Flannery O'Connor's A Good Man Is Hard to Find is one of the most famous short stories in American history. A Good Man Is Hard to Find is a disturbing short story that illustrates grace in extremity as well as the threat of an intruder. The story is about an elderly grandmother and her family who take a road trip to Florida. The grandmother is a stubborn old woman with a weak sense of morality. During the trip, the grandmother convinces her son to take a detour which results in a broken down car and an encounter with a convicted fugitive, The Misfit. Although the grandmother begs for mercy, The Misfit kills the rest of her family. Thanks to the grace she finds in her extreme situation, the grandmother calls The Misfit hers and implores him to spare her life. The Misfit does not oblige her and declares after her death: "She would have been a good woman if someone had been there to shoot her every day of her life." » Through Flannery O'Connor's disturbing and shocking presentation of the grandmother's disappearance, she gives the reader a sense of the threatening power of an intruder and the idea of extreme situations provoking a state of grace. The reason for such a powerful work perhaps results from Flannery O'Connor's religious upbringing as well as the state of the nation at the time. For much of the 1930s and 1940s, the United States was a fairly isolated nation. While much of Europe and the rest of the world waged war against Germany, the United States maintained a rather pacifist stance and refrained from military involvement (World War II: Isolationist America). Many citizens in the United States feared intrusion by outside forces, especially after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, which changed the...... middle of paper ...... a very evil character, The Misfit, being able to help the grandmother find grace also makes him redeemable. Regardless of why Flannery O'Connor wrote A Good Man Is Hard To Find, it will always be one of her best works as well as one of the best and most unusual short stories of all time. Works Cited Gordon, Sarah. “Flannery O’Connor (1925-1964).” New Georgia Encyclopedia. Georgia Humanities Council and University of Georgia Press, March 3, 2009. Web. March 10, 2012. .Shmoop Editorial Team. “A good man is hard to find” Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., November 11, 2008. Web. March 10, 2012. “World War II: Isolationist America.” Campaigns of the Second World War. Historical Clothing for Boys, December 31, 2002. Web. March 10. 2012. .

Essay / Flannery O'Connor's A Good Man Is Hard to Find is one of the most famous short stories in American history. A Good Man Is Hard to Find is a disturbing short story that illustrates grace in extremity as well as the threat of an intruder. The story is about an elderly grandmother and her family who take a road trip to Florida. The grandmother is a stubborn old woman with a weak sense of morality. During the trip, the grandmother convinces her son to take a detour which results in a broken down car and an encounter with a convicted fugitive, The Misfit. Although the grandmother begs for mercy, The Misfit kills the rest of her family. Thanks to the grace she finds in her extreme situation, the grandmother calls The Misfit hers and implores him to spare her life. The Misfit does not oblige her and declares after her death: "She would have been a good woman if someone had been there to shoot her every day of her life." » Through Flannery O'Connor's disturbing and shocking presentation of the grandmother's disappearance, she gives the reader a sense of the threatening power of an intruder and the idea of extreme situations provoking a state of grace. The reason for such a powerful work perhaps results from Flannery O'Connor's religious upbringing as well as the state of the nation at the time. For much of the 1930s and 1940s, the United States was a fairly isolated nation. While much of Europe and the rest of the world waged war against Germany, the United States maintained a rather pacifist stance and refrained from military involvement (World War II: Isolationist America). Many citizens in the United States feared intrusion by outside forces, especially after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, which changed the...... middle of paper ...... a very evil character, The Misfit, being able to help the grandmother find grace also makes him redeemable. Regardless of why Flannery O'Connor wrote A Good Man Is Hard To Find, it will always be one of her best works as well as one of the best and most unusual short stories of all time. Works Cited Gordon, Sarah. “Flannery O’Connor (1925-1964).” New Georgia Encyclopedia. Georgia Humanities Council and University of Georgia Press, March 3, 2009. Web. March 10, 2012. .Shmoop Editorial Team. “A good man is hard to find” Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., November 11, 2008. Web. March 10, 2012. “World War II: Isolationist America.” Campaigns of the Second World War. Historical Clothing for Boys, December 31, 2002. Web. March 10. 2012. .

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