A Good Man Is Hard to Find Themes

This Custom-Writing.org article explains every key theme of “A Good Man Is Hard to Find.” Good vs. evil, religion, and death are the core issues represented in the short story by Flannery O’Connor.

So, what is the theme of “A Good Man is Hard to Find?” Keep reading to find out the message and moral lesson of the story!

Main themes in A Good Man Is Hard to Find are: good vs. evil, religion, and death.

💡 Message
👼 Good vs. Evil
✝️ Religion
💀 Death
🔑 What Is the Main Theme of the Story?
✍️ Theme Essay
🔗 References

💡 What is the Message of A Good Man Is Hard to Find?

“A Good Man Is Hard to Find” focuses on the topic of morality and its inherent ambiguity. Themes of good vs. evil, death, and religion help to convey this message:

Good and evil are not clear-cut concepts. For example, the Grandmother is the representation of outward goodness that is accepted by society, while The Misfit is seen as an immoral killer. As the story progresses, the readers learn that not everything is as simple as it seems.
Death doesn’t differentiate between whether a person is good or bad – it will come for everyone. It’s arbitrary, and no righteous behavior can stop it from happening.
Religion offers moral guidance to people, but it isn’t necessarily the only interpretation of ethics. The Misfit’s views of good and evil differ from religious dogma, but it doesn’t mean his ideas are wrong.

👼 Good vs. Evil Theme of A Good Man Is Hard To Find

Good vs. evil in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” can be one of the most critical themes to mention in your essay. The Grandmother, with her fake morality, confronts the Misfit, who represents the bad guy. The old lady may seem like the embodiment of goodness. But it’s what lies below the surface that matters. If you analyze the characters, you’ll see that we can’t say for sure who the antagonist is.

The Grandmother sees having good manners and grace as the signs of a “good man.” And then she meets the escaped convict, a sinful murder and the total counterpart of the image of a “good man.” Still, the elderly lady tries to talk him out of killing her. Her behavior can most likely be explained by the desire to save her life and not his soul.

Meanwhile, the Misfit is entirely lost, trying to understand what’s right and wrong. He knows he is no saint, but he doesn’t see anything wrong in his actions. We can notice from some of the quotes that the Misfit’s sense of “goodness” is different when he comments on the Grandmother in the end. However, his real intentions are unclear, and they keep changing throughout his life.

A Good Man Is Hard to Find: Quotes on Good vs. Evil

Listen… I know you’re a good man. You don’t look a bit like you have common blood. I know you must come from nice people!
A Good Man, Grandmother

I found out the crime don’t matter. You can do one thing or you can do another, kill a man or take a tire off his car, because sooner or later you’re going to forget what it was you done and just be punished for it.
A Good Man, Misfit

✝️ Religion in A Good Man Is Hard To Find

Since the Grandmother is a believer, it comes as no surprise that religion in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” is the central theme. She is convinced that she is the only good Christian among other characters, which ultimately makes her the embodiment of religious hypocrisy.

The climax of the story is the Grandmother’s and the Misfit’s conversation about Jesus. The lady tries to save her life by calling for the Misfit’s sense of faith. However, her manipulation fails because the murderer doesn’t have trust in Jesus.

It turns out that the Misfit gave this topic much more thought than the Grandmother, who is supposedly a model Christian. The Misfit’s point of view comes down to the lack of belief in Jesus and the total loss of the sense of life.

“You’re one of my own children!” – these are the last words of the Grandmother. This quote from “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” shows that she finally experiences the divine power of love in her final moments. The Grandmother accepts and forgives the Misfit as if he were her relative. We can conclude that one of the main themes of “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” is that experiencing and spreading unconditional love is the true meaning of life and religion itself.

A Good Man Is Hard to Find: Quotes on Religion

Jesus shown everything off balance. It was the same case with Him as with me except He hadn’t committed any crime and they could prove I had committed one because they had the papers on me.
A Good Man, Misfit

Jesus was the only One that ever raised the dead… and He shouldn’t have done it. He shown everything off balance. If He did what He said, then it’s nothing for you to do but throw away everything and follow Him, and if He didn’t, then it’s nothing for you to do but enjoy the few minutes you got left the best way you can-by killing somebody or burning down his house or doing some other meanness to him. No pleasure but meanness.
A Good Man, Misfit

A Good Man Is Hard to Find Religious Symbolism

In many conventional interpretations, The Misfit is likened to a Christ-like figure. However, a closer examination reveals that he represents the Anti-Christ and embodies the inversion of divine characteristics:

The Misfit’s discomfort around children echoes the biblical contrast between Jesus’s love for children and the devil’s aversion to innocence.
His self-imposed title of “the misfit” symbolizes societal alienation and mirrors the rejection of Satan by God.

Through these symbols, O’Connor further underlines the ambiguous nature of faith and morality.

💀 Themes of A Good Man Is Hard to Find: Death

All the themes in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” are interconnected, and this one is not an exception. The theme of death is even mentioned at the beginning of the short story when the Grandmother nags about the escaped murderer and worries about her cat dying alone. Even the setting suggests this underlying theme.

Death is an important idea in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find “which finds reflection in several important symbols. The last moments of the Grandmother’s life become the revelation. The Misfit’s role is to give her a chance to change. At the end of the story, the Grandmother realizes that only love and forgiveness are salvation. Having led such a meaningless life before, she has to pay the price.

Now, if we review the Misfit’s last words about the Grandmother, they might make more sense. He says she would be a good woman “if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life.” The convict understands that only the fear of death brings enlightenment to the old lady.

It also hints at a popular belief that the best opportunity to truly change one’s life is to undergo a near-death experience.

A Good Man Is Hard to Find: Quotes on Death

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 dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady.
A Good Man, Narrator

Lady,.. there never was a body that give the undertaker a tip.
A Good Man, Misfit

She would of been a good woman… if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life.
A Good Man, Misfit

🔑 What Is the Main Theme in A Good Man Is Hard to Find?

You should combine all the issues discussed above to understand what the main theme in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” is. Death appears to be a revelation for the Grandmother. She has been following the wrong ideals her whole life, but in her final moments, she realizes that love and forgiveness are the true faith.

✍️ A Good Man Is Hard to Find Theme Essay Prompts

Need ideas for a theme essay about the story? Check out the prompts below to get inspired:

The illusion of moral superiority in O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find.” In this essay, you can discuss how the Grandmother’s self-righteous behavior contributes to the family’s downfall. Consider how her flawed sense of leads to a clash with the Misfit and the eventual revelation of her own moral shortcomings.
Redemption and grace themes in “A Good Man is Hard to Find.” What moments indicate the Grandmother’s and the Misfit’s redemption? Discuss whether redemption is achieved in the end and how O’Connor portrays the possibility of grace in a world of sin.
Grotesque and Southern gothic elements in Flannery O’Connor’s story. In this essay, examine how O’Connor uses these literary devices to explore themes of moral decay and the conflict between good and evil in the American South.
Religious symbolism and Christian allegory in “A Good Man is Hard to Find.” Discuss the significance of symbols such as The Misfit’s name, the Grandmother’s hat, and the black car. You can also consider how O’Connor uses religious imagery to bring themes such as sin and salvation to light.

We hope that you’ve enjoyed reading about “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” themes. If you’re looking for exciting essay ideas on the story, check out our list of topics and samples.