O'Connor's "A Good Man Is Hard To Find" and Classism by Bobby Bradley
Robert Bradley
Dr. Ruzich
English Studies Seminar Capstone
16 January 2023
In
“A Good Man Is Hard To Find” by Flannery O’Connor, classism is a highly evident
and essential theme expressed through the story’s characters. At the beginning
of O’Connor’s short story, O’Connor’s description of the grandmother’s clothing
gives audiences an idea of the “old lady’s” class status with the following
excerpt: “Her collars and cuffs were white organdy trimmed with lace and at her
neckline she had pinned a purple spray of cloth violets containing a sachet. In
case of an accident, anyone seeing her head on the highway would know at once
that she was a lady” (O’Connor 131). The vivid description O’Connor gives of
the grandmother’s clothes shows that the grandmother holds herself to a higher
standard and shows she dresses to show others of that high standard. Also, the
grandmother dressing nicely for the vacation rather than comfortably
demonstrates her own difference from the rest of her family. Additionally, a description
of the Misfit’s clothes shows a difference in class from that of the
grandmother in the following excerpt: “His hair was just beginning to gray and
he wore silver-rimmed spectacles that gave him a scholarly look. He had a long
creased face and didn’t have on any shirt or undershirt. He had on blue jeans
that were too tight for him and was holding a black hat and a gun” (O’Connor 139).
The mention of the lack of an undershirt and description of “blue jeans that were
too tight” (O’Connor 139) shows the Misfit is wearing clothing that does not
fit him—presenting another example of class difference to the reader.
Furthermore, the grandmother inserts her class when she
says the following to the Misfit: ““Jesus!” the old lady cried. “You’ve got good
blood! I know you wouldn’t shoot a lady! I know you come from nice people!
Pray! Jesus, you ought not to shoot a lady. I’ll give you all the money I’ve
got!”” (O’Connor 144). The grandmother’s cry for her life shows her class
superiority over the Misfit in several ways. First, the grandmother implies the
Misfit comes from a poor (or not as financially flexible) family, especially
when she says the Misfit has “good blood” and comes from “nice people.” Additionally,
the grandmother asserts, once again, that she is a lady—someone of higher
status. Her pleas of “you wouldn’t shoot a lady” are meant to show the Misfit her
higher status and make the Misfit think against shooting her (or prolonging the
event of the Misfit shooting her). The final statement in the excerpt brings
money into the equation—the grandmother further establishes her higher status
by offering the Misfit all of her money. Also, the grandmother assumes the Misfit
may need money, which also presents this class status difference.
Finally, an obvious example of classism is when June Star
says the following to Red Sam’s wife when she asks June Star if she’d want to
be her daughter: ““No I certainly wouldn’t,” June Star said. “I wouldn’t live
in a broken-down place like this for a million bucks!” and she ran back to the
table” (O’Connor 134). June Star calling the place “broken-down” shows that
June Star believes that the place is nothing near a five-star establishment.
The funny conversation between Red Sam’s wife and June Star shows a class
difference similar to that of the difference in class between the family and the
Misfit; however, there is no deadly weapon when they are with Red Sam and his
wife.
All in all, “A Good Man Is Hard To Find” conveys the
message that stories can show themes in many different mediums—in this case, the
theme of classism through conversation, clothing, standards, and status.
Work
Cited
Flannery,
O’Connor. “A Good Man Is Hard To Find – UFSC.” Gothic Digital Series,
https://repositorio.ufsc.br/bitstream/handle/123456789/160332/A%20good%20man%20is%20hard%20to%20find%20-%20Flannery%20O%27Connor.pdf.
Bobby,
ReplyDeleteI agree that the issue of class is a huge theme of this story. I remember reading this story for the first time and being irked by the grandmother telling the Misfit that she knows he has "good blood". Still, I find it hard to understand why that was so important to her. If I were being held at gunpoint, I would not be commenting on or even thinking about the social status of my attacker. Her obsession with her image made it clear that she also had an obsession with class. The grandmother seemingly couldn't fathom the idea of being seen as anything other than a lady, even after she's dead. She also wanted her grandchildren to be respectful of the state and their upbringing, showing how important a good family is to her.
Robert,
ReplyDeleteI also was a little weary of the term "good blood"... I kind of wonder what the symbolism behind that is, or maybe I do not want to know. Nevertheless, This piece is ridden in classism. I just commented on Melayna's post and they made a good point that it also comes in the form of language. I really do like that you keyed in on the clothing they all wore. What I really enjoyed is the fact that O'Connor was able to teach the lesson that 'just because the appearance is there, doesn't mean the values are. Red Sammy for example, he is a well established, working class, business owner. Is he weird? yes, but he seems to have a bigger heart than most of the people in this story. He actually works. Classism in this story can be seen in a lot of different ways, but I really like the key points that you made.