A Good Man Is Hard To Find Theme Essay

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In “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”, Flannery O’Connor reveals a theme of resistance between “the good” and “the evil” in the faces of Grandmother and Misfit. Even though, the story presages the tragedy from the first paragraph and throughout the story, it is still appalling enough to discover that the whole family was murdered by Misfit and his accomplices. O’Connor confronts the delusion of faith, showing that “the evil” can and will defeat “the good” with ease. “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” was written at the period of Cold War, post WWII. Great amount of men were gone, leaving women solitary to raise children, work and survive in the country. Interestingly, readers never see or hear about the father of Bailey; possibly he was one of the men victimized by the brutality of war, another implied battle of good and evil in the story. Flannery O’Connor once stated – “[the] meaning of life…show more content…
“I wouldn’t take my children in any direction with a criminal like that aloose in it. I couldn’t answer to my conscience if I did.” – grandmother said, yet, she does not hold the promise and the family are on its way to Florida the very next morning, with grandmother being the first in the car. Perhaps, she uses the Misfit only as excuse to change the plans for her own convenience. Assumingly, Misfit is a dreadful monster, when he is the only character among others who has the consciousness and aware of his atrocities. In compare to selfish grandmother, Misfit examines his role in this world. He is aware of his deeds and accepts them, when grandmother is mercantile – “she would have done well with Mr. Teagarden . . . [he] died a very wealthy man”, and hypocritical. Even with wicked moral codes as Misfit has, he has integrity which grandmother lacks. Stephen Bandy in his study compared Misfit to a Satan, describing his inner connection to the religion in

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