Understanding "A Good Man is Hard to Find"

this is a cheap story resembling thousands of other lurid tales. if Flan could find no good in her characters it was only because there was no good in her life. She only respected two things: her father, who died the same way she was destined. and the Catholic church, because she was Irish.
the only motive for her stories was to put down protestants accusing them of being idiotically literal in their perception of Christianity. Though she was a devout Catholic, she was deeply anti-Christian. Her personal story is far more interesting than her confused works.

"People can be on the wrong path, even though they seem to be on the right path." I think this is the most profound social commentary I've ever heard. It makes sense that this idea has blown over my head in these modern times. Its extremely relevant today in my opinion.

It's lovely. I read this story today and was looking for analysis like this.

"she would have been a good man if someone had been there to shoot her every day"

I don’t even think I liked the baby in this story. All it did was whine and scream. I don’t think O’Connor wanted us to like anyone in this story lol

The misfit meant that if the grandmother had a gun in her face every minute of her life, maybe she would be a loving, empathetic, god loving woman all the time.

We are all fallen creatures and the suffering of Jesus resonates with mankind he died gladly and forgave everyone for sinning against him.
It’s easy to see Jesus when everything is joyful and happiness in our lives but not in the pain and suffering .
But it’s in the pain and suffering we are drawn closer to God, to suffer and die for the one you love is the greatest love of all.
So embrace the cross and suffer and show compassion for those who suffer in this world and God will reward you with peace in your heart.

The ground is pure. The sun is love.

Thank you!

There's a song by that name.

Read my dads essay on this as a kid and it scared the hell out of me for about a week

Beautifully explained. This story keeps bothering me every now and then . Though I had thought of these themes in a superficial and blurry manner, you gave me much clarity. Thanks

Clueless atheist

You don't understand it because you're an atheist. You totally ignored all the spiritual themes that were central to the story. Flannery O'Connor went to mass every day.

As soon as I heard her say “judgmental” I tuned out.

What a wonderful and insightful literary analysis! Thank you for providing this analysis and explaining how dialogue contributes to character development, even if minor!

The whole family fails to use filters in what they say - whatever comes into their minds comes right out their mouths. This can lead to all kinds of trouble, and in this case, even in the face of danger, they just blurt out things that alarm and upset the armed men.

Thank you so much... so can you tell the general message of the story

You've totally misunderstood the characters and Southern culture, norms and personas.

You’re literally a living legend THANK YOU

It's an inversion of the Faustian pact. Rather than meeting the devil to sell her soul, she meets him to find it.

odd and remarkable that most people never mention 'the other' misfit in the story. Is it true that there are no likable character in the story? Is the character named 'The Misfit' the only one that could be named The Misfit? While babbling in the car about children in relation to their 'native states', the grandmother exclaims: "Oh look at the cute little pickaninny!" ... Everybody in the car looks at the boy, and the boy waves at them.

There is your (and I agre:, the only friendly one) likable character!

This story has fascinated me for years, both in terms of what I think I understand and what continues to puzzle me.

it's like at the end of a clockwork orange when alex becomes cured. He finally becomes himself again. Most of the adults in the story are in paralysis. The only one who moves freely and with agency, is the Misfit. He knows what he is.
Another element of the story is the mindless security that greater society can offer. You have a family on vacation, 3 generations. At random it breaks down and they suffer when reality sets in, but the old lady still grasping at this false narrative that she can get out of this situation, can never see the true nature of the Misfit. A good man is indeed hard to find.

Is what the waitress says to the girl supposed to be a compliment or creepy?

Thanks for the video, it has helped me a lot!. I have a doubt about the subtitles as they are perfectly set, Did you add them,?

This is like an episode of criminal minds

I enjoyed your thoughts on this very puzzling and disturbing story. My take is that the story is a moralistic tale about honesty. Those who are dishonest with themselves and other will pay the price for their dishonesty (chiefly the grandmother, but also the family as a whole in a certain way) and the one who is unfailingly honest (the misfit) will render ultimate judgement. The dishonest life is not worth living. It’s interesting to note the clearly Christian aspect of the story, that the family is redeemed in death.

Not looking forward to reading this

Nice .

I appreciate the citation very much.

I believe that the story is posing a moral dilemma for the reader,challenging you to see that,even in this instance,with characters devoid of redeeming qualities,that this is cold blooded murder.Perhaps,to the author,there is a kind of justice being met out to them because she portrays them as superficial and mean spirited.However,that may be any of us,on any given day.She is asking the reader whether they would be prepared for sudden death or would we be all to human at the end.

What music fits to A good man is hard to find? Help me out people for educationl purposes

Scapegoating. Happens in the workplace. No one wants to be "it".

let me tell you when i see this lady she brightens my night.

Twice you try to quote the story. Both times you misquote in a substantial way. The actual text is important.

I felt really sorry for the mother and the baby. I actually felt sorry for all of them, except the Missfit, who is a blatant psychopath. People don't deserve death for being "annoying" or not to someone else's taste. It actually disturbs me that people try to rationalise the cold blooded murderer in this short story.

Thank you for this, I have a hard time comprehending while reading but your explanations made the story ten times better.

The story is 100 percent crap.

Thank you so much for your videos. These videos help me so much in my college literature class

Who is the antagonist and protagonist in this story?

So I am writing a literary Analysis paper on this story. What is a good thesis statement I am kinda struggling. Your video is very helpful.

I’m doing this for school and I hate everything

You forgot that she is also a racist pig. You can't be a lady and a racist at the same time. So for me, the grandmother was an antagonist from the get go. The misfit is my anti-hero for putting a bullet in a racist grandmother and her enabling family.

You don’t explain good, you explain really well !! 😊

Very insightful and helpful. I would love to see more of Flannery O'Connor's short stories.

Yes omg I love how you broke that down

Years later this video is helping me with my english class, thank you:3 from the future.

No cap you saving the fuk out of me! I have reading for my comp ii class and now my professor thinks I’m a genius because I’d the summaries I give 😭