A Good Man is Hard to Find Foreshadowing
A Good Man is Hard to Find - ForeshadowingIn "A Good Man is Hard to Find," by Flannery O�Connor, one is struck by the unexpected violence at the end of the story. However, if one re-reads the story as second time, one will see definite signs of foreshadowing of the ending. In the course of this story, O�Connor uses strong imagery to foreshadow the people and the events in this story. There are three significant times she uses this technique. They are the description of the grandmother�s dress, the death of the family, and the conversation between the Misfit and the grandmother. The grandmother did not want to go to Florida; she ironically dresses in her Sunday best. She was dressed very nicely with, "A navy blue dress with a small white dot in the print. 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." (11). A strong foreshadowing imagery can be seen in these lines. Knowing the ending of the story, the grandmother�s elaborate dress symbolizes a preparation for her coffin. When a person dies, they are usually dressed in their best outfit, just like the grandmother was dressed in what seemed to be in her Sunday best. A stronger foreshadowing is when O�Connor states the reason for the grandmother�s beautiful dress, "In case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady." (11). She herself predicts her own death. Unfortunately, she does not know this yet. Not only does O�Connor foreshadow the grandmother�s death, she foreshadows the deaths of the rest of the family. The foreshadowing of the family�s death is very evident when they "passed by a cotton field with five or six graves fenced in the middle of it, like a small island." (12). It is not an accident that the numbers of graves "five or six" matches the exact number of people in the car. There are 5 people and a baby. Since a baby in not exactly a full person, it is appropriate to say "five or six." This foreshadowing image leads into the next one: "Look at the grave!" the grandmother said, pointing it out. "That was the old family burying ground. That belonged to the plantation." "Where�s the plantation? John Wesley asked. "Gone With the Wind," said grandmother." "Ha. Ha." (12). The grandmother�s reference to the plantation as "gone with the wind" can be seen as an image foreshadowing and symbolism of the family�s state at the end of the story. Their souls are "gone with the wind" in death. Finally, a foreshadowing image is shown in the Misfit and the grandmother�s conversation towards the end. He says "Does it seem right to you, lady, that one is punished a heap and another ain�t punished at all?" (28). It is known here that the Misfit will kill the grandmother. After all she "ain�t punished" for her crime of hypocrisy, self-centerness, and lying. The Misfit plays God and inflicts punishment where he sees necessary. In conclusion, Flannery O�Connor uses strong imagery to foreshadow the ending of "A Good Man is Hard to Find." She uses numerous images such as the grandmother�s dress, the graveyard, and the conversation with the Misfit to foreshadow the character�s future and events. Her foreshadowing images are both strong and difficult, so it does not spoil the end of the story.