In Flannery O’Connor’s short story “A Good Man Is Hard To Find,” the title is ironic because the protagonist, a woman named Bailey, is looking for a good man and she has a hard time finding one. The setting is the American South in the 1950s. The story is told from the third person limited point of view, which allows the reader to see into Bailey’s thoughts and feelings. The story is structured around a series of events that lead up to the climax, which is when Bailey finally finds a good man.
The story uses foreshadowing to hint at the events that will occur later in the story. The story contains symbols that represent different themes of the story. The story has a number of literary devices that are used to enhance meaning of story including irony and symbolism. The story has a theme of good vs evil as seen through characters like Grandmother and Misfit. Finally, this short story was written by Flannery O’Connor in order to show how evil can be found in everyday life by using characters with flaws.
