English 1302
1 April 2018
“A Good Man is Hard to Find”
Thesis statement: Mellard believes that of modern authors who have had their way with critics, Flannery O’Connor has been the most successful.
Throughout O’Connor’s story, spiritual writing is found abundantly and serves as a point to show the writer’s true beliefs. For O’Connor, God is always the authoritative other of which she focuses her work on (Mellard 627). Many times, O’Connor explained that there were demons that threatened her thoughts and strongly influenced her stories (Mellard 628). She believed that the workings of grace or spirit in the modern world were very real (Mellard 628). O’Connor explained that should would never be able to understand the religious encounters she had or the fiction that describes it (Mellard 628). For example, in the story the grandma puts all her trust in god when she has a gun against her head; as she stood there trembling, she prayed to the lord in hopes of living (O’Connor 48). Furthermore, Mellard states that “ Out of all the writers, there is nobody better than O’Connor at understanding the spiritual purpose and utilizing it in her writings (Mellard 628).”
O’Connor has a style of writing that is very detailed and descriptive. She can make even the blandest of subjects or items blossom to interest the reader (Mellard 637). For example, in “A Good Man is Hard to Find” O’Connor describes the scenery and the way it makes the characters feel as they travel down the road (O’Connor 32). Also, she does not only describe nature and colors, she explains the details of what is occurring at the time (Mellard 637). From her book, O’Connor said “The black line of woods which appeared to be Christ like (O’Connor 41).” This kind of detailed writing is what makes readers crave O’Connor’s work (Mellard 639).
Symbolism is another key factor is O’Connor’s books that is overlooked by many. Mell...
