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A Good Man Is Hard To Find And Its Influences

"A Good Man Is Hard to Find" and its Influences
Mary Flannery O'Connor is one of the most regarded southern writers of all time. In her short 39 years, she accomplished more than most writers achieve in a lifetime. Her two novels and numerous short stories are widely read today, fifty years after she wrote them. One of her most praised short stories is "A Good Man Is Hard to Find."
Flannery O'Connor was born in the small southern town of Savannah, Georgia. She was the only child of a wealthy Catholic family. At the age of 12, her family moved to Milledgeville, Georgia. She was highly educated, getting her Bachelors of Arts from Georgia State College for Women and her Masters of Fine Arts in Literature from the University of Iowa. She published her first story in 1946 at the age of twenty-one. Although she only lived 39 years, Flannery O'Connor left her mark on literature.
"A Good Man Is Hard to Find" is the story of a family vacation turned deadly. In the first half of the story, the family including the grandmother, son, wife and grandchildren embark on their annual family vacation. The family is not a close, likeable family. The grandmother is self-centered and makes an effort to take control of the vacation. She claims that she does not want to go to Florida, their scheduled destination. She would rather visit east Tennessee. The grandmother attempts to manipulate her son to change their travel plans. She tells him of an escaped convict who is reportedly fleeing to Florida. She further states that the parents "ought to take them [the children] somewhere else for a change so they would see different parts of the world and be broad." The grandmother is a manipulative woman who exploits the people in her life to get what she desires.
Flannery O'Connor was a known devout Catholic. Her stories are strongly influenced by her religious beliefs. In "A Good Man Is Hard to Find," O'Connor tells a violent story of grace. In this story, grace is...