A Sample Book Report

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A GOOD MAN IS HARD TO FIND

By Flannery O’Connor

A. PLOT

The story focuses on the experience of Bailey, a father of two children, a boy, and a girl, his wife, and his grandmother. It all begins with the grandmother’s hesitation to go on vacation to Florida. She made a strong disposition that they should instead visit Tennessee because of the fact that the news on the escape of The Misfit was all over the news.

Her intuition tells her that if they go to Florida, they might have a close encounter with the escaped convict and it will put all of their lives in danger. But her effort of winning the argument to their destination was futile because all of her woes were not heard of or recognized by her family; and in order to express her opposition on the plan, she wears her best Sunday dress so that if any untoward incident takes place, she will be easily and immediately  be recognized as a lady.

While on the road, the grandmother talks incessantly about her good old days and suddenly remembered an off road leading to an old house. She convinced Bailey to take the detour and while on the process of traversing the dirt road, her pet cat jumped out from the basket, causing panic to the whole family and resulted to a car accident.

As they wait for somebody to put them out of the situation, a car arrives. The moment a man disembarks from the inside, the grandmother’s intuition served her right.

The face was so familiar, telling her that it was the fugitive they were talking about. One by one, they were brought by the misfit deep into the woods with the help of two other men. Eventually, it was Bailey and his son John Wesley who was shot to death first by Hiram and Bobby Lee. Then came the horrible death of the mother, the daughter, and the innocent baby. No matter how the grandmother convinced the misfit that he is a good man by touching his shoulder, her life was still not spared by the fugitive because she was shot three times; and she ended up lying in her cold blood.

B. EXPOSITION

The story was opened and introduced with the opposing plans of the grandmother and Bailey’s family on where they should go for a trip on vacation. In this process, the attitude of the characters was given special attention. A grandmother who by herself is known to be a woman of a constant preoccupation of whatever that she sees or observes around, making her always right in all her decisions. Also comes, Bailey, who is known to be a temperamental character, always caught up with his impatience of whatever is going around the household, trying his best not to be angry with his seemingly timid and physically “impaired” wife and two innocent kids, John Wesley and June Star, who are always involved with their petty quarrels and bickerings.

C. CONFLICT

There already exists a conflict in the family’s indecision on where to go that day, knowing that someone dangerous is on the loose. The unplanned journey was aggravated by the grandmother’s lapse of judgment and her cat’s sudden animalistic move, which places them in trouble after their car had an accident. The latter opened up the scene where they got a close encounter with the misfit and his two men, who, without any hesitation, abducted them and brought them to the deepest part of the woods.

D. CLIMAX

The highest emotional scenario could be felt when the family finally met the misfit with his two fellow prisoners after their car accident. There is nothing more traumatic for the family than the idea of possibly being abducted and killed. Hearts will be pounding intensely when the grandmother was left alone with the misfit while in a subtle way, Bailey and his son, including the mother, the daughter, and the baby, were taken out of her sight deep into the jungle and with no help coming from the authorities. The grandmother could be heard outwitting the misfit with her religious belief but of no use because the latter had different perspectives in life, making the situation more difficult to handle.

E.  RESOLUTION

It was indeed a terrifying and a grueling finale for the family in this story. Two shots were heard first, ending the life of Bailey and his son John Wesley. Then came a couple of more rounds out of the barrel for the mother, June Star, and the innocent baby. Finally, a touch on the misfit’s shoulder aroused more irritation and anger, prompting the fugitive to avoid physical contact and to end it all with three gunshots,  which claimed the life of now a happy and a smiling grandmother. The criminals throw them all together and left the scene with no remorse at all.