Flannery O'Connor's "A Decent Man is Hard to Find"
Flannery O'Connor's tale "A Decent Man is Hard to Find," published in 1953, is arguably based on what has become today's proverb "a good man is hard to find." Critically, one might say that O'Connor may have taken a special interest in the words first used as the title of one of Eddie Green's songs in 1918. (Gale, 2015). As if it weren't enough, O'Connor has the title of the story as one of the story's lines. When the grandmother and Red Sammy discuss how difficult it is to locate a trustworthy individual in today's world, the title is born. Red Sammy clearly points out to centuries ago when people could leave their doors without locking them and then come back and find everything they left in the house (O’Connor, 1953).
However, the society has changed, requiring people to follow different rules. The use of the “Misfit” is a clear indication of how the society requires people to live today, and the rules that people must follow. Grandmother clearly warns the entire family that taking a vacation to Florida is a significant mistake considering the rumor of the Misfit being loose. Yet, everybody right from the father to the children fails to heed her warning. Therefore, the question: who is a good man or rather what does a man ought to do in order to be considered as good?, not only plays a critical role in this story, but is also arguably being used by O’Connor symbolically to consider rules that are set by the society, and therefore must be followed in order for one to live at par with the society. O’Connor, therefore, employs literal devices, in this case, foreshadowing to argue that if an individual does not follow the rules of the society, there can be negative, sometimes violent, consequences.
Foreshadowing in "A Good Man is Hard to Find"
At first instance, O’Connor seems to create in the mind of the reader an unexpected violence, which seems to take place as the story ends. Yet, by reading through the lines, signs of foreshadowing start to come up. Foreshadowing, according to Armstrong (2014), is an important literary technique that prepares the reader’s mind to the problems that lie ahead. This literary device allows the author to create anticipation, tension, and suspense, thus hooking the reader and pulling him into the story (Armstrong, 2014).
O’Connor’s use of foreshadow in her story is very important. She uses foreshadowing in two different times: when describing the grandmother’s dress and when the family was passing the graveyard. The grandmother at the beginning of the story is relentless about going to Florida, and even tries to pursue the family to visit Tennessee instead. Yet, she decides to dress in her Sunday best.
According to O’Connor (1953) description of the grandmother’s dressing, the grandmother dressed in her “navy blue dress that had small white dots”. The description of the grandmother’s dressing creates a strong image of foreshadowing, considering that, even though, the grandmother did not want to go to Florida she ensured that she wore her finest cloths. It is as if the grandmother had envisioned her funeral and she was preparing for it. Foreshadowing is also presented when the family passes the graveyard. According to O’Connor (1953) there were five graves, thus equaling the number of people in the car. Despite having a baby in the car, O’Connor is careful in her use of words “five or six”, thus creating suspense in the reader’s mind regarding what might befall the family at the end of the story.
The use of foreshadowing is, therefore, an important way for O’Connor to bring up an image of societal rules and what can befall the victims that fail to follow these rules. The violence that emerges at the end of the story could have easily been avoided if the family had heeded grandmother’s warning at the beginning of the story. The grandmother, who also acts as the protagonist in this story, seems to act as a foreseer. By using this character O’Connor takes the reader forward or in the future. For instance, on page 352, the grandmother says “In case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady” (O’Connor, 1953). These words by the grandmother critically do not mean that the grandmother wants to die, but are used by O’Connor to provide the reader with yet another glimpse of what is to befall the family.
In addition to, O’Connor uses a distant tone to narrate the story, which arguably was used to prevent the reader from becoming emotionally attached to the characters (Dowdy, 2011). It is also important to note that the Misfit is introduced at the beginning of the story, with O’Connor placing him in the direction the family is heading to. Using the character of the grandmother, O’Connor is, therefore, trying to convey an important message to the reader. In this case, the Misfit may represent any form of situation or problem that may affect an individual if he or she does not follow the rules of society. As Dowdy (2011) provides, paying attention to what is happening in society can give somebody a glimpse of what will happen in the future. Thus, if one fails to acknowledge such warnings, then he/she might become the victim of various problems, some of which can be significantly violent.
Counter Argument
While the violence that comes to pass and severely affected the family is considered in the minds of the reader as something that happened as a result of not following rules, one may argue that this incident was bound to happen. One important aspect to consider is that, while the grandmother fears that the Misfit is loose, she chooses to accompany her family to Florida. This is an indication that people tend to interpret different scenarios differently. Clearly, the grandmother considered Florida as a dangerous place, but the rest of the family arguably thought otherwise. This is simply because the grandmother perceives herself as being righteous. She does not see anything good in the current lifetime, as she is always referring to “old good times” (McCuen-Metherall and Winker, 2016). This might have been the reason why the family failed to pay attention to her warnings.
In addition to, while O’Connor uses irony to provide the reader with an insight regarding the family’s ending, she does not provide any clue regarding the grandmother’s behavior when the family is caught by the Misfit. O’Connor employs verbal irony in the dialogue between the grandmother and the Misfit, which clearly indicates the change of heart by the grandmother. While the grandmother tries to engage the Misfit with conversation regarding salvation, it is clear to the Misfit that the society has rules, which if not followed can lead to one being punished. The Misfit seems to clearly understand the rules of society, but views crime as something that does not really matter (McCuen-Metherall and Winker, 2016). According to the Misfit, a person is likely to get him/herself in trouble by doing one thing or another. This is an indication that societal rules can be broken in any way and by any person, however hard he/she tries not to break them.
Conclusion
The use of irony and, specifically, foreshadowing by O’Connor is a clear indication of what might happen when people fail to follow the rules of society. It is important to consider the message that O’Connor passes through this story with utter importance. By using foreshadowing, one may argue that O’Connor views society as something that requires people to perceive what will happen if various events pass. Critically, the grandmother might have been considered as being self-righteous and a person that wants everybody to do what she wanted. However, she might have a clear perception regarding various rules of society.
References
Armstrong, L., Dieterich, M., & Anderson, S. (2014). Common core elements of literature (1st
ed.). Mark Twain Media.
Dowdy, L. (2011). An analysis on foreshadowing in a short story | Reading Mode.
Teachmix.com. Retrieved 17 February 2017, from http://teachmix.com/readingmode/node/145
McCuen-Metherell, J. (2016). Readings for Writers 2016 Mla Update (1st ed.). Cengage
Learning.
Gale, C. (2015). A Study Guide to Flannery O’Conner’s A Good Man Is Hard to Find (1st ed.).
Farmington Hills: Gale, Cengage Learning.
