Flannery O’connor's Expression of Modern Society

Flannery O’Connor’s Expression of Modern Society


Flannery O’Connor (1925-1964) was an American writer who wrote a number of short stories along with a few novels. One of her most popular works is A Good Man Is Hard to Find. In this short story, O’Connor expresses her view of modern society as corrosive and immoral through her work A Good Man is Hard to Find. The author expresses this through the children’s disrespectful behavior, instances of deception and lack of courage portrayed throughout the story.
O’Connor portrays the children (June Star and John Wesley) as disrespectful children, indicating the decay of respect for elders and rudeness of modern society. O’Connor was raised as a Roman Catholic in the 1920s-1930s. She was taught to respect her elders and be polite. Ever since the children are introduced, they are portrayed with a rude attitude. The grandmother is interested in going to Tennessee while the family plans on going to Florida. When the grandmother insists on a trip to Tennessee, John Wesley, the little boy, abruptly responds: “If you don’t want to go to Florida, why dontcha stay at home” (O’Connor 365)? Directly after the boy scolds the grandmother, the little girl, June Star, responds: “She wouldn’t stay at home to be queen for a day” (365). The children, especially June Star, continued to show a very unfriendly and rude attitude. The

family stops at a place called The Tower to get barbeque sandwiches, owned by a man named Red Sam. June stepped onto the dance floor, tap dancing. When Sam’s Wife makes a comment asking June to be her little girl, June harshly responds: “No I certainly won’t. I wouldn’t live in a broken-down place like this for a million bucks” (367-368).
The kids almost cause an accident during the drive, when grandma pumps them up about a house with treasure in it. John Wesley kicks the back of the driver seat really hard, hurting his father and June Star whined in her mom’s ear. O’Connor’s rude portrayal of these...