Who doesn't want to be a good human being? Being good can bring happiness, joy, faith and grace. Flannery O'Connor's "A Good Man is Hard to Find," however, reveals a satirical reality in which few people fully understand the fundamental meaning of being "a good man." This short story is one of the most famous examples of Southern Gothic literature. By focusing on strange events, local color and eccentric characters, O'Connor successfully depicts the difference and similarity of the moral code of the two main characters. Although Grandma and Misfit have opposing philosophies and principles, both struggle to discover their own righteousness, buried deep beneath their flaws. In “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” O'Connor uses many literary devices such as conflict, symbolism, foreshadowing, and irony to reveal the good and evil in the story. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayConflict is one of the main ways of organizing the whole story, which begins with the disagreement between the grandmother and the rest of the family. Readers might be surprised by the fact that no one in the family cares about the grandmother or her opinions; even the children show him no respect. O'Connor forces readers to question: What did the grandmother do to be treated this way? The grandmother appears to readers as “a harmless and busy person, completely self-centered but also amusing” (Bandy, 957). However, as the story unfolds, the grandmother eventually comes across as a selfish, dishonest, and not "good" person. The central conflict is the inner conflict of the grandmother, who blindly perceives herself as superior to others. Her mistaken beliefs that she is good and constantly pursuing her own conscience are what ultimately destroys the entire family. By leading them down the wrong path and indirectly causing the accident, it is the grandmother who brings the family to the Misfit. Additionally, thinking that good people always follow their conscience, the grandmother savagely tells the Misfit that she recognizes him, which ultimately puts her family in danger. The grandmother dresses proudly for the trip with "her collars and cuffs were of white organdy trimmed with lace and on her collar she had pinned a purple spray of fabric violets containing a sachet" (O'Connor 941). The appearance of being a woman is the most important virtue and she would not pay anything to exchange it. Being a white woman means power and superiority; thus, she relentlessly passes judgments on others. By speaking arrogantly about her past, the grandmother represents an old-fashioned, upper-class Southern mindset. One of the interesting parts of the story is when she tries to tell John Wesley to be more respectful to his home state and others. Immediately, the grandmother proves herself to be a critical woman by pointing out the "cute little pickaninny" on the road and delights her grandchildren with a watermelon story in which a "nigger boy" devoured it (O' Connor 942). At this point, it is very obvious that the grandmother “is filled with the prejudices of her class and her time” (Bandy 957). The repetitive use of the word "good" is symbolic because it reflects how the grandmother perceives others. She applies the label “good” indiscriminately to anyone as long as their expectations match hers. For example, she considers Red Sammy "a good man" because he trusts people blindly; she then insistsabout how the Misfit is also "a good man" because, she reasons, he wouldn't shoot a woman. Finally, she never begs the Misfit to spare her family; in fact, the only person she cares about is herself. On the surface, the grandmother is portrayed as a “good” person with her unwavering faith in God. The sins however reside within her, turning her into a wicked woman due to her own beliefs. Not only conflict, but also symbolism and foreshadowing are important narrative devices of the entire story. O'Connor asks readers to think and predict as she reveals the omens of catastrophe one by one. From the start, the grandmother warns her family against the Misfit, an escapee from the conflict who is heading towards Florida. Following her conscience, the grandmother persuades her son not to “take [her] children in any direction with a criminal like this on the loose” (O'Connor, 940). The seemingly ridiculous warning signals that a confrontation with the Misfit is inevitable. Second, the grandmother dresses as if she is preparing for her own death. She carefully put on her Sunday best so that “anyone who saw her dead on the road would know at once that she was a lady” (O'Connor, 941). As the story unfolds, O'Connor continues to reveal a number of signs of life versus death that prepare readers for the catastrophe to come. While the family is on their way to Florida, they pass a cotton field with five or six graves that represent exactly the number of people in the car. The grandmother points out and mentions that they belonged to an old plantation that has "gone with the wind" as it recalls a long-ago destruction of the Old South (O'Connor 941). Eventually, as the Misfit's car approaches the family, it is described as a "large black automobile resembling a hearse" (O'Connor, 945). A hearse is a vehicle that carries coffins that foreshadow the family's faith before the Misfit even gets out of the car. One of the main symbols of "A Good Man is Hard to Find" is Grandma's hat. The hat she put on for the sole purpose of being a lady symbolizes her faulty moral code. Her only concern is the appearance of a Southern lady; ironically, it is even more important to her than her own life and even that of her children. The hat represents his selfishness and his fragile moral conviction. When faced with the Misfit, the grandmother drops her hat because she recognizes that her conception of herself as goodness and purity is a big flaw. O'Connor thoughtfully incorporates many literary devices to accomplish the main theme of "A good man is hard to find"; and irony is one of the most important means that contribute to the success of the story's ending. Dramatic irony occurs when a character fails to recognize what is obvious to the reader. Throughout the story, the grandmother's perception of herself and society is greatly distorted. She sees herself as Southern perfection and goodness which readers can all disagree on by the way she judges others, blames Europe for the loss of good people, manipulates her family, and falsely lets it slip that she recognizes the Misfit. It is only in the face of the Misfits and death that the grandmother's moral code finally reveals itself to be insubstantial and illusory. On the other hand, the Misfit can be considered a villain since he and his men unrepentantly murder the entire family. However, he is the only character in the story who has a consistent philosophy that everyone else seems to lack. He is self-aware and thinks 956-959