The Use of Foreshadowing and Symbolism in “A Good Man is Hard to Find” When an author writes a story, he or she will generally use different writing techniques to create the piece. These techniques have the ability to turn a story into something truly unique, as they allow the story to unfold in it’s own way. In the short story “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, author Flannery O’Connor used the techniques of symbolism and foreshadowing throughout the entire piece to create a deeply captivating story, as so many of the details mentioned in the beginning of the story are glimpses of the end. The foreshadowing in “A Good Man is Hard to Find” can be seen almost immediately. Within the first paragraph, the protagonist known as “the …show more content…

They also contribute to the dark and morbid tone of the piece.
In particular, the color red can be seen as most symbolic in this story, because it is the color of blood. Blood is not relevant to this story for the sole reason that the family was murdered. It applies to falling action of the piece, when the grandmother was attempting to dissuade the misfit from killing her, because she repeatedly stated that he looked like he had good or common blood. Those statements, along with “Red Sammy”, the name of the restaurant owner known who warned the grandmother about The Misfit, leave reason to believe that the color red may be symbolic of the grandmother’s hopes to stay alive.
Throughout the entirety of Flannery O’Connor’s short story “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, it seems that every occurrence can relate to the end of the story. In a sense, the use of foreshadowing creates a dramatic irony, because the character of The Misfit is discussed so frequently in the beginning of the story that the readers anticipate his interaction with the grandmother and her family. The use of symbolism adds great depth to the story, as it requires the audience to delve further into the text, and actually think about the story, rather than simply read the words. This allows for the story to unfold in a way that is incredibly captivating, as the reader is likely so curious to see how it all plays