Characterization in "A Good Man is Hard to Find"

Paper Summary:

This paper examines how Flannery O'Connor's "A Good Man is Hard to Find", set in the rural South, is character-driven. It looks at how she effectively uses her characters to symbolize truth and the human problem, which is universal. In particular, it shows how, through the characterization of the Grandmother, she gives her work vitality, allowing the work to take on a life of its own. It also explores how O'Connor uses the story, "A Good Man is Hard to Find," to further her message that society is headed in the wrong direction by using the grandmother's characterization to get the message across and accomplish her goal.

From the Paper:

"O'Connor uses characterization to make the reader not only see and hear the grandmother, but to look into the grandmother's empty life. By the middle of the story, readers feel pity for the grandmother. She talks and talks, yet says nothing at all. Family is all around her, yet she does not connect with them. She is lonely and really has no one. She mumbles through life, with no mention of dreams for tomorrow, only that things are terrible today. She has no real purpose in life and there are no signs of any spirituality. She only thinks longingly of times and places that are no longer a part of this world. In essence, the grandmother is shallow."

More papers on Characterization in "A Good Man is Hard to Find":

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• Analytical Essay # 16866 : "Irony in "A Good Man is Hard to Find"
• Book Review # 119068 : "Flannery O'Connor"

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