A Good Man is Hard to Find
Short Story Analysis Worksheet
A Good Man is Hard to Find
Title of short story
Flannery O’Conner
Author’s Name
1948
Year of Publication
Physical: Place & Time Time:from morning to when sun is nowhere to be seen
Place:home ,car and (Mainly in) a forest of Tennessee
(include clues which help
→The horrible thought she had had before the accident was that
you determine this) the house she had remembered so vividly was not in Georgia but
in Tennessee.
→they could see only the tops of the trees on the other
Setting
side of it.
Social Context The old values of the South still exist (around 1920s)
→the grandmother is imbued with classic Southern characteristics.
(include clues which help
→The fact that the children have disdain for the state of Georgia,
you determine this) as well as Tennessee.
→because he was a gentleman and had bought Coca-Cola stock
when it first came out and that he had died only a few years ago, a
very wealthy man.
Characters & character Main Character 1: The Grandmother
type Type:Round&Static
(Round/flat Main Character 2: Misfits
Type:Flat,Dynamic and anti-protagonist
/static/dynamic/
stereotypical/anti-hero/etc.
Main character
Direct characterizations ·the grandmother had on a navy blue straw sailor hat with a bunch of
white violets on the brim and a navy blue dress with a small white dot
(Which direct in the print.
characterizations can you ·"Here this fellow that calls himself The Misfit is aloose from the
locate in the story?) Federal Pen and headed toward Florida and you read here what it
says he did to these people.
Indirect characterizations ·The grandmother wrote this down because she thought it would be
interesting to say how many miles they had been when they got back.
(Which indirect ·She reached out and touched him on the shoulder. The Misfit sprang
characterizations can you back as if a snake had bitten him and shot her three times through the
locate in the story?) chest.
"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!"
Plot (max. 10 sentences) Exposition：The Family decides to go on a trip, knowing that at the
same destination there is a criminal on the loose.
Indicate the five stages of
Rising Action：The family gets kind of lost on the way and end up
Freytag’s pyramid in the plot of in a ten feet deep ditch but nobody is hurt .The Misfits arrive at the
this story. If stages are missing, scene and killed the family except the grandmother.
list this. Keep in mind Plot (cont.) Climax： The grandmother shows a moment of grace and is killed.
that some stages may be in a Denouement: They take the grandmother into the forest to put her
with the rest of the family .
different order, be missing, or be
present more than once.
, ·Person vs.Person:
Conflict
1) Grandma & her son:The grandma is unwilling to visit Florida but her son
(Identify and explain the major and her son’s wife determine to go.
sources of conflict in the story, ie: 2)The family & Misfit
·Person vs.Self:Misfit’s inner changes
internal: person vs. self). ·Person vs. Society:Grandmother’s Christian grace and the demanding way
of how grace operates.
·Everyone has their own idea of good to suit their own set of moral codes.
Theme The grandmother has no filter. She pretends to be better than the rest. She thinks
(Tell what you think the theme is that she is a lady and that she is good but she has her flaws as well. People often
hold themselves in higher esteem than what reality tells us. They believe that they
and explain in several sentences). are good and honest people but they are just concerned with themselves.
·We should not definite a person good or evil with literal judgement and blind
faith.
Point of view Third person POV: Limited Omniscient
(Tell what the point of view is and →She(the grandmother) wanted to visit some of her connections
in east Tennessee and she was seizing at every chance to change
give examples of how you could
Bailey's mind.
determine this from the story). We only know some feelings of the grandmother.
Irony ·Dramatic Irony
"Yes and what would you do if this fellow, The Misfit, caught you?"
(Identify and explain any major
the grandmother asked.
sources of irony in the story – The reader and The author share the knowledge that Misfit will do
verbal/ dramatic/ situational/ some bad things to them. Even though the grandmother read
structural). news, they still turn to Misfit for help after the accident. When the
grandmother is talking with Misfit, we know that the grandmother is
going to be killed but she still isn’t aware of that and performances
inappropriately.
Symbolism ·The Misfit’s automobile represents the death of the family and old
South’s opinion.
(Identify and explain any key ·The Grandmother’s hat represents her nature of selfishness and
symbols used in the story. Note flimsy moral conviction.
what they are and what they
represent.) →In case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway
would know at once that she was a lady.
·The monkey is a symbol for the devil
→The monkey sprang back into the tree and got on the highest limb
as soon as he saw the children jump out of the car and run toward
him.
Quote
Memorable passage /quote
Explanation: Why is
this quote memorable?
