Click on the link above (link= A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O'Connor) for the story to begin reading. After you have finished answering the following questions bring your answers to class.
1. What qualities of the grandmother do you like? What qualities do you dislike? How did you feel when The Misfit killed her? Why?
2. How would you characterize the other members of the family? What is the function of images like the following: the mother's "face was as broad and innocent as a cabbage and was tied around with a green head-kerchief that had two points on the top like a rabbit's ears" and the grandmother's "big black valise looked like the head of a hippopotamus"?
3. How does O'Connor foreshadow the encounter with The Misfit?
4. What does the grandmother mean by a "good man"? Whom does she consider good people? What are other possible meanings of "good"? Why does she tell The Misfit that he's a good man? Is there any sense in which he is?
5. What is the significance of the discussion of Jesus? Was he a good man?
6. What is the significance of the grandmother's saying, "Why you're one of my babies. You're one of my own children"?
7. What is the significance of The Misfit's saying, "She would of been a good woman if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life"?
There are, of course, no absolute answers to these questions; the story resists easy solutions, and, therefore, violates the reader's expectations. This is why O'Connor is a brilliant storyteller.
In A Good Man, the Grandmother thinks of a Good Man as a person with a good background who follows rules and laws, not one who is generous and compassionate. She judges by appearences constantly, as she herself admits. To the Misfit she says “I know you're a good man at heart. I can just look at you and tell”( ). The Grandmother’s policy is to judge by things’ covers. She judges their ‘goodness’ by way of their appearance. As well as this, part of her criteria for what makes a someone good, is their class. For example, when she tries to convince the misfit not to kill her she says "You've got good blood! I know you wouldn't shoot a lady!”( ). This quote clearly demonstrates how the Old lady views the world: to be good is to have good blood. And to be good, one must have good blood. She associates following rules with being good, as well. When Sam says "These days you don't know who to trust," the Grandmother agrees. She and Sam discuss honesty as being a key component to being ‘good.’With this last quote, it is clear to the reader that the Grand mother has a very strong idea of what it means to be good: she doesn’t see it as acting to help others, and do good, but rather not do wrong. She attributes goodness to family and social status, and following rules.
ReplyDeleteWhat does the second question mean? What is this the answer?
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