Name______________________________ Date_________ Period______

A Good Man Is Hard to Find by Flannery OConnor Answer the ollowin! "#estions on yo#r own $a$er% G#idin! &#estions
1. How does Flannery O'Connor describe the cultural and physical landscape of the South? What are the characteristics of the literary genre known as Southern !othic ? ". What are the key the#es Flannery O'Connor e$plores in % !ood &an is Hard to Find ? 'ea(her )Pit *to$)+ '. %lthough the 1()*s highways are not what they are today+ how were they different fro# the 1('*s,1(-*s rural roads in !eorgia? What did they per#it #ore people to do? -. What other technological+ econo#ic+ and social changes did the ..S. highway syste# enable in the 1()*s? 'ea(her )Pit *to$)+ ). How would you characteri/e the grand#other? 0. 1he grand#other thinks that taking the !eorgia2based fa#ily to east 1ennessee would #ake the# broad by see3ing4 different parts of the world. 5ook up the #eaning of the word broad as used in this conte$t. 6ased on what you know fro# the story+ what do you think of this passage? What is O'Connor's tone here in her characteri/ation of the grand#other? 7. How does O'Connor's hu#or co#e through in this passage? 'ea(her )Pit *to$)+ You are looking out the window of the sedan when the grandmother points out "the cute little pickaninny!" This is an offensive, slang term to describe an AfricanAmerican child. Additionally, the grandmother uses an offensive, racist term. Consider the following 8uestions+ keeping in #ind the historical conte$t of O'Connor's story9 :. What does the grand#other's use of these words suggest about the racial ;iews she holds? (. What does the grand#other #ean when she says+ <n #y ti#e at the beginning of this passage?

1*. How does the grand#other represent the South's earlier ti#es by using this word?

'ea(her Pit *to$+ 1he grand#other and her ;iews are outdated+ but reflecti;e of the racial tensions during the ti#e the story was written. =ote that the grand#other wants the fa#ily to ;isit a plantation house along their >ourney+ but that the plantation house is not where she re#e#bered it to be. %nswer the following 8uestions9 11. How does O'Connor use the grand#other to distinguish between the Old and =ew South ? 1". What is sy#bolic about the fact that the phanto# plantation is >ust a fig#ent of the grand#other's bad #e#ory? 'ea(her Pit *to$+

1'. How does the i#age abo;e co#pare to O'Connor's descriptions of the #other and the grand#other? 1-. What does the grand#other think of the #odern wo#an ? What are so#e differences between the grand#other and the #other? How is she #ocking each of the#? 1). What are so#e additional changes the grand#other obser;es? 10. 1hough the story is told fro# the grand#other's point2of2;iew+ does the story re;eal praise and,or criticis# for both the #other and the grand#other? How? 'ea(her Pit *to$+ lannery !"#onnor once said that, "while the $outh is hardly #hrist-centered, it is most certainly #hrist-haunted." 17. What #ight O'Connor #ean when she says Christ2haunted ? Why Christ2 haunted instead of Christ2centered ?

1:. What passages of % !ood &an is Hard to Find support O'Connor's clai# about the South? 'ea(her )Pit *to$)+ ?e#inding us of the #any religious signs along !eorgia's highways and country roads+ the story's title suggests a >ourney or 8uest to find a good #an. 1he 8uest ends with the grand#other trying to sa;e herself by trying to sa;e the &isfit. %nswer the following 8uestions9 1(. 6ailey's fa#ily literally sets out on a >ourney+ the fa#ily ;acation. How does the road trip function as a #etaphor or sy#bol of this >ourney?

20. What might the road trip (and the specific images of the country road) symbolize based on what you have learned from the story at large? [ ote! the road trip can symbolize many things" including the brea#down of $ailey%s family (consider the #ids and their behavior)" the passing of time from the &ld 'outh to the ew 'outh" the (ourney for confirmation of )hrist and )hristian living" the *isfit%s failed (ourney of redemption" etc.+ .
'ea(her )Pit *to$)+ "1. <dentify so#e binaries of the South O@Connor presents in % !ood &an is Hard to Find. Arepare a list of at least three and briefly e$plain the significance of each in the story. 'ea(her )Pit *to$)+ 5eading a discussion on the binary+ or con;ergence+ of O'Connor's hu#or ;. the grotes8ueB+ answer the following 8uestions9 "". How would you define the words gothic and grotes8ue ? "'. What does O'Connor #ean by grotes8ue ? "-. What ele#ents of % !ood &an is Hard to Find would you describe as grotes8ue ? "). What ele#ents of % !ood &an is Hard to Find would you describe as hu#orous? "0. What are the effects of O'Connor's being both hu#orous and grotes8ue in % !ood &an is Hard to Find ?

Assessment
O$tion One+ ,ho-s the .eal -Mis it-/ 1he grand#other is a crucial character in the story. She is the one who wishes to tour the plantationC she wants to bring the cat on the tripC and she upsets the suitcase+ which+ in turn+ frightens the cat+ which causes the accident on the dirt road. 1hough the fa#ily encounters the cri#inal &isfit and his cohorts+ one could argue that the grand#other herself is a #isfit 2both out of ti#e and out of place. How is the grand#other herself a #isfit in the story? Support your argu#ent with concrete+ specific details fro# the story itself and fro# properly cited resources re;iewed during class discussion. O$tion 'wo+ A *ymboli( Family .oad 'ri$/ Write a typed+ three2page essay in which you answer the 8uestion+ What #ight the thwarted fa#ily road trip sy#boli/e in O'Connor's '% !ood &an is Hard to Find? .se e;idence fro# the story to support your argu#ent. Dou also #ay use properly cited resources re;iewed during class discussion. O$tion 'hree+ 'he C#lt#ral 0ands(a$e o the *o#th Sub#it a three2page typed paper e$a#ining the significance of the Southern setting in O'Connor's story. .se the pri#ary source #aterial e$plored in this lesson to detail O'Connor's portrayal of the South. O$tion Fo#r+ Foreshadowin! and *ymbolism 1here are foreshadowing and sy#bolic suggestions of other le;els of #eaning than the literal ones fro# early on in the story. Search the story for references to death+ dying+ gra;es+ etc. Write a three2page typed essay e$a#ining the foreshadowing and sy#bolis# of the story and discussing how O@Connor carefully crafts the story to ensure that the ending is not a predictable one. O$tion Fi1e+ ,hats in a Name/ O@Connor@s appropriation of e$ternal realities to suggest other le;els of #eaning e$tends to the na#es of people and places in the story. E$plore the significance of those na#es and of those with no na#es. O$tion *i2+ Materialism and the Meanin! o 0i e %t the beginning of the story the grand#other is totally preoccupied with what she wants. Det+ as she tra;els on through the story she accidentally stu#bles upon the #eaning of life. E$plore the religious epiphany the grand#other e$periences. O$tion *e1en+ Family Mis it 1he grand#other #akes a gesture of inclusion toward 1he &isfit+ calling hi# her son. %naly/e the significance of her state#ent in contrast with her relationship to her own son+ the apparent #erging of her real son with 1he &isfit+ and the e;entual outco#e.

32tendin! the 0esson

%ssign the O'Connor stories 1he 5ife Dou Sa;e &ight be Dour Own and !ood Country Aeople to pro;ide a broader ;iew of the#es discussed in this

lesson. .sing these lessons+ you can highlight the changing representation of wo#en in #ore detail.