Flannery O'Connor

A detailed Summary of Flannery O'Connor

Conflicts of Faith and Evil in Flannery O'Connor's

Flannery O' Connor "A Good Man is Hard to Find" - summary

The story is about a family, grandmother, father, mother, two children and a baby, that are being murdered by a psychopathic killer and his henchman.

The family, living in Atlanta, planned to go on vacation. On their way to Florida the grandmother and the two children, June-Star and John Wesley, persuade Bailey, the children's father, to leave the highway for a while for visiting an old house. But on the dirty, hilly road the car has an accident and crashes into a gulch off the side of the road. Suddenly three men, who have observed the accident, appear. Their leader is recognized by the grandmother as the wanted criminal 'The Misfit', a fugitive from a federal jail, the other two are his companions. While The Misfit is discussing with the grandmother about faith, true belief, the evil and crime, his henchman shoot the family in a nearby forest. At last the grandmother is shot by the hand of The Misfit.

Decency, Faith and Belief - these virtuous ideas the grandmother tries to carry out. She also attempts to make a cultured and educated impression and attaches gre

at importance to look like a lady by dressing exceedingly elegant.

However The Misfit's behaviour doesn't change until the climax. He stays calm and relaxed, has the situation under control and casually watches the murders of the family without any emotional movement. But finally The Misfit goes diabolically whole-hog in the very presence of grace. When the grandmother, in terrified and idiotic confusion reaches out and touches him on the shoulder, murming, "Why, you're one of my babies. You're one of my own children," he springs back "as if a snake had bitten him" and shoots her three times through the chest, ...". He remains a rather grand Satan to the very end.

He only chooses the sides of Jesus that are an advantage to him. That Jesus himself at his time was a criminal and was being chased by the authorities gives him the feeling to have something in common with Christ. ("Jesus thown everything off balance. It was the same case with Him as with me except He hadn't committed any crime and they could prove I had committed one because they had the papers on me.")

However he can't remember committing the crimes he has been accused to have done and feels treated unfairly. Even though he has the opinion not to be completely innocent. As he tells the grandmother, he calls himself The Misfit, because he thinks that the deeds he has been accused for don't fit to what he has gone through in punishment.

For the consequences of his deeds he only sees two chances. Either, if Jesus has really lived and risen from the dead as it is related, he will be condemned to descend to hell for his misdeeds, or, if Jesus' resurrection was a lie he will be condemned to lead a life in which, according to h

Some common words found in the essay are:
Faith Belief, Bobby Lee, Christ Jesus, John Wesley, Connor Hard, shouldn't call, grandmother tries, misfit's behaviour, pleasure life,

Approximate Word count = 1148
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English