Stories by Flannery O'Connor

English > Analysis
Literature > American

Looks at character crystallization through the intruder in Flannery O'Connor's stories" "A Good Man is Hard to Find", "Good Country People" and "The Lame Shall Enter First".

1,605 words () | 0 sources | 2008 United States

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that Flannery O'Connor often uses the intruder, who in ordinary life does not belong, to illuminate the true feelings and personality traits of her main characters. The paper first examines O'Connor's character of the Misfit in "A Good Man is Hard to Find", and notes that the Misfit was used to explore the many levels of the grandmother's personality. The paper then discusses a Good Man, the intruder in "Good Country People" who exposes the character of Hulga. Finally, the paper discusses the invited intruder Rufus in "The Lame Shall Enter First", who is also used to expose the naivete of the main character.

From the Paper:

"The ending of the story is chalked full of irony. Throughout her encounter with The Misfit, the grandmother harps upon how he is a good man, despite his own insistence that he "ain't a good man". The grandmother persists in polite conversation trying in vain to get The Misfit to identify himself as a good person even though he has ordered her family to be executed. She so identifies and sympathizes with The Misfit's personal plight that she says, "Why you're one of my babies. Your one of my own children!" . This claim, however snaps The Misfit back to the cold reality of the situation as he jumps back and shoots the grandmother."

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APA Citation:

Stories by Flannery O'Connor (2012, January 15). Retrieved February 13, 2012, from http://www.academon.com/Analytical-Essay-Stories-by-Flannery-O'Connor/109474