red Sammy, who talks to the grandmother about the Misfit. It is Red Sammy who remarks, ‘A good man is hard to find’, in reference to the dangerous convict on the loose.

When the family get back on the road, the grandmother persuades her son to take a detour to a plantation she remembers from her youth. She embellishes the story by inventing details, such as the idea that a secret panel concealed the family silver in the house.

However, she has misremembered where the plantation is: Tennessee, rather than Georgia (where the family are). When the grandmother’s cat escapes from his basket and frightens Bailey, he crashes the car into a ditch.

Another car approaches them. It contains three men, one of whom the grandmother recognises as the notorious Misfit. He seems familiar to her, as though she has known him for years.

When she blurts out that she recognises him, the Misfit tells them that it would have been better if she hadn’t recognised him. He talks to the grandmother while his two accomplices lead Bailey into the woods and shoot him. They then do the same with Bailey’s wife and the children. The grandmother tries to flatter the Misfit into sparing her life, telling him that she knows he’s a good man, but to no avail.

The story ends with the grandmother addressing the Misfit as one of her own ‘babies’ or ‘children’; the Misfit shoots her dead. The Misfit has the final word, observing that the grandmother would have been a good woman if she had had someone there ‘to shoot her every minute of her life.’

The character of the grandmother is central to the dramatic power of ‘A Good Man Is Hard to Find’. The first two words of the story are ‘The grandmother’; the story begins with her warning her son about the escaped Misfit and ends with her being shot dead by the Misfit; the story opens with the third-person narrator’s reference to Bailey as the grandmother’s ‘only boy’ but ends with her addressing the Misfit as one of her ‘own children’.

And although ‘A Good Man Is Hard to Find’ is narrated by an impersonal third-person narrator, in terms of the story’s focalisation we remain close to the grandmother’s perspective on events, seeing things through her eyes and gaining access to her thoughts and feelings as the story approaches its shocking and dramatic climax.

The skill of O’Connor’s writing lies in her ability to shuttle rapidly between comedic moments poking gentle fun at the grandmother and darker plot developments. The point is not that the shift between these two very different modes seems awkward or out of place, but that O’Connor lends the already shocking moments at the end of the story an even more alarming element, through juxtaposing them with lighter comic interludes.

A central theme of O’Connor’s story is, as the title makes clear, goodness: note how the grandmother and Red Sammy’s repeated references to a ‘good man’ meet their match in the Misfit’s statement at the end of the story that the grandmother would have been a ‘good woman’ if someone had been there to (threaten to) shoot her at all times.

This statement of the Misfit’s also highlights another theme O’Connor is exploring: that of crime and punishment. The Misfit tells the grandmother that the punishments he has undergone don’t match with the crimes he has committed. But the story contains a religious angle, too, as exemplified by the grandmother’s epiphany at the end of the story, in which – when confronted with her own imminent death – she reaches out and acknowledges her killer as one of her ‘children’.

This blessing is in stark contrast to the Misfit, who – in almost Dostoevskian fashion – characterises Christianity as a case of either giving up anything and following Christ or rejecting him and doing as one pleases. Anything – murder, burning down someone’s house – is permissible and constitutes the only true pleasure one can get from life.

The grandmother’s final act of blessing (forgiveness, or a last desperate attempt to save her own life?) raises this petty, racially prejudiced, and comical old woman far above the level of the nihilistic Misfit and all he represents.

Of course, it may also be significant that the Misfit – who was accused by one of the prison psychiatrists of killing his own father – personally kills the grandmother, who represents an old and outmoded America. Flannery O’Connor’s story is about a changing America, and the text is marked by the Grandmother’s continual reminiscences about a better, simpler life when she was younger.

The story’s title, taken from Red Sammy’s conversation with the Grandmother in which they lament that the world has become debased and degraded during their lifetimes, places this mood and tone at the centre of the story.

In this connection, the grandmother’s attitude towards African-Americans is already outdated, even in 1955 when the story first appeared.

