A Good Man is Hard to Find

A Good Man is Hard to Find Response




On the surface, “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor seems like a simple southern story about a family taking a road trip. What can go wrong? And then there’s the ending, a dramatic change from the setting and what the original plot seems to be. However, since this was my second time reading through the story, it was easier to see all the hints that O’Connor left throughout the course of the piece letting the reader know that this was no pleasant drive through the country.

From the very beginning the reader is set up with the introduction of “The Misfit,” a man who escaped from federal prison, and is heading toward Florida, the same direction that the family will be going. After introducing this character, the hints became more and more obvious, such as when the grandmother asks the little boy, “What would you do if this fellow, The Misfit, caught you?” (357).

Because this was my second time reading the story, I was able to look more closely at what O’Connor was implying, or hinting at with many of the word choices and descriptions. One of the more obvious hints that O’Conner leaves for the reader is relatively close to the beginning, in the description of the grandmother’s outfit. The paragraph on page 357 with the description ends with what is, in my opinion, the strongest clue throughout. It says, “In case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady.” In this case it is almost if O’Connor is handing the ending to the readers in the beginning.

Other descriptions which hint toward the end and take away the surprise are scattered through the story at random, almost unnoticeable through the first reading, but they do leave a dark mood over the entire story. For example, there’s the moment after the accident happens, and the daughter, June get out of the car and says, “But nobody’s killed.” O’Connor describes her as saying it ‘with disappointment’. There’s also the part where, after the accident when the family is trying to recover, a ‘”hearse-like automobile” drives up to them, offering help. Here the description of the car acts as the final hint before The Misfit walks out, and the family is murdered.

The story was surprising because of the contrast between the darkness of murder and the killing of the family, and the lightness and ease of the rest. However, the author does leave many hints and clues, leaving a shadow of the ending weaving through the descriptions and in the interactions between characters.