THE LIFE YOU SAVE MAY BE YOUR OWN

4. THE "BROKEN" CHARACTER

• "My only," the old women said,"and she's the sweetest girls in the world. I wouldn't give her up for nothing on Earth." (O'Connor 8)
• This cite explains that Lucynell's mother is trying to get rid of her so she won't be bothered with her.
• This proves that she is the "broken" character because she is willing to give up her daughter for her own sake.

6. "Freakishness"

• "His left coat sleeve was folded up to show there was only half an arm and his gaunt figure listed slightly to the side as if the breeze were pushing him." (O'Connor 1)
• Shiflet is set apart from the world because he only has half a left arm. This characteristic was noticed right away as Mrs. Crater seen him walking toward her house.

8. IMPRISONMENT

• "She looks like a angel of Gawd," he murmured. "Hitch-hiker," Mr. Shiflet explained, "I can't wait. I got to make Tuscaloosa."
• In this scene, Tom is preparing to leave Lucynell by herself in a diner with no one to care for her. She's trapped there with no help or the attention she needs.

EVERYTHING THAT RISES MUST CONVERGE

2. TALE EXPLORES SOCIAL ISSUES AND REVEALS THE CULTURAL CHARACTER OF THE AMERICAN SOUTH

• "She would not ride the buses by herself at night since they had been integrated." (O'Connor 1)
• The old lady refuses to ride the bus alone because she doesn't want to be around black people. By the use of the word "alone" it's evident the lady is afraid of African Americans. "True culture is in the mind, the mind.” During this time of the American South, some whites were still struggling with accepting blacks.

5. "INNOCENT" CHARACTER

• “They don't give a damn for your graciousness,” Julian said savagely. “Knowing who you are is good for one generation only. You haven't the foggiest idea where you stand now or who you are.” (O'Connor 3)
• Julian acts as a redeemer for mother and those that fail to accept others. Julian tries to teach her that this southern mentality is unjust and wrong.

9. SENSE OF PLACE

• “You remain what you are,” she said. “Your great-grand-father had a plantation and two hundred slaves.” (O'Connor 3)
• By saying this, it is seen that the mother is still in the past rather than in the present. She is still having trouble adjusting to the change around her.

A GOOD MAN IS HARD TO FIND

1. TALE RELIES ON IRONIC EVENTS TO GUIDE THE PLOT

• "Here this fellow that calls himself The Misfit is aloose from the Federal Pen and headed toward Florida and you read here what it says he did to these people. Just you read it. I wouldn't take my children in any direction with any criminal like that aloose in it. I couldn't answer to my conscience if I did." (O'Connor 2)
• This shows irony because the grandmother says something about The Misfit being loos and heading in the same direction as them, and later in the story, they encounter him.

3. "GROTESQUE" CHARACTER

• "There was a pistol shot from the woods, followed closely by another. Then silence." (O'Connor 22)
• This excerpt shows when Bailey and his son get taken to the woods by one of the Misfit's men and are killed. This shows how grotesque The Misfit is because he's willing to give the order to not just kill Bailey, but also his son near their family.

7. "OUTSIDER"

• "WE'VE HAD AN ACCIDENT!" The grandmother was curled up under the dashboard, hoping she was injured so Bailey's wrath would not come down on her all at once." (O'Connor 15)
• At this moment, the family had been in an accident and they're in the middle of nowhere. They need help from someone passing by so they can to where they're going.