The Grandmother in Flannery O’Conner’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find”

 

1. The Grandmother in Flannery O’Conner’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find” is associated with the past. What was the past like, according to the Grandmother and Red Sammy? How was it different from, and better than, the present?

 

2. If the old woman in Flannery O’Conner’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find” had kept her mouth shut, not revealing that she recognizes The Misfit, would Bailey, his mother, his wife, and the children be alive at the end of the story? Or does The Misfit intend to kill all the family members when he pulls up alongside their wrecked car? Keep in mind that he and his companions exit their car with guns.

 

3. Flannery O’Conner’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find” contains foreshadowing and symbolic suggestions of other levels of meaning than the literal ones from early on in the story. Search the story for references to death, dying, graves, etc. Carefully examine the foreshadowing and symbolism of the story and indicate how O’Connor carefully crafts the story to ensure that the ending is not predictable.

 

Your Goals

• You must formulate a thesis that argues persuasively and coherently and you must support your thesis with solid examples drawn from the text you are discussing. The key to the success of any close reading is in the strength of the clarification of specific moments within the text. Take a careful look at places in your chosen work that seem especially important to the text and explains what makes them so. What is being said, how do you know? Of what importance is this specific moment to the whole of the work? How does this point build upon what has come before, and how do subsequent moments relate to it? You’ll want to draw a reader’s attention to specific points in the text through selective quotation and citation, but remember that a quote can’t explain itself and that you must explain why each moment is so significant.

 

• You must structure your argument in a way that makes sense and helps make your case. Give some thought to the way that your major points fit together to make a whole. Does each successive point build upon the last? Can a reader follow the progression of your argument from beginning to end and understand why it looks the way that it does? Remember that a successful argument is able to incorporate a variety of different points and examples into the framework of a larger claim in a way that is logical and persuasive. Make sure each example in your argument adds something to the whole and has a place in the whole that makes sense.

 

• Consider your reader. Assume that you are addressing a good-natured but skeptical reader who has a general knowledge of your text but is lacking in specific knowledge. Remember to provide brief moments in your argument to remind your reader of what is going on more generally in your chosen work when discussing a specific example. Never assume (1) that readers know what to look for, (2) that they see the same details in the same way as you, and (3) that they draw the same conclusions as you. Rather, persuade your readers of your claims through skillful analysis. Your relationship with your readers should be one where you prove to them that your argument has merit and one where you show them how you reached your conclusions.

 

• Use consistent and appropriate citation. You’ll only be quoting from one work this time. Nevertheless, it is important to clearly identify the places in the text you pay specific attention or quote directly. All the citation should be consistent with MLA Style.

 

• All interpretations require evidence; all evidence requires analysis. Be absolutely clear on the distinction between evidence (concrete facts, examples, and details; the data) and analysis (explanation of how that data is meaningful and contributes to your overall interpretation). Your evidence must be drawn from the short story you have chosen. Partially adapted from:http://www.brandeis.edu/writingprogram/davisgrant/UWShandbook/close%20reading%20assignments.pdf