Her racial stereotypes , such as associating African-Americans with watermelons, the offensive words she uses to describe the black boy they pass in the car, and her casual presumptions about the lives of black people all mark her out as a representative of an older American outlook which is about to be entirely laid to rest with the onset of the US Civil Rights movement. (The Montgomery Bus Boycott , for example, occurred at the end of 1955, the year the story appeared.)

Final thoughts

Viewed this way, ‘A Good Man Is Hard to Find’ might be productively analysed alongside a another key American text from the 1950s: Tennessee Williams’ play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof , also from 1955, similarly deals with the generational gap between an older America and the younger Americans who represent a new attitude, especially regarding race.

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Essays on A Good Man is Hard to Find

Our curated selection of essay samples on "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" offers a wide range of perspectives on this seminal work. Each essay provides unique insights into the story's rich tapestry of characters, from the morally complex Grandmother to the enigmatic Misfit, whose interactions prompt readers to question the nature of true goodness and grace.

Themes Explored in Depth

Dive into essays that meticulously analyze the story's central themes, including the moral dilemmas faced by the characters, the role of grace and redemption, and the profound commentary on the human condition. Understand how O'Connor employs her narrative to challenge and redefine the concept of a "good" person in the context of her Southern Gothic setting.

Literary Devices and Symbolism Uncovered

Flannery O'Connor's use of literary devices and symbolism is pivotal to the depth and resonance of "A Good Man Is Hard to Find." Our essay samples explore how irony, foreshadowing, and vivid imagery enhance the narrative's impact, offering readers a comprehensive understanding of O'Connor's storytelling prowess.

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The Theme of Conformation to Moral Standards and Thinking before Acting in a Good Man is Hard to Find, a Short Story by Flannery O'connor

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Flannery O'Connor

Short Story, Southern Gothic

Bailey, Bailey's wife, Grandmother, John Wesley, June Star, The Baby, Red Sammy Butts, Red Sammy's Wife, The Misfit, Hiram, Bobby Lee, Edgar Atkins Teagarden, Pitty Sing, Gray Monkey, The Negro child

Relevant topics

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A Good Man Is Hard to Find Essay Topics & Samples

Flannery O’Connor’s short story has many more underlying ideas and symbols to discuss than you may think. If you decided to write an essay on “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” don’t forget to read through the sections of the guide made by Custom-Writing.org experts!

This article contains a list of “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” essay prompts and ideas that will help you write a great paper. We’ve also included “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” thesis ideas and essay samples that you are welcome to use for inspiration.

• 💡 Essay Topics
• ✍️ Essay Prompts
• 🎓 Thesis Ideas
• 📚 Examples of Thesis Statements
• ✒️ Essay Samples

💡 A Good Man Is Hard to Find Essay Topics

Don’t panic if you don’t know where to start. Check out the prompts to help you write a successful “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” essay!

