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A Good Man Is Hard to Find

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A Good Man Is Hard to Find The meaning of the word foreshadow is to indicate or show beforehand. The author uses foreshadowing to hint to the reader on what is to come. This can also be subtle, and sometimes overlooked. A careful reader might be able to anticipate the ending by paying attention to the context clues, dialogue among characters, and the major aspects of the plot. In the beginning of the story, the author states that grandmother does not want to go to Florida. In addition, in the opening of the story, the grandmother is reading a newspaper article about an escaped prisoner named The Misfit that is headed to Florida. The grandmother then continues to state that she would never take her children into the direction of an escaped criminal.
Her worries and complaints were taken lightly as the family packed into their vehicle and headed to Florida. While stopped in Georgia, the family stops at a restaurant to eat and engage in conversation with the owner. While on the topic of The Misfit, the owner’s wife says: “I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t attact this place right here” (205). After leaving the restaurant, things start to take a turn for the worse. The family gets into a car accident on a secluded road on the way to an old plantation.
Moments later, a car emerged slowly as if the occupants were watching them. When the three occupants get out of the car, “the grandmother had the feeling that the bespectacled man was someone that she knew “(207). Later on in the story, the grandmother identifies the mysterious man as The Misfit. Because of this, The Misfit first orders his two partners to lead the grandmother’s son and grandson into the woods to be shot.
Soon after, the children’s mother, the baby, and the little girl are also lead into the woods. Followed by this were a piercing scream and a gunshot. Then there were two more gunshots thereafter. Suddenly, the grandmother murmured to The Misfit saying: “Why you’re one of my babies. You’re one of my own children” (211). In reaction to this, The Misfit shot the grandmother three times in the chest. Overall, I believe the conclusion of this story is not troubling. The grandmother’s is quick and ironic. In this story, the sense of trouble was foreshadowed from the beginning. I feel as if the family’s vacation was doomed from the start.
Works Cited
O'Connor. "A Good Man Is Hard to Find." Literature: Reading Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. By Robert DiYanni. 6th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2007. 202-12. Print

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