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WORKSHOPS » FICTION » FLANNERY O'CONNOR, "A GOOD MAN IS HARD TO FIND" » EXPLORATIONS
Flannery O'Connor, "A Good Man Is Hard to Find"
BIOGRAPHY
Reading » Re-Reading » Explorations
The art of writing fiction
Flannery O'Connor often commented on the writing process, elements of successful fiction, and the limitations of interpretation within the classroom. Consider several of the points she raises in the anthology excerpts (LIT 384, LITS 371), and apply them to "A Good Man Is Hard to Find." Think about other stories by Flannery O'Connor—do these same points apply?
Comparing "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" with other works by O'Connor
There are parallels between this story and "Everything That Rises Must Converge" (LIT 427, LITS 360). In each, there are tensions between mother and child; older women with similar values and a propensity for seeing reality in terms of cliches and the past; and comic interactions which suddenly turn violent. Both stories end ambiguously, with the possibility (or more tragically, with no possibility) that the characters are shocked into a redemptive realization of grace and true goodness. "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" also shares the pattern of racism and nostalgia for a southern past that never existed found in "The Artificial Nigger."
Explore in depth the parallels between "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" and another work by O'Connor.
Considering the conclusion
At her end, does the grandmother achieve a kind of maternal redemptive insight or is she still self-serving? Readers have debated this question at length. Even O'Connor offered her own interpretation:
The Grandmother is at last alone, facing the Misfit. Her head clears for an instant and she realizes, even in her limited way, that she is responsible for the man before her and joined to him by ties of kinship which have their roots deep in the mystery she has been merely prattling about so far. And at this point, she does the right thing, she makes the right gesture.
Consider whether the text might suggest other possibilities.
Exploring other interpretations
This story is the subject of much reader debate. Once you have re-read the story and taken an interpretive stance, read some of these online essays and responses, comparing them with your own:
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