Critical Response Essay: A Good Man Is Hard to Find

THE ELEMENT OF FORESHADOWING : A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF FLANNERY O 'CONNOR 'S A GOOD MAN IS HARD TO FIND

This will discuss how Flannery O 'Connor 's extensive use of foreshadowing supports her story 's message in A Good Man is Hard to Find ' The elements of foreshadowing all throughout in A Good Man is Hard to Find ' illustrate how events and people are connected with each other , particularly those that surround the main character , the grandmother . The grandmother is used as a central figure by which to anchor all ideas that

later on will lead to her own transformation , or catharsis , as she finally fulfilled what she always believed she was

In the first setting where the family was eating , O 'Connor planted several things that will play significant parts in the story . O 'Connor established the grandmother 's desire to go to Tennessee to meet her connections , The Misfit 's existence , and the grandmother 's statement I could not answer to my conscience if I did ' O 'Connor follows this up with establishing Pitty Sing hidden in a basket and the grandmother 's preoccupation with how she will be identified in case of an accident

The grandmother 's desire to go to Tennessee not only established the grandmother 's selfishness , but it also comes back later on the story when the grandmother told the children about a house with secret panels where a family 's silver was hidden . Again , the grandmother , driven by a selfish motive of seeing the house again , tells a lie to convince the family to see the house . Tennessee comes back when she realizes that the house that she has been lying about was in fact not in Georgia but in Tennessee . Then , Pitty Sing , the cat that the grandmother smuggled into the car , leaps out and causes the family 's car accident . In an instance all of the grandmother 's selfish interests and lies lead her and her family to the accident which she had dressed up for . The grandmother had worn a hat and a dress with floral accessories so that in case of an accident people will immediately know that she was a lady , meaning , a proper ' lady , versed in conduct and etiquette as evidenced by her clothes as compared to her daughter-in-law who was wearing a pair of slacks . In reality though , she was not a proper ' lady because of her prejudice and selfishness

The most critical foreshadowing is the mention of The Misfit early on as on his way to Florida , and the grandmother 's feigned concern crossing paths with The Misfit and her statement regarding her conscience , bear fruition when the family eventually meets The Misfit and his cohorts after the accident . The grandmother has been portrayed as a shallow character , seeing herself as the standard for what is proper , as the definition of what qualifies as a good man , with all her lip service on conduct and concern for others (the grandmother thought the nigger child...