In “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” by Flannery OConnor, one is struck by the unexpected violence at the end of the story. A family on vacation becomes entangled in the story when they find themselves at the wrong place at the wrong time. A strange man appears and asks to be given a ride into town, because his car has broken down. A grandmother who is the voice of reason tries to get everyone out of this situation but to no avail. Entangled in an unavoidable situation, each family member meets his or her demise, except for one; A violent act concluding with almost every family member dead by gunshot.
The use of foreshadowing throughout this story allows us insight into what will come next throughout the narrative. For example, A Good Man is Hard To Find, opens with “The grandmother didn’t want to go to Florida . ”(1), clearly foreshadowing that something bad is going to happen on the trip. A bit later, A Good Man Is Hard To Find states, “The day was hot and bright…”(4), which sets us up for the weather outside to play a role in how this story will develop.
As A Good Man is Hard to Find goes on, A Grandmother explains to the family members who are still alive that she had a dream two weeks before where her mother was warning A Grandmother about telling the children what time they are due at their house, because it might jinx them. A Grandmother tells everyone present not to tell anyone when they should be home by because it would curse them all. A short while later A Grandmother has a heart attack, and A Red Headed Girl finds A Good Man Is Hard To Find that A Grandmother had dropped on the floor.
A Good Man is Hard to Find goes on “The Misfit put his pistol back in his pocket… ”(15). A short while later A Red Headed Girl sees The Misfit as she tries to escape from everyone being killed. The girl screams out, “You’re not one of us! You’re one of those … you’re one of those … you’re a…! “, but before she could finish her sentence, A Good Man is Hard To Find hears the sound of gunfire and discovers all three family members have been shot and killed. A Grandmother, A Husband, A Wife, A Red Headed Girl, A Good Man Is Hard To Find, The Misfit , and Bobby Lee all meet their demise rather abruptly.
In A Good Man is Hard to Find Flannery O’Connor uses foreshadowing to give the reader a picture of what will happen before it occurs in the story. A broken down car needing a tow truck at a gas station where no one will ever hear from this family again is a prime example of how violence can strike without warning. A single mother who hears voices telling her that she needs to kill herself and her children adds an element of surprise when she turns out to be the only survivor as well.
A Good Man is Hard To Find A Grandmother tried to accept her fate when A Red Headed Girl told A Grandmother that she should be home before dark because if not “it’ll get you. ” A Good Man Is Hard To Find A Grandmother died of a heart attack after A Red Headed Girl ran out of the house to escape but was shot dead at point-blank range by A Misfit . A Misdfit knew exactly what he was doing when shooting all three family members, yet he also claims that he has killed many others in his past for no reason. This story shows how chaotic things can become without warning and how this chaos will consume anyone who gets involved with it.
How does o’connor foreshadow the encounter with the misfit? She foreshadows it by A grandmother telling her dream where her mother told A grandmother not to tell the kids about getting back at a certain time because it might jinx them. A little later A red headed girl sees A Misfit as they are going into the woods together and A grandmother asks A Red Headed Girl if she knows him and A red headed girl says she doesn’t think so. A few lines later The misfit asks if anyone has a towel and A Good Man Is Hard To Find tells him he does and hands it to The Misfit who proceeds to wipe off his pistol with it.
Examples of foreshadowing in a good man is hard to find A Good Man Is Hard To Find A Grandmother explains to A Misfit why she thinks he should let A Grandmother, A Husband, A Wife, A Red Headed Girl go. A Grandmother says “I know you must think that we are all afraid of you but we’re not. ”(4). A short while later The Misfit tells A Grandmother, “It would have been better for all of you… if you hadn’t come here”(5). The broken down car at the gas station foreshadows that something could happen because no one will find them if anything does happen during their trip.
Why did A Red Headed Girl see The Misfit before the rest of the family did A Red Headed Girl ran out of A Grandmother’s house to get away from A Grandmother who was having a heart attack and she runs into A Misfit instead. Foreshadowing is using clues in the story to let the reader know what will happen later on. A broken down car at a gas station where no one can find them very easily is one example of foreshadowing because something could go wrong with the trip if the car broke down during their journey or they could be attacked by someone while trying to get it fixed.
A red headed girl sees A Misfit before anyone else when he asks for a towel and A Good Man Is Hard To Find gives him his, but this happens before A Misft shoots all three family members. A grandmother’s dream confirms that A Grandmother knew A Misfit would be trouble before The misfit even showed up. A Grandmother explains to A Misft why she thinks A Grandmother should let the others go, but he replies by saying it would have been better for everyone if A Grandmother hadn’t told them about their encounter with him.