• The age of the characters in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find .” Why do you think the main character has to be an elderly lady? Why does age matter in this case? Flannery O’Connor describes the Grandmother’s life in a pretty negative light. She is lonely and often relives the memories from the past. What does it hint at?
• The meaning of being a “good man,” according to Flannery O’Connor . There’s no doubt that the concept of “goodness” is the main theme of the story. We can see that none of the characters can be an example of a “good man” because everybody’s perception of goodness is different. Is it possible to sum up the author’s point of view?
• “ A Good Man Is Hard to Find”: character analysis essay . This topic may be more complex than it seems! First of all, don’t forget to use our guide with the summary and analysis provided. Then, choose what character you want to write about. And don’t forget to include some quotes to prove your point!
• How does the setting affect the plot and character development in the story? Undoubtedly, the Grandmother’s change is the story’s major plot point. You don’t want to miss that! In this analysis essay on “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”, you would need to focus on the literary devices that highlight the grotesque setting of this event.
• How is the theme of the family represented in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”? Here, you should write about family dynamics in the Bailey family. You may want to start with the Grandmother, who seems to be such a nice lady but ultimately doesn’t care about her family.
• The role of Red Sammy Butts in Flannery O’Connor’s story . What is this character’s function in this story? To drop the line that becomes the title of the story, or is there something more? Think about how Red Sam affects the Grandmother’s point of view.
• The Grandmother’s epiphany as the main idea of the story . This “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” essay prompt focuses on the Grandmother’s revelation in the end. Only when facing her death could she understand what true grace and divine love are. Study this idea and write down your thoughts!
• “ A Good Man Is Hard to Find” and violence. Good vs. evil is the short story’s major theme , but think about whether all the victims are so necessary. The Grandmother is forced to hear her whole family killed. Is facing death the only way for her to experience an epiphany?
• Symbolism in Flannery O’Connor’s short story . The author uses many literary devices, such as allegory and various symbols. For instance, the Grandmother’s hat is one of them, and the fact that it gets destroyed after the car crash has a meaning.
• A psychoanalytic review of the Misfit’s character from “A Good Man Is Hard to Find.” This character is the most exciting one to analyze. The ever-changing beliefs and his point of view make the Misfit an extremely complex person. You would need to conduct a complete psychological analysis based on the description given in the story.
• What does the car accident symbolize?
• Situational and dramatic irony in the story.
• Discuss the significance of the Misfit as a character.
• The Grandmother vs. the Misfit as characters.
• Evaluate the role of fate vs. free will in the narrative.
• The Grandmother’s epiphany and transformation.
• Analyze the story’s ambiguous ending and its implications.
• How does the theme of grace relate to the characters’ actions?
• Themes of morality and ethics in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find.”
• The concept of violence as a way of redemption in the story.
• Religion and spirituality in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find.”
• Foreshadowing in the narrative and its impact on the story’s outcome.
• The theme of family dynamics and dysfunction in O’Connor’s story.
• How does humor in O’Connor’s story underline its dark themes?
• What’s the significance of the title “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”?

✍️ A Good Man Is Hard to Find Essay Prompts

A good man is hard to find: point of view essay prompt.

The short story “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” is told from the third-person omniscient point of view. While the narrator here is not a character, they can access thoughts and feelings of all characters.

To write a comprehensive essay on this topic, you can do the following:

• Analyze how the third person point of view impacts the readers’ perception of characters and events. Does it allow the readers to form their own opinions on the characters? How does it help the author to create suspense and irony?
• Describe the shift of the story’s perspective from the Grandmother to the Misfit. What effect does it have on readers’ engagement with these characters? How does it relate to the story’s themes?

A Good Man Is Hard to Find: Foreshadowing Essay Prompt

Foreshadowing is a literary technique that creates suspense and tension in the narrative. When studying its role in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” try to answer these questions:

• What is the most impactful example of foreshadowing in the story? Discuss the Grandmother’s mentioning of the Misfit at the beginning, her choice of outfit, and other elements that create the grim atmosphere of the story.
• How does foreshadowing affect readers’ understanding of “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”? Show how the hints O’Connor drops throughout the story underline themes like redemption and morality.

A Good Man Is Hard to Find: Essay on the Misfit Prompt

The Misfit is a key character in the story who embodies moral ambiguity. Here’s what an essay about him might explore:

• The Misfit’s background and worldview. Use textual evidence from the dialogue between the Grandmother and the Misfit to provide insights into his backstory. Additionally, explore how he sees the concepts of good, evil, divine justice, and salvation.
• How do the Misfit’s interactions with other characters affect them? For example, how does he convince the Grandmother to reexamine her values and views? What about the others? Do these interactions give readers any new information about the characters?
• The role of the Misfit in revealing the themes of goodness and redemption. Your essay could explain how the Misfit’s moral ambiguity reflects the complexity of human nature and reveals the potential of redemption, even in the most unlikely case.

A Good Man Is Hard to Find: Good vs. Evil Essay Prompt

Flannery O’Connor often discussed the topics of good and evil in her literary works. To thoroughly explore this theme in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” we suggest doing the following:

• Show how different characters of the story understand the notions of good and bad. For example, you can compare the Grandmother’s superficial perception of “goodness” with the Misfit’s twisted moral code. Besides, it’s worth highlighting the views of other characters.
• Explain how O’Connor’s portrayal of good and evil reflects her views on society. “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” highlights broader societal issues through a relatively simple plot. You can use evidence from the text to demonstrate societal dilemmas in the story.

