DQ Week 5

“A Good Man is Hard to Find”
4. Discuss the title of “A Good Man is Hard to Find” – how does it relate to the story? Does this title provide a particular kind of insight into the text?

By Flannery O'Connor‘s title, “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” the reader can easily think that this short story is about a women who cannot find a good man in her life or for her. As the story is read, the title can be related to the story. The story is about a grandmother and her son and family. The grandmother has a very ‘the olden days’ were type of attitude who believes that there are no good men and that all people are untrustworthy. Along the way the family meets up with The Misfit, who is an escaped convict. The Misfit does relate to the title as well as what the grandmother feels. Encountering with this man gives truth to the title because this man ends up killing the whole family. Not every man can be a the ‘bad man’ but as for the story there was no good man. The title then does give insight into the text because it is about how a good man is hard to find.

“Heritage”
9. “The last sentence seems to contain a contradiction. “From my family I have learned the secrets” might lead you to expect something positive. But maybe the last phrase is not meant to be positive. What is your reading of Hogan’s conclusion?” (492)

“Heritage” by Linda Hogan is about the speakers family. She tells about what her family has taught not just about her but also in relation to her heritage. Her mother, father, uncle, and grandfather have all taught mainly about herself, her distinct features that make her apart of her Chickasaw heritage. As for her Grandmother, she has taken the roll of teaching her about her heritage and how important it is. Hogan ends with “From my family I have learned the secret,” which can seem like a positive conclusion because learning about ones family is important, but sometimes learning the truth is not always positive. “She told me how our tribe has always followed a stick,” indicates how her tribe has always had to move away. Learning that your family has never been able to be stable because they have been forced to move is not positive, especially because of other groups of people. She learns that there is negative relationships with outsiders. “It was the brown stain/that covered my white shirt./my whiteness a shame,” is a very important line. It can be understood that the ‘white’ people are the ones who could have that negative tension between their families. Their tribe can symbolize the brown stain that seems to always be in the way and having to move along. Thus, “never having a home.”