Themes in A Good Man Is Hard To Find Essay

A Good Man is Hard to Find

In OConnors short story, A Good Man is Hard to Find, there are a couple of themes that can be pointed out. The gist of the story is how the actions of a grandmother get her and her family killed. From the events in the story I garnered that violence causes change. Violence is never a good thing, but in this story it serves a purpose, in terms of the grandmother. It gets her to see how hateful her prejudice is towards others; not until her family is killed is she able to make a connection with someone else and accept GODs grace.

The grandmother believes people of good character are bred by good families and being so self-righteous believes she comes from a good family. This attitude she carries gets her and the family killed. She spent her life only worried about herself and her wants instead of thinking about what others needed. This demeanor she has changes when the Misfit places the gun to her face. At the end of the story the Misfit says, She wouldve been a good women if she had someone want to shoot her everyday of her life. That quote directly stems to my point of violence creating change. The grandmother starts to act civil because she now fears for her life and will say whatever is necessary to stay alive. Violence creating change is a universal and relatable concept. In times of violence MOST people do change from their normal selves. In terms of the grandmother though, her change not only reflected her behavior, it goes deeper. Her change is more of a revelation.

After reading the story, besides the theme, the Misfit seemed to be an underlying symbol. I think OConnor is trying to depict how we as people may forget how to be good, that good man. Everyone is born into the world pure but as we grow and step through life certain things misguide us and turn us into misfits at the adult age. The good man is thus hidden under all the frustrations life has thrown and trying to good can be difficult; traumatic experiences being the reason why most forget what it is to be a good person. Obviously this doesnt apply to everyone in the world, but the Misfit was a bad person, a killer, and that could relate to a lot of those people that are out doing ill-advised things.