Short Story 1

The grandmother didn't want to go Florida. Maybe they shouldv'e listened to her. The title of the story I read was "A Good Man Is Hard To Find" by Flannery O'Connor. It was a short story about a family taking a vacation to Florida. This time the grandmother didn't want to go because she said they always go to Florida, and it was time for them to visit a new place. She also had read the newspaper that morning, reading some disturbing things happening in Florida. It was a killer on the loose by the name of "The Misfit" and she wondered why on earth did they want to be in same town as a murderer. She tried her best to talk them into going to Tennessee, including telling stories to the children about Tennessee until they would ask their parents. Her plan didn't work, they end up packing, and going to Florida.

The family consists of a six people. The grandmother as you already know. She is the one who talks most of the time and she likes to tell stories of "back in her days." She's kind of a nasty, tricky old lady who tries to talk you out or into something without being too obvious about it. Like when the family said they were going to visit Florida. The grandmother would rather go to Tennessee so she told the children fun stories about Tennessee so they would give in and ask their father to go there instead. There's the grandmother's son, Bailey, who doesn't say much. He just sort of brushes his mother away whenever she's speaking as if he's not listening. He would only answer questions with simple answer like "yes" or "no" Then, there's the three children and their mother. The mother and the baby doesn't play a big role in this story. The son, John Wesley, is a very curious character. He wants to experience and know more about his grandmother stories. He would always ask the "why, when, where, and how" questions
The daughter, June Star, is the smart mouth little girl who always has a comment or smart response to whatever someone is saying. When the grandmother was saying that she didn't want to go to Florida June Star told her "Well, why don't you stay at home then?"

On the way to Florida the grandmother would tell stories about things they passed by to keep the children entertained. They made a stop at a restaurant called The Tower to get some barbequed food.She played an old tune named "The Tennessee Waltz" on the jukebox, she said that it always made her want to dance, but it wasn't excatly the others type of genre so the mother decided to change it to a faster tempo song so June Star could have something to tap her feet to. At the restaurant the grandmother was telling the owner and his wife about what she read about "The Misfit" in the paper that morning and warned them to be on the lookout. Soon after they ate, they got back in the car and was on their way to Florida.


As they were cruising along the road the grandmother begin to think about this old plantation that she visited once when she was younger. She described the house to the children, making them want to see it. This was her way of getting the kids to come out and ask Bailey could they go visit the house knowing that she was the one who wanted to see it. The children really wanted to see the house after listening to their grandmother babble on and on about the house and how lovely it was. They asked their father Bailey could he stop just this one time for them to see the house. At first the father said no but he finally gave in and said yes but only this one time. The grandmother was happy. She told Bailey he had just passed the dirt road a couple miles back so he would have to turn the car around.

Riding down the dirt road the grandmother realized that the house was not where they were, but the house was in Tennessee where she was really dying to go. She had just forgotten because she so deep in thought about the house that she thought it was near. When she was about to tell her son about her mistake the car begin to flip around uncontrollably throwing everyone in the car every which of way. When the car finally stopped, the children and the grandmother, which was the only ones left in the car, removed themselves from the car in shock that they was still alive. They went to see if their father, mother, and the baby was okay. They all had survived with a few minor injuries. They soon saw a car coming their way hoping it would stop.

The car came to their rescue. The car was occupied with three men. The men had guns. They got out to talk to the family. They made them all sit on the ground where they could see them all at one time. The children begin to ask questions immediately. The grandmother realized one of the men as "The Misfit" from the paper. She told him she recognized him. That was a big mistkae. She then begin to go on about God saying "Pray, God will help you " and "I know you're a good man, you wouldn't kill a lady". Little did she know she was wasting her time on these particular guys because now that he was recognized, they had other things planned. The Misfit instructed Bailey and John Wesley to follow the other two guys because he said they had something to tell him. I guess it didn't bother them that they were headed toward the woods just to be told something, so they did as they were told and followed the men. Next thing you know the grandmother, the mother, and June Star heard two gun shots. The grandmother calls out to her sons. No answer. The two men came back dragging Bailey's clothing. Then, he asked June Star and her mother if they wanted to go be with Bailey and John Wesley. Not knowing too well what was about to happen they followed the men to the woods. There were three gun shots. All the while the grandmother was still talking about God and trying to bond with The Misfit thinking that it would result to letting her off the hook. When the men had returned they saw that The Misfit did them a favor, so they didn't have to kill her because he did it for them. " She was a bit of a talker", one of the guys said. The Misfit said "she would have been a good woman, if there was someone there to shoot her every time of her life."


I think "A Good Man Is Hard To Find" is a pretty interesting story. The grandmother keeps you wondering because she's always talking about how things used to be in the old days. She was also rather clever in her own little way. In the begining of the story when she was reading the newspaper that said The Misfit was in Florida and that's where they were headed, I knew that they would somehow run into him. The end was very shocking I would have to say. It was shocking because I didn't think he would kill them all. The author did a good job with describing these people's characteristics. In every situation they would react just like you thought they would because you would get used to their personalities early in the story.

In this story the author pretty much shows you how every character is. The father is the quiet type who doesn't say much and doesn't pay attention to his mother because he knows that she tries to get over on people by saying certain things to make them give in to her wishes. The mother and the baby doesn't play a big role in this story. John Wesley is the son who is oh so curious to know about everything his grandmother feeds to thier little brains but his sister, June Star, on the other hand has all the questions. She wants to know what she's getting into before it happens and she also has a smart way of asking questions and responding to them.

The author used an example of a simile when he said the mother's face was as broad and innocent as a cabbage. Another example of a simile is when he said "she had her big black valise that looked like the head of a hippopotamus. An example of allusion was also used in the story. John Wesley asked about the plantation his grandmother was talking about. He wanted to know where it was and the grandmother told him "Gone With the Wind." When the author said that John Wesley kicked the back of his father's seat so hard he could feel the blows in his kidney this was an example of an exaggeration. You can't kick someone's kidney from the back seat of a car kicking the seat.