A Good Man Is Hard to Find: Grandmother Analysis Essay Prompt

The Grandmother in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” is a complex character. Your essay could analyze her personality and influence on the events in the story. Here are a few questions to boost your inspiration:

• What are the Grandmother’s character traits and beliefs? From the very beginning of the story, the Grandmother is shown as a vain, egoistical, and manipulative woman. What episodes and dialogues demonstrate her traits?
• How does the Grandmother change throughout the story? Analyze the textual evidence that demonstrates the Grandmother’s genuine connection with other characters and her attempt at redemption.
• What does the Grandmother symbolize? She represents many things, such as the old South, traditional values, hypocrisy, and superficial morality. What else can you add to this list? Give your opinion and corroborate it with proof from the text.

🎓 A Good Man Is Hard to Find Thesis Ideas

• Calvinist dogmas’ reflection in the Grandmother and the Misfit.
• The delusion of perfection represented via Bailey’s family.
• The reflection of political instability and faith crisis in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find .”
• Character analysis of the Grandmother through the prism of politeness theory.
• Violence as a trajectory of passion modes and transformation as seen in the Misfit.
• Consequences of the lack of communication within Bailey’s family.
• The Grandmother’s perception of social status.
• The role of Civil War allusions in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find.”
• The use of terror and offense for religious ends in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find.”
• Corporeal feminist motifs in O’Connor’s story.

📚 Examples of a Thesis Statement for A Good Man Is Hard to Find

Wondering how to write “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” thesis statement for your essay? Get inspired with these examples:

• Topic: The role of dark humor in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find.” Thesis: Flannery O’Connor employs dark humor to highlight the moral complexity of the story’s characters.
• Topic: Analyze the symbolism of the Misfit character. Thesis : The character of the Misfit in ”A Good Man Is Hard to Find” embodies existentialism and moral ambiguity.
• Topic: Foreshadowing and tension in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find.” Thesis: O’Connor’s use of foreshadowing allows her to create tension regarding the characters’ ultimate fate.
• Topic: The significance of the Grandmother’s evolution in the story. Thesis: The Grandmother’s transformation from a selfish woman to a character seeking grace is central to the theme of redemption in the story.
• Topic: Discuss the symbolic meaning of the title “A Good Man Is Hard to Find.” Thesis: The story’s title, ”A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” symbolizes the search for decency in a world of moral decay.
• Topic: What are O’Connor’s views on true goodness? Thesis: O’Connor expresses the idea that true goodness only shows itself in moments of crisis.
• Topic: Research the role of Christian symbolism in the story. Thesis: Religious symbolism in the story highlights the characters’ dilemmas regarding faith and morality.
• Topic: Family relationships and traditional values in O’Connor’s story. Thesis: The portrayal of a dysfunctional family in ”A Good Man Is Hard to Find” reflects the erosion of traditional family values.
• Topis: The use of irony in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find.” Thesis: The irony in the story allows O’Connor to reveal the corruption and evil hidden beneath the mask of moral goodness.
• Topic: How is the concept of true goodness portrayed in the story? Thesis: The main idea of Flannery O’Connor’s story is that genuine goodness goes beyond societal expectations.

✒️ A Good Man Is Hard to Find: Essay Samples

Below you’ll find a collection of A Good Man Is Hard to Find essay examples. You are welcome to use them for inspiration!

• Literary Devices in “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by O’Connor
• A Good Man Is Hard to Find Analysis
• A Good Man Is Hard to Find: Main Ideas
• A Good Man Is Hard to Find: Literary Analysis
• Moral Codes in O’Connor’s “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”
• Superficial Goodness in O’Connor’s “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”
• A Good Man is Hard to Find & The Story of an Hour: Compare & Contrast Essay
• Dream and Reality in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”
• Symbols and Metaphors in A Good Man Is Hard to Find
• “A Rose for Emily” by Faulkner and “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by O’Connor
• Selfishness and Individualism in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor
• Ambiguity of Goodness in O’Connor’s “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”
• The Depiction of Divine Grace in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor
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A Good Man is Hard to Find

Flannery o’connor, ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

The characters of “A Good Man is Hard to Find” live by a variety of moral codes, and both the story’s title and the Grandmother ’s conversation with Red Sam bring up the idea of goodness, and what makes a “good man.” In the end, as the Grandmother still insists that the Misfit —who has just murdered her entire family—is a “good man,” the question lingers: does being “good” depend on one’s internal character or external actions? Or does it depend on something else entirely?

