Critical Essays Discussing the Short Story "A Good Man is Hard to Find" by Flannery O'Connor

The short story, "A Good Man is Hard to Find" by Flannery O'Connor explores the life of a young family that lived in Georgia. Bailey headed the family, and his mother lived together with him. Bailey and his wife had three children named John, June and "the baby". The grandmother learned of a convicted criminal who had escaped from prison and was last spotted in Florida. The criminal identified himself as "misfit". She convinced her son Bailey to change the vacation's destination to East Tennessee where she had some connections. On their way, the family get involved in an accident, and the first rescuers on the scene are the "misfit" and his dreaded accomplices. The grandmother recognized the criminal and the whole family was murdered. Infobase Learning offers two articles regarding the themes of family and violence in the story. The article on family claims that the story explores family and progressively develops it. The article on violence claims that the story is comprised of violence and humor that the narrator uses to capture her audience. While both articles make perfect sense in exploring the story "A Good Man is Hard to Find", the article by Infobase Learning on family offers a better analysis of the story.

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Infobase Learning commences the article on family by explaining how the whole story is founded on a family's road trip. The article states that "The central character, for example, whose perception shapes the story, is known as "the grandmother," and thus she is defined in relation to the other characters rather than by a name" (Infobase Learning "Family..." 1). The article states that the family was in love and unity that would not be broken by any member. Mutual respect thrived in the family and Bailey appreciated the advice of the grandmother although he did not use it in life. The concept of family is not principal as the story unfolds, but rather it is transformed by the introduction of new characters and activities such as the road trip and the accident. Additionally, the use of relation names instead of real names for some characters implies the unity that prevailed since all the characters lived and operated as a unit. Bailey's last-born child was known as "The baby" while his wife is referred to as "Bailey's wife". The article reinstates the theme of family in the short story by providing evidence of love in Bailey's union with his relatives.

The article by Infobase learning further explores the concept of family by explaining how Bailey's family existed as a complete entity. The author states that the grandmother continually advised Bailey and his children (Infobase Learning "Family..." 1). In one instance, she narrated how children were obedient in her time in a bid to teach obedience to John and June. The children were at times disobedient and disrespectful to their elders. However, harmony was imminent in the family, and there was no hostility or foiled relationship between any members. The article thus shows how independent the family unit is and only external forces such as the misfit can break it.

The article on the theme of family in "A Good Man is Hard to Find" notes that O'Connor introduced twists in her short story to test the dynamism of the family structure. The "Misfit" was convicted for killing his father, but he incessantly denied the claims implying that his father died of the flu (Infobase Learning "Family..." 1). The article thus shifts readers from the harmonious family union in Bailey's home to the disastrous and foiled union in the "misfit's" family. The article further notes that the "misfit" belonged to no family whatsoever since he did not believe in grace from Christ. Unlike Bailey and his family who positively received grandmother's embrace and affection, the "misfit" killed the grandmother when she reached out to him.

The article on violence by Infobase Learning also significantly explores the theme of violence in O'Connor's short story. The author explains how the dread for violence made Bailey change the vacation destination from Florida to East Tennessee. The article states that "The combination of violence and humor is typical of O'Connor's fiction as she attempts to shock her reader" (Infobase Learning "Violence..." 1) Violence prevailed from the oddest of things such as the cat that disrupted Bailey leading to the accident. Violence further followed when the first responders to the scene were the "misfit" and his crew whom the family had dreaded from the start of the vacation plans. Two families with differing views on violence conflicted, and the "misfit" won courtesy of his brute force and inability to love or be loved.

Conclusion

The two articles make perfect sense in their address on O'Connor's short story. The article on the theme of family raises more critical insights into the story and invokes the readers to think of the fateful twists that led to the story's tragic end. The article sufficiently addresses the subject by contrasting two families; one founded on love and one based on violence. In the end, it is apparent that grace can thrive in any family, but one must first acknowledge God's unmerited favor for all humanity.

Works Cited

Infobase Learning. Family in "A Good Man Is Hard to Find". Bloom's Literature. 2019.

Infobase Learning. Violence in "A Good Man Is Hard to Find". Bloom's Literature. 2019.