A Good Man is Hard to Find

“A Good Man Is Hard to Find” is a story in the Southern Gothic tradition, a genre that Flannery O’Connor used in most of her writing. This genre is characterized by grotesque characters and settings, disturbing or highly unusual events, and often dark humor. It is also always deeply rooted in the post-Civil War American South and grew out of the contradictions of Southern society.

For example, traditionally the South is thought of as an idyllic, green landscape where the people have Old World manners and beliefs. Christianity is also deeply engrained in Southern society. What matters most are appearance and propriety. However, the South was built on a legacy of slavery, genocide, patriarchy, and violence. These dark, disturbing aspects of society are often repressed by the people living there. Flannery O’Connor, a native of Georgia, grew up experiencing this contradictory culture and thus explores these contradictions and hypocrisies through her use of the Southern Gothic style. However, she roots her stories in true, believable characters, thus preventing her writing from becoming comical or fully Gothic in the traditional sense.

Specifically, in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” the plot and world are a heightened, off-kilter version of reality.