This essay attempts to explain the message behind Flannery O'Connor's "A Good Man is Hard to Find".

Du-Ewa Sanabria Honors English Composition 1101 Prof. R.M. Stambaugh February 3, 2003 A Good Man's Message At first glance, this story is grotesque, horrifying and very disturbing. The shock value of the story is not lost even though the family's fate is quite evident quite early on.The terror is in knowing and hoping against hope that this is not so. Then you are forced to analyze why such a story is necessary and what message could …

…to evaluate what we believe, who we are and who we whish to be. I think this is O'Connor's way of urging us not to wait until that moment. Works Cited O'Connor, Flannery. "A good Man is Hard to Find" The Short Story and it's Writer. Ed. Ann Charters. Boston: Bedford / St. Martin's, 2003 1142-1153 ---. "A Reasonable Use of the Unreasonable" The Short Story and it's Writer. Ed. Ann Charters. Boston: Bedford / St. Martin's, 2003 1671-1674