4.
The title “A Good Man is Hard to Find” is sort of ironic. The family that leaves for vacation has no idea that they are about to encounter The Misfit and his partners. The family is aware of The Misfit, but what are the odds they would run into him somewhere? Very good apparently. The idea of bad men being easier to find then good men is unsettling. And the grandmother in the story tries her best to convince The Misfit that he is a good man. Just the title of this story tells the reader it will not have a happy ending. It adds suspense to the story as well, reading through almost the entire story waiting for this “man” to appear. It starts the reader wondering, “Why is it so hard to find a good man? Is the father not a good man? Who is this story's real focus on?” And even after The Misfit is revealed in the story, after he's had the rest of the family killed, you wonder if he is really going to kill the grandmother too or if he will have a change of heart. The title suggests that good men do exist but you have to look hard. Which seems to be the obvious thing you have to do but people might forget that.
12.
I feel the title references his commitments to his own family. We see it especially in the last line, “I smile as I serve my duty.” He has to be there with his family and participate in all the same activities and put on a happy face for them. He feels obligated but he does care about them, as seen in the line, “I am always there for critical emergencies, graduations, the middle of the night.” He is there when they need him. His biggest commitment is to his family, to be a part of it. So he hides his true feelings to keep them happy.
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Hello Amanda,
ReplyDeleteHow are you? I hope that you are well, and that you had a great weekend so far. You did a great job on your posting. :-) I am going to comment on question number 12, regarding the poem, "Commitments."
Discussion Question #12
The Poem, "Commitments"
I agree with you, Amanda. I believe that this poem has to do with the narrator's commitments to his family. The narrator is at all of the family functions, and is there with a smile on his face, even though he feels out of place. For example, in lines thirteen through eighteen, the narrator states, "In the photos the smallest children are held by their parents. My arms are empty, or around the shoulders of unsuspecting aunts expecting to throw rice at me some day" (qtd. in Schilb and Clifford 553). In this part of the poem, the narrator is serving his "duty" to the family by posing in the photo, but he feels out of place, probably because he is not married yet or does not have a family to call his own. This emptiness is seen in another part of the poem, in lines nineteen through twenty-six: "Or picture tinsel, candles, ornamented, imitation trees, or another table, this one set for Thanksgiving, a turkey steaming the lens, My arms are empty in those photos, too, so empty they would break" (qtd. in Schilb and Clifford 553). However painful it was for the narrator to attend these family get-togethers, he did it anyway for the sake of his family because he knew it would make them happy even though he was suffering. Again, it seems his pain was caused by the fact that he did not have a family to call his own yet, and that broke his heart.
Thanks for the read, Amanda, and good post. :-) Have a great week ahead, and God Bless!
Sincerely,
Jillian