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A Good Man is Hard to Find Analysis

The story like no other has no happy ending since the evil prevails at the end. The author uses various literary techniques to convey the message of the story and the characters’ behavior. The story is a clear depiction of Southern Gothic where we see an unusual turn of events and the outlandish characters. The discussion will focus on the themes and other literary styles that the author has used in the tory to pass the message to the readers.

Firstly, will look at the themes in the story. Family is one theme that the author has reflected on, we see the dysfunction family where the family members get on each other nerves. In the family, they are the two kids who have no respect for their elders, the father who tries to take control of the situation but fails, the mother of the children who hardly shared her opinions and the grandmother who cannot help criticizing everything and everyone. Manipulation is another theme that the author has depicted in the story, throughout the story the grandmother manipulates the rest of the family. The story she gave of the old plantation manipulated the children who insisted that their father take them which led to their death, also at the beginning of the story she tried to manipulate his son Bailey from going to Florida but to Tennessee for her selfish interest (pg 34). To convince him he claims that they might encounter a criminal called Misfit who was an escaped convict, however, this does not change Bailey’s mind.

Religion is another theme that the author has shed light on (pg 42). The grandmother tries to appeal to Misfit by praying hoping that her life will be spared, unfortunately, Misfit has given the religion more thought than the grandmother and even questions whether there is any right or wrong. In regards to religion too both the grandmother and Misfit receive race eventually, in the end, we see Misfit saying that “It’s no real pleasure in life” when Bobby Lee a former convict says that killing the grandmother was fun (pg 46). For the grandmother at the end he receives grace after gaining clarity when she attempts to pray so that his life can be spared, he recognizes Misfit as a fellow human being when he claims that he is one of her babies. Despite the grandmother being shot at the end he turns to religions and for Misfit after the story, he seems to result in changing since he cannot derive pleasure from killing. Additionally, conflict is another theme. In the story they are many instances of conflict, in the beginning, we see the conflict between the grandmother and Bailey when she was trying to convince them they should go to Tennessee and not Florida. The conflict between the grandmother and her grandchildren John and June is evident where they tell her she should stay home if she does not want to travel to Florida, another conflict arises when John claims they should go through to Georgia so that they cannot visit it again (pg 35).

Moreover, have prejudice. The grandmother has a prejudice against the blacks, she called them negro in the first case when they see the small boy who she refers to as a pickaninny and continues to say that he could not afford britches after June points out he had none. Also, when giving the story of the watermelon that was eaten by a nigger because it had the abbreviations E.A.T which were the boy’s initials (pg 35, 36). In addition, Red Sam’s wife’s color description clearly illustrates prejudice when the author claims that her eyes and hair were lighter than her skin (pg 37). Lastly, we have materialism, the grandmother says that he should have married Edgar who brought her watermelons since was a wealthy man after buying Coca-Cola stock, also he claims that the Negro boy could not afford everything and lastly, June when the Red Sam’s wife asks whether she could prefer to be her girl.

Also, similes are another literary style that the author uses. In the beginning, we see the mother’s face is compared to be innocent and broad as cabbage and the grandmothers traveling bag have also been compared to be like the hippopotamus head (pg 34). Imagery is another style that the author has used to ensure the readers can figuratively understand the description. He first describes how the grandmother had dressed on the journey and he goes ahead to say that one can know she is a lady immediately from the dressing, he also describes the mother’s children kerchief on her head (pg 35). Also, the description the grandmother uses to describe the scenery on their way makes one feel as if they are on a journey with them, the imagery is also depicted to explain the layout of the Red Sam’s and even a description of Red Sam as an individual (pg 37). The grandmother’s description of the old plantation reflects the use of imagery too and the road that was supposedly supposed to read them to the place.

Moreover, symbolism is another style that the author has employed. At the end of the grandmother’s life, the sky has no sun or cloud and this symbolizes the clear vision that the grandmother had at the end after receiving grace (pg 44). The old plantation that the grandmother wants to visit and described it to ensure her grandchildren would want to go symbolizes the grandmothers revisiting the past and clinging to it since she believes that in the past the people and everything was great; she even talks of how long it used to take them to visit (pg 38). The reference that the grandmother thought that plantation was in Georgia yet it was in Tennessee symbolizes how with time people tend to forget things and the memory in most cases is usually distorted. The author too has used flashback in the story, the grandmother recalls Misfit from the newspaper she had read the previous day while convincing Bailey on the need to avoid heading to Florida, the memories of the plantations and when she is talking with Red Sam about how some years back it was secure and people were great unlike now. Finally, the author uses flashback, where at the beginning Misfit who eventually kills the family is introduce in the story, the grandmother dressing also id used to depict that one can recognize she is a woman if found dead and the graveyard that the family passed depicts a coming death for the family (pg 36).

The use of literary style in all forms of literature ensures that the author’s message to the readers is understandable. The case is also similar to the story where the styles employed have ensured that the characters of all characters have been depicted well and the reason for some of the believes and memories. Unfortunately, the story has no happy ending but the grace that Misfit receives at the end depicts a possibility of him abandoning his past ways.

Works Cited

Mrdoige.Com, http://mrdoige.com/documents/oconnor_aGoodManIsHardToFind.pdf. Accessed 31 Mar 2020.