Irony In A Good Man Is Hard To Find

Within the short story, A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O'Connor, a family embarks on a road trip to Florida although Bailey's mother, who is also the grandmother wants to go to Tennessee out of fear of a killer called the Misfit. The story captures the themes of irony and death since each character is faced with how they are going to handle potentially the scariest moments of their lives. Irony in A Good Man is Hard to Find research papers have been written by our Literature experts. We can produce a custom written project following your guidelines.

Irony in Characterization

One aspect of irony deals with the characterization of the grandmother. She looks at herself as a proper and classy woman from the south however her actions indicate otherwise in the following ways:

• The Grandmother lies in an excessive manner
• Uses language that is racist and even blurts out in a foolish manner that she recognizes The Misfit.
• In the mind of the grandmother, the concept of a man that is "good" is defined as someone like her - an individual with poor judgment as well as gullibility, not someone morals or a kind heart.

When the story takes an unfortunate turn for the worst, it is then that the grandmother starts to realize who she really is and accepts religion.

As the story finally develops, situational irony is found when the "bad" man known as the Misfit is the reason that the grandmother recognizes her ways. She understands that she is a severe sinner simply because of a deranged killer. Right before she dies, she has a smile on her face and the reader can sense a feeling of enlightenment since she was able to become a "good" woman at the end of the unfortunate circumstances. Overall, it was found that the evil doing of the Misfit allowed for the redemption of the grandmother.