Death in “A Good Man is Hard to Find”
The theme of death is dominant in “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor. A dominant theme is seen as the central argument that the author attempts to put across in almost every idea presented in their work. The development of other themes, such as grace in daily life, is done from the theme of death. Also, the use of other literary devices such as imagery is developed to support the development of the theme of death. The development of a dominant theme may not appear straightforward until other themes are developed, and O’Connor’s work considers the need to build a strong foundation of the theme from the beginning of the story to the end. “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by O’Connor is developed around the theme of death with different literary devices and writing styles being put together to give an interesting story.
Major themes in novels do not have to be identifiable at the initial stages of the story, and that happens with the theme of death in “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by O’Connor. However, the development of other themes at the initial stages foreshadows the appearance of the theme of death. For example, the theme of fear is seen in the opening of the story, with the family’s journey being affected by the fear of Misfit Gang. The grandmother introduces the Misfit Gang to her family and their cruelty, instilling fear, and they decide to choose a destination that will keep them away from the gang: “I wouldn’t take my children in any direction with a criminal … aloose in it” O’Connor (1). The gang is associated with killings, although death in this situation is used as a way of showing how people are afraid of dying. No one in the family is prepared to face Misfit Gang because meeting the gang might lead to death. The events after the introduction, however, unfold to show the inability to escape death when its time has come.[unique_solution]
Death is presented as an unavoidable fate in “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by O’Connor. The fear of death at the beginning of the story gives the reader the hope that the family is doing all it can to avoid meeting Misfit Gang. Also, O’Connor leads the reader in believing that family initially has sufficient information on the whereabouts of Misfit Gang and that escaping death was easy. However, the characters are presented in a way that shows that their minds are compelled by the death to act in a given way. For example, the grandmother hides her cat in the car for the tour as if she knows her fate. Also, the grandmother’s son is forced by her mother to change the journey from Tennessee to Florida to avoid meeting Misfit Gang, only to meet them later, leading to the death of the family. Generally, the family had done everything it could to avoid meeting death, but events unfolded without their knowledge, and they eventually die. Moreover, O’Connor uses several writing styles and literary devices to bring the theme of death to sense.
The clever use of writing styles and literary devices plays a crucial role in developing the theme of death in “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by O’Connor. First, imagery is used throughout the story to build the theme of death and, in some instances, to show deliverance from death. For example, death is presented as a way of putting to an end, evil people in society. When the grandmother touches the shoulder of Misfit, Misfit feels as “if a snake had bitten him” to portray the grandmother as an evil person in the society. The feeling that the touch gives Misfit leads to the death of the grandmother (Doyle, 20). Also, death is seen as the reward for people who fail to know the principles they own, and the principles are revealed by the use of animals as imagery. For example, the hippopotamus’s head represents the grandmother’s unrelated mind to her past while the parrot shirt represents the father’s lack of ideas. Also, the ending in the story brings out the foreshadowing and irony in the story hence confirmation of O’Connor’s mastery of writing styles. The fear that led to the conflict in the initial stages of the story is seen as the fear of death that fills the family when they encounter Misfit. Also, the irony of death is revealed by the family’s encounter with Misfit despite their efforts to avoid him.
In sum, “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by O’Connor revolves around the theme of death with different literary devices and writing styles being put together to give an interesting story. O’Connor uses irony and foreshadowing to prepare the reader for death that is glued to the minds of the characters from the start to the end of the story. Also, imagery is widely used and points to the relationship between the characters and the final events in the story. Generally, O’Connor succeeds in building the theme of death through the use of excellent writing styles.