Plot and character development in "A Good Man is Hard to Find

Plot and "Good Man is Hard to Find"

An Analysis of Plot in O'Connor's "A Good Man is Hard to Find"

Plot, as Aristotle observes, is the representation of an action with a beginning, middle, and an end. Flannery O'Connor's "A Good Man is Hard to Find" is an example of a short story with just such a plot. O'Connor's stories often represent the action of grace, and in this story the action of grace is first seen as lacking, as something that is needed in the Grandmother; then it is prepared for by the trip, and finally it is delivered through the intervention of the Misfit and his meeting with the Grandmother. This paper will show how plot works by using O'Connor's "A Good Man is Hard to Find."

The action of O'Connor's short story is set up in the first paragraph when the Grandmother is described as not wanting to go to Florida. Her will is set against the will of her son and she means to use whatever she can to try to get her way -- even the evil existence of the Misfit (which the newspapers tell her about): "I wouldn't take my children in any direction with a criminal like that" (1). Obviously, the old woman is manipulative, proud and willful. It is also clear (as the next few paragraphs show) that the other people in the house see her as a nuisance.

The Grandmother is the central character of the story and it is with her will that the plot is concerned. The beginning of the plot introduces the Grandmother and the fact that her will is contrary to that of her son (and virtually every other character's as well). Since the plot is concerned with the action of grace, which means with the action of stripping the Grandmother of her willfulness, pride, and overall self-centeredness, the plot must progress onward to such a point whereat this action can be achieved. This essentially means bringing into the story the very means of grace. O'Connor has already prepared for this means in the beginning of the plot: it is the Misfit, mentioned by the Grandmother. The irony is that in the beginning the Grandmother intends to use the Misfit to her advantage but that by the end God will use the Misfit as a means of getting His grace through to the Grandmother.

The Grandmother's willfulness is used to advance the plot. She smuggles her cat into the car by hiding it in her bag. Her son does not like the Grandmother bringing the cat to a motel, which is why she hides it. The cat will figure into the final conflict of the short story when it leaps out of the bag, distracts Bailey, and causes him to wreck the car on the side of the road and allow the Misfit to approach.

O'Connor uses the middle of the plot to add depth to the character of the Grandmother and to illustrate the fact that she is indeed in need of an infusion of grace. For example, it is described how the Grandmother dresses appropriately and with dignity so that in case they wrecked on the highway and she died everyone would know that she was "a lady." What O'Connor shows is that the Grandmother is concerned primarily with externals and not what is inside. In other words, the Grandmother is concerned more with the judgment of the world than the judgment that comes after death when the soul comes before God.

The Grandmother's definition of a "good man" is next delivered, which helps show how a plot builds towards a climax. The Grandmother supplies a false definition so that it might later be juxtaposed against a true definition of goodness. The plot is constantly moving forward with its end in mind. The "good man" she describes is an old suitor named Mr. Teagarden and he was good because he was "a gentleman" and had purchased stock in Coca-Cola. Needless to say, O'Connor uses the middle of the plot to show how superficial the Grandmother actually is -- and how much in need of real grace she actually is.

Therefore, the plot builds towards the climax, which appears at the end. The beginning defines the conflict; the middle sets the conflict in motion; and the end resolves the conflict. The conflict, in this situation, is the Grandmother's self-absorption: She insists on forcing her will onto everyone else, even though (as O'Connor shows) she really has no idea where she is leading the rest of her family.

This becomes problematic when the Grandmother manipulates the children into demanding a side journey. As they deviate from their destination, the Grandmother begins to realize that she is not exactly sure of how to get where she longs to go. She upsets her valise, the cat springs out, lands on Bailey's shoulder, and he flips the car. This, as traumatic as it may seem, is not the climax of the plot. O'Connor has something far more serious in mind than a mere accident. She wants the Grandmother to get where she needs to go spiritually.