In “A Good Man is Hard to Find” Flannery O’Conner tells the story of a family in route to their Florida vacation and the trouble the grandmother gets them in. The grandmother does not want to go to Florida on vacation and tries many methods of changing her son, Bailey’s mind. Although she tries many methods, none of them have the effect on him she desires. Bailey is as stubborn as his mother, completely shutting the door on every proposition his mother makes. When she finally makes some progress in delaying their travels things go horribly. Bailey and his family discover the hard way just how ironic life can be.

The grandmother uses many excuses for the family to go to Tennessee instead of Florida on vacation. The first of her many excuses is “The Misfit”, a serial killer that has escaped from prison and is headed toward Florida, claiming that she would never take her children anywhere near a man like that. This didn’t have the desired effect on Bailey so she explains to him and his wife how the children need more variety and they should take the children to see different parts of the world, East Tennessee for

the long awaited tragedy, the death of the grandmother, to a reality.

Flannery O’Connor uses strong imagery and symbolism to foreshadow the tragic events that occur at the end of “A Good Man is Hard to Find.” She first gives a taste of the ending by informing them of the evil ways of the mass murderer, the Misfit. She then proceeds to foreshadow many upcoming events through an epigraph, characterization, attention to details, sequence of events, and dialogue. But although informative in her writing, O’Connor remains careful not to give away the surprise ending too soon. This story shows how ironic life can be wether its in a fiction story or in real life.

There were many clues as to what was unfolding during the story, although one would have trouble noticing them upon initial reading. The first of the clues was, of coarse, the mentioning of “The Misfit’s” escaping from prison. She notifies Bailey, her son, about the Misfit and his crimes and in so doing , she foreshadows coming events. From the beginning of the story, the grandmother makes many attempts to change the family’s plans. Suggesting the family go to Tennessee to visit relatives instead of Florida for vacationing represents but her first alteration. Her suggestions come supported however, as she adds, “Here this fellow calls himself the Misfit is a loose from the Federal Pen and headed toward Florida...” giving the first clue the family will meet their doom before the end of the story. Overlooking the grandmother’s warning, the family decides to pursue their trip as planned. When the day arrives for the family to depart on their road trip, instead of arguing, the grandmother climbs in the car before anyone else, just as June Star predicts. “She wouldn’t stay at home for a million bucks,” June Star said. “Afraid she’d miss something. She has to go everywhere we go.” (O’Connor 385). She dresses in a manner so that if anyone finds her dead on the highway, they shall characterize her as a lady. She wore a navy blue sailor hat with white violets on the brim, to match her navy blue dress covered with tiny white polka-dots. Her white organ

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