Hard To Find Symbolism

Words: 975
Pages: 4
Open Document
The Good, The Bad, and The Naive
“A Good Man Is Hard to Find”, written by Flannery O’Connor is a very intricate piece of writing. This story uses symbolism, irony, and it compares and contrasts good and evil by using visual descriptions of the scenery. O’Connor uses symbolisms such as the cloudless sky, dirt road, the woods, and the death of the grandmother. “The trees were full of silver-white sunlight and the meanest of them sparkled.” (O’Connor 135). This imagery of the woods overshadows the evilness that prevails onto the family at the end of the story.
There are many symbols in the story, “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”, but the symbol that was used the majority of the time was the sky. The sky symbolized two main variations throughout the story. The first variation is the clouded sky, which represents her blindness to reality and prevents her from seeing the truth. She is naïve and thinks of herself as a holier-than-thou woman when she really finds out that she is a sinner just like the Misfit. The grandmother does not realize that she is a sinner throughout the story until she is about to die and says, …show more content…
The family traveled on the wrong path so they could reach redemption and find God’s grace in it and perhaps alter the Misfits way in thinking. At the very end of the story it states that “The Misfit’s eyes were red-rimmed and pale and defenseless-looking”, which shows that he was changing. After the grandmother was killed, the Misfits accomplice Bobby Lee says “Some fun!” (O’Connor 146). The Misfit then shoots back, “Shut up, Bobby Lee, it’s no real pleasure in life.” (O’Connor 146). It’s obvious that, at least for the moment, the grandmother has affected the misfit enough to change his point of view. The story portrays the family with twisted morals, and values and uses natural symbols and images throughout to help describe the good, the evil, and the
Show More

Related Documents: Hard To Find Symbolism

A Good Man Is Hard To Find Symbolism Analysis

“ A Good Man is Hard to Find,” was written by Flannery O’Connor in 1953. “ A Good Man is Hard to Find” is widely considered as Flannery best work mainly because of his great use of symbolism. She uses many symbols in the the final scene. Here are some symbols in the final scene for example, the town they are right outside of is called Toombsboro. Not only that in the book it talks about how we see the misfit on a hill which symbolizes how he see’s himself like a god, and finally they talk about the…

Words 442 - Pages 2

Harrison Bergeron Symbolism Essay

Symbolism is everywhere, and you might not even know it. Now, looking for the symbolism is the hard part for some people, but not always for others because of how much symbolism is in the literature in your homes and at school. There are definitely a ton of symbolism in the short stories Harrison Bergeron written by Kurt Vonnegut, The Pedestrian by Ray Bradberry, and The Lottery by Shirley Jackson. Now, Harrison Bergeron, written by Kurt Vonnegut, is a story about someplace that is claimed…

Words 486 - Pages 2

Essay on Fantasy Fiction

good and evil through symbolism in their stories? Composers of fantasy fiction comment on good and evil through symbolism in their stories by taking an object and giving it a meaning the represents something. For example, in ‘The Hobbit’ by J.R.R Tolkien and Pan’s Labyrinth directed by Guillermo del Toro (2006). In these two fantasy fiction’s, there is a lot of symbolism. Some of the symbolism is hidden, these also have motifs, and themes. There is arguably a religious symbolism in both texts, and…

Words 948 - Pages 4

Symbolism In A Good Man No Problem

There is a lot of symbolism in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” however the most significant one is the grandmothers hat. Throughout the whole story the grandmother refers to herself as a lady, and it seems as if in all this she has something like a moral standard or rather a moral code which…

Words 1713 - Pages 7

Similarities Between Shirley Jackson And Flannery O Connor

1102 3/4/17 “Shirley Jackson vs. Flannery O’Connor” Shirley Jackson and Flannery O’Connor’s stories that we are talking about “The Lottery” and “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” have a lot of similarities like the way they use their religious lifestyle to influence how the stories plot moves. Shirley Jackson uses an extensive amount of symbolism as well as characters names to foreshadow the inevitable. Flannery O’Connor is more involved with imagery to foretell the inevitable once again. Shirley Jackson…

Words 1416 - Pages 6

Symbolism In 'Harrison Bergeron, The Pedestrian'

literature include symbolism, but have you ever noticed? Symbolism in literature may not be the easiest thing to notice at first. However, when these snips of symbolism and allusions are revealed, they can be quite interesting. There are some examples of these in three stories. “Harrison Bergeron”, “The Lottery”, and “The Pedestrian” include some type of symbols, allusions, and allegories. First, In the story “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonegut, a few references of symbolism and allusion can be…

Words 375 - Pages 2

Compare/Contrast: "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" with "Hills Like White Elephants" Essay example

"Hills" Currently, a plethora of outstanding stories have been written. What makes a story, though? The answer is the elements that the author includes into his or her writing, such as symbolism and imagery. "Hills like White Elephants," written by Ernest Hemingway, and "A Good Man is Hard to Find," written by Flannery O'Connor, are just two examples of admirable work. Each writer incorporated plenty of elements to improve the story. Since the amount of elements is limited, these two writers…

Words 917 - Pages 4

Symbolism In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Of Mice and Men With good always comes bad, no matter how hard people try for only good to happen, bad always finds a way to happen. In the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck there are many uses of symbolic relations. Symbolism In literature is the use of a person, object or thing that represents a more abstract concept. In the novel three of the main symbolic objects are dogs, rabbits, and hands, each have a different symbolic meaning. One of symbols Steinbeck uses in the novel is dogs. Candy’s…

Words 520 - Pages 3

Irony In A Good Man Is Hard To Find

We are all born as sinners and most of us strive to be washed in the blood of Jesus. It is a long journey that doesn’t stop until death. In O'Connor's "a good man is hard to find," she uses characterization, irony and symbolism to portray the idea that anyone can receive Gods grace. The grandmother in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” likes to consider herself superior to others by calling herself a “lady,” and wearing clothes to portray that idea toward others. She freely and frequently passes judgment…

Words 932 - Pages 4

Phallic Symbolism In Sweat By Zora Hurston

voice be heard over her "superior" husband. Wife, Delia Jones, finds "a way to meditate her life as a washerwoman and real as wife to a worthless, abusive husband, Sykes." Being the breadwinner of the household, she had bought the house with what she earned from her own labor, not that of Sykes. Sykes is the general idea we would have of such a man back in this time period; his character was the perfect example of phallic symbolism, or power. The whip was used as a way to show his "masculine dominance"…

Words 487 - Pages 2