A Crude Portrayal of the World

4 Pages 1066 Words

A Crude Portrayal of the World: By Flannery O’Connor
Flannery O’Connor wanted her readers to see that the world was filled with ethical, physical, and emotional violence. These very ideas can been seen in her work, “A Good Man Is Hard To Find”. One common topic on the piece was the constant use of violence and over rated imagery. O’Connor applied hostility to demonstrate how the destructive impulse brings the horror of man’s grotesque state home to him. (Muller 1460). Her use of the vivid imagery set the moral themes for her work. O’Connor wanted her readers to see the world for what it truly was.
O’Connor used violence to force her readers in confronting the problem of evil. The destructive acts showed a world that had both spiritual and physical warfare. Muller examined that when he stated,“When violence appears in the grotesque, it is used to suggest the lack of any framework or order in the universe; it reinforces the grotesque by working against the ideals of social and moral order to create an alienated perspective.” (1460) In the book, “A Good Man Is Hard To Find”, the Misfit knew what he was doing and that it was wrong. But the murder was committed anyway. After the son was shot the grandmother said, “If you would pray, Jesus would help you.” The Misfit said, “That’s right.” (O’Connor 1451) He had already made up his mind that it was too late for anyone to help him. Evil had taken him over and the Misfit began the process of alienating himself from the rest of the world. His grandmother’s advice was left behind.
O’Connor also used hostile and loud imagery to foreshadow the climax. For example, in the beginning, crime, violence, and death are mentioned. That very approach used by O’Connor helped push start the build up of the climax and it mentally prepared the reader for the violent ending.
O’Connor used scary landscape as well to turn her characters secure world into ...