The Grandmother seems to believe that being a good person means being honest, respectful, and polite. She tells Red Sam that he is a “good man,” even though all she has seen of him is that he puts on a show of friendliness and easy nostalgia in order to help his business. The Grandmother also laments that the family can no longer leave their screen door open without fear of theft—as they used to, apparently. She blames, somehow, Europe for her own country’s decay, and criticizes Europeans for spending too much, as frugality seems to be another part of her criteria for decency. Speaking to the Misfit, she repeatedly insists that he would never shoot an old lady. Her sense of goodness is so based on traditional morals (and just tradition) that, even in the face of cold-blooded murder, she thinks that her old age and “respectability” will prevent the Misfit from harming her.

To the Misfit, however, the question of what makes a good man seems utterly irrelevant. He claims to have always known that he was not a good person, that he was always different from his sisters and brothers. He views crime casually—a way to make the most of his limited, pointless time on Earth. Other than when he is talking to the Grandmother, he does not seem to compare himself against any standard of good character—and thus he does not consider himself morally inferior or wicked. Instead, he simply does what he wills.

O’Connor does not attempt to answer what true “goodness” is, but rather adds complexity to the question itself. By presenting different and even ironic models of a “good person”—the Grandmother, Bailey , Red Sammy—she makes the reader feel the difficulty of the question, and the ambiguity of morality itself. Then, cutting through the heart of the issue entirely, she brings in the Misfit, whose very existence threatens the validity of any kind of objective “goodness.” O’Connor’s purpose is not to answer such questions, but to dissolve them: to make us more aware of how verbalized concepts and platitudes cannot touch the true mysteries of existence.

Goodness ThemeTracker

Goodness Quotes in A Good Man is Hard to Find

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.

“Let’s go through Georgia fast so we won’t have to look at it much,” John Wesley said. “If I were a little boy,” said the grandmother, “I wouldn’t talk about my native state that way. Tennessee has the mountains and Georgia has the hills.” “Tennessee is just a hillbilly dumping ground,” John Wesley said, “and Georgia is a lousy state too.”

“Oh look at the cute little pickaninny!” she said and pointed to a Negro child standing in the door of a shack. “Wouldn’t that make a picture, now?”

The grandmother said she would have done well to marry Mr. Teagarden because he was a gentleman and had bought Coca-Cola stock when it first came out and that he had died only a few years ago, a very wealthy man.

“A good man is hard to find,” Red Sammy said. “Everything is getting terrible. I remembered the day you could go off and leave your screen door unlatched. Not no more.”

“I know you’re a good man. You don’t look a bit like you have common blood. I know you must come from nice people!”

“Nome, I ain’t a good man,” The Misfit said after a second as if he had considered her statement carefully, “but I ain’t the worst in the world neither. My daddy said I was a different breed from my brothers and sisters. ‘You know,’ Daddy said, ‘it’s some that can live their whole life out without asking about it and it’s other has to know why it is, and this boy is one of the latters. He’s going to be into everything!’”

“I never was a bad boy that I remember of,” The Misfit said in an almost dreamy voice, “but somewhere along the line I done something wrong and got sent to the penitentiary. I was buried alive.”

“Well then, why don’t you pray?” she asked trembling with delight suddenly.

“I don’t want no hep,” he said. “I’m doing all right by myself.

“Then it’s nothing for you to do but enjoy the few minutes you got left the best way you can—by killing somebody or burning down his house or doing some other meanness to him. No pleasure but meanness.”

“She would have been a good woman,” The Misfit said, “if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life.”