(Write 3-5 sentences).
Short Story Analysis Worksheet
A Good Man is Hard to Find
Title of short story
Flannery O’Conner
Author’s Name
1948
Year of Publication
Physical: Place & Time Time:from morning to when sun is nowhere to be seen
Place:home ,car and (Mainly in) a forest of Tennessee
(include clues which help
→The horrible thought she had had before the accident was that
you determine this) the house she had remembered so vividly was not in Georgia but
in Tennessee.
→they could see only the tops of the trees on the other
Setting
side of it.
Social Context The old values of the South still exist (around 1920s)
→the grandmother is imbued with classic Southern characteristics.
(include clues which help
→The fact that the children have disdain for the state of Georgia,
you determine this) as well as Tennessee.
→because he was a gentleman and had bought Coca-Cola stock
when it first came out and that he had died only a few years ago, a
very wealthy man.
Characters & character Main Character 1: The Grandmother
type Type:Round&Static
(Round/flat Main Character 2: Misfits
Type:Flat,Dynamic and anti-protagonist
/static/dynamic/
stereotypical/anti-hero/etc.
Main character
Direct characterizations ·the grandmother had on a navy blue straw sailor hat with a bunch of
white violets on the brim and a navy blue dress with a small white dot
(Which direct in the print.
characterizations can you ·"Here this fellow that calls himself The Misfit is aloose from the
locate in the story?) Federal Pen and headed toward Florida and you read here what it
says he did to these people.
Indirect characterizations ·The grandmother wrote this down because she thought it would be
interesting to say how many miles they had been when they got back.
(Which indirect ·She reached out and touched him on the shoulder. The Misfit sprang
characterizations can you back as if a snake had bitten him and shot her three times through the
locate in the story?) chest.
"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!"
Plot (max. 10 sentences) Exposition：The Family decides to go on a trip, knowing that at the
same destination there is a criminal on the loose.
Indicate the five stages of
Rising Action：The family gets kind of lost on the way and end up
Freytag’s pyramid in the plot of in a ten feet deep ditch but nobody is hurt .The Misfits arrive at the
this story. If stages are missing, scene and killed the family except the grandmother.
list this. Keep in mind Plot (cont.) Climax： The grandmother shows a moment of grace and is killed.
that some stages may be in a Denouement: They take the grandmother into the forest to put her
with the rest of the family .
different order, be missing, or be
present more than once.
, ·Person vs.Person:
Conflict
1) Grandma & her son:The grandma is unwilling to visit Florida but her son
(Identify and explain the major and her son’s wife determine to go.
sources of conflict in the story, ie: 2)The family & Misfit
·Person vs.Self:Misfit’s inner changes
internal: person vs. self). ·Person vs. Society:Grandmother’s Christian grace and the demanding way
of how grace operates.
·Everyone has their own idea of good to suit their own set of moral codes.
Theme The grandmother has no filter. She pretends to be better than the rest. She thinks
(Tell what you think the theme is that she is a lady and that she is good but she has her flaws as well. People often
hold themselves in higher esteem than what reality tells us. They believe that they
and explain in several sentences). are good and honest people but they are just concerned with themselves.
·We should not definite a person good or evil with literal judgement and blind
faith.
Point of view Third person POV: Limited Omniscient
(Tell what the point of view is and →She(the grandmother) wanted to visit some of her connections
in east Tennessee and she was seizing at every chance to change
give examples of how you could
Bailey's mind.
determine this from the story). We only know some feelings of the grandmother.
Irony ·Dramatic Irony
"Yes and what would you do if this fellow, The Misfit, caught you?"
(Identify and explain any major
the grandmother asked.
sources of irony in the story – The reader and The author share the knowledge that Misfit will do
verbal/ dramatic/ situational/ some bad things to them. Even though the grandmother read
structural). news, they still turn to Misfit for help after the accident. When the
grandmother is talking with Misfit, we know that the grandmother is
going to be killed but she still isn’t aware of that and performances
inappropriately.
Symbolism ·The Misfit’s automobile represents the death of the family and old
South’s opinion.
(Identify and explain any key ·The Grandmother’s hat represents her nature of selfishness and
symbols used in the story. Note flimsy moral conviction.
what they are and what they
represent.) →In case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway
would know at once that she was a lady.
·The monkey is a symbol for the devil
→The monkey sprang back into the tree and got on the highest limb
as soon as he saw the children jump out of the car and run toward
him.
Quote
Memorable passage /quote
Explanation: Why is
this quote memorable?
(Write 3-5 sentences).
