Faulkner/O'Connor

AGENDA:

Quiz on vocabulary from "A Rose for emily"
Grade, go over and hand in AP Multiple Choice packets
Continue discussion of "A Good Man is Hard to Find"

HMWK: FINISH reading As I Lay Dying for discussions Monday and Tuesday
Papers are due when we return on Dec. 1

Shmoop Discussion questions:


Good vs. Evil Theme

"A Good Man is Hard to Find" is a confrontation of between a grandmother with a rather superficial sense of goodness, and a criminal who embodies real evil. The grandmother seems to treat goodness mostly as a function of being decent, having good manners, and coming from a family of "the right people." What a contrast, when the grandmother encounters The Misfit, who seems straightforwardly evil, with little to no sense of guilt, and a genuine desire to do cruel or destructive things for their own sake. Understanding the motivations of The Misfit, and what "goodness" means by contrast, is one of the central puzzles of the story.

Questions About Good vs. Evil

1.       According to the grandmother, what is a "good man"? Is she sincere when she calls Red Sammy a good man? How about The Misfit?

2.       What motivates The Misfit – why does he do what he does? Is he a wholly evil character? Why or why not?

3.       Why would The Misfit say he never thinks the punishment fits the crime? Is he genuinely innocent, or does he believe himself to be? Has he forgotten his crimes? Does he have no sense of right and wrong?

4.       What does it mean when The Misfit says the grandmother would have been a good woman if he had been there to shoot her every minute of her life? What kind of "goodness" does he have in mind? Is this the beginning of a transformation in The Misfit?

Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.

The Misfit has no sense of right and wrong, and for this reason doesn't feel any punishment can ever "fit" the crime.

The Misfit recognizes the grandmother's final gesture as good, and understands "goodness" to be the unconditional love given by divine grace

Religion Theme

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The central confrontation between the grandmother and The Misfit in "A Good Man is Hard to Find" revolves around Jesus. The grandmother brings up praying to Jesus in the hope that she can induce The Misfit to spare her life by appealing to his religious sense. It turns out, however, that The Misfit has probably thought about Jesus more seriously than she has. The Misfit's doubt in Jesus leads him to think that there is no real right or wrong, and no ultimate point to life. At the story's climax, the grandmother appears to receive a moment of divine grace, which might transform her and The Misfit. How this ending is understood is the major question of the story.

Questions About Religion

1.       Is the grandmother a real religious believer? Does she have genuine faith? What evidence can you find either way?

2.       Does The Misfit believe in Jesus? If he does, to what degree? If not, why not?

3.       Between The Misfit and the grandmother, who seems to have a more solid foundation in faith?

4.       Why would The Misfit attach so much importance to the question of whether Jesus did what he's supposed to have done? Why is this an all-or-nothing question for him?

5.       Is the grandmother's "moment of grace" a genuine moment of grace? What evidence do you see either way?

Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.

The grandmother never took her religious faith seriously.

The grandmother's final gesture is a genuine moment of grace.

Manipulation Theme

Flannery O'Connor understood her story "A Good Man is Hard to Find" as a tale of good, evil, and divine grace. Other critics, however, have seen in it something more cynical. Many see it as the story of a selfish woman who uses manipulation to get what she wants, but is ultimately unable to save herself by her acts. There are several moments in the story when the grandmother manipulates others, including her family members and the criminal. An interesting question is whether she ever stops manipulating, and, if so, when.

Questions About Manipulation

1.       Is the grandmother an unusually manipulative person, or is her behavior fairly understandable? Why?

2.       In her confrontation with The Misfit, does the grandmother use purposeful, calculating manipulation, or is her attempt to save her own life desperate and not thought-out?

3.       Does the grandmother ever stop trying to manipulate The Misfit? At what point? How can you tell?

4.       Is the grandmother's moment of grace actually just another manipulation? Is The Misfit fooled by it?

Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.

The grandmother never stops trying to manipulate The Misfit, and is stopped only when he kills her.

The grandmother's attempts to save her life are desperate from the beginning, and can hardly be considered deliberate manipulation.

 

Family Theme

Besides its more serious themes, "A Good Man is Hard to Find" contains some mercilessly funny comedy about a dysfunctional family, and the ways they get on each other's nerves. You know, the kind of family that could be in a National Lampoon movie? There's the two troublesome and annoying kids, the hot-headed dad who tries to maintain control of a situation and fails, the wife busy attending to the baby, and the grandmother, who's a case all to herself (and also the main character). Though the story starts out seeming like a comedy, it takes a serious turn when the family encounters a criminal, who kills them one by one. Whether this family members attract any genuine sympathy from the reader, or from each other, or whether they death presents little more than a black comedy is an issue up for debate.

Questions About Family

1. Is the family in the story a caricature of a family, or are they realistic in certain aspects? Why?
2. Are there any points in the story at which one of the family members comes across as sympathetic? If so, where are they? If not, why?
3. Do any of the family members care for each other? If yes, then what evidence can you find in support?
4. Does the grandmother really care about the rest of her family, or is she purely self-interested?

Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.

The family in "A Good Man is Hard to Find" is pure caricature.

The grandmother is purely self-interested, and shows little concern for the rest of her family.

Society and Class Theme

The grandmother in "A Good Man is Hard to Find" gives great importance to being "a lady," and her ideas about what that means reflect an old-fashioned, somewhat upper-crust Southern mindset. She uses the n-word and longs for the good old days when kids were polite, people were trustworthy, and there were pretty plantations to visit. All of this leads her to associate being "good" with coming from a respectable family and behaving like a member of her social class; those who don't are outsiders. Her sensibilities are in for quite a shock when she meets The Misfit.

Questions About Society and Class

1.       In what ways does the grandmother reflect a particular Southern social class? To what extent is this conscious on her part?

2.       How does the grandmother's social class play a role in her confrontation with the Misfit, and in the story's larger contrast between good and evil?

3.       Do any characters besides the grandmother display an awareness of class or social status?

4.       Does the story adopt a negative view towards the kind of southern culture the grandmother represents? Is it instead positive, or neutral? How can you tell?

Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.

The grandmother's values are only concerned with appearances, and are therefore criticized and mocked by the story.