O'Connor's A Good
Man is Hard to Find reminded
me several different types of similar work, or at least work from other authors
and artists that seem to be linked in my mind (the "grotesque-esque",
if I may). This story reminded me of Chuck Palahniuck's Fight Club or Monsters not so much in
the narrative sense (as Palahniuck tends to be less descriptive than O'Connor
and relies more heavily on dialogue), but in the generally uneasy, disturbing
subtext of the situations presented in the story. From the start we get the
sense that something isn't quite right about this family and their journey to
Florida, but what that "something wrong" is is not specifically
addressed or obviously stated. It is up to the reader to determine, through
observation, why the story they're reading is grotesque.
It also reminded me of surrealist
paintings, like those done by Salvador Dali, the creator of the famous and
archetypal "melting clocks painting" (its name is The Persistence of Memory, if
you're inclined to learn more about him and his work; he really did have a
fascinating life).
When I think "grotesque", I
think of things that are disturbing not because they're outright scary, such as
in horror, but because they appear on the surface to be quite ordinary, but on
closer inspection are actually revolting or uncomfortable to consider.
Alternatively, it conjures up images of things that are based on ordinary
objects or situations but have been distorted in some way that is not
necessarily harmful or dangerous, but still disturbing to behold. For example,
the special effects used in the movie adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas:
under the influence of psychotropic drugs, Hunter perceives the people around
him as having melting faces and other abnormal features. This is, in my
opinion, a way that we can convey this idea of "grotesque" to the
reader or viewer. It's a just-under-the-skin jolt of the unreal, infused with
reality in a way that makes it difficult to determine where the
"real" begins or ends.
So, let’s talk about why A
Good Man is Hard to Find, specifically, is grotesque. The story is set in a
rural area, which belies a sense of loneliness and an often creates mental
images of vast, empty landscapes, perhaps abandoned farms or ghost towns. We
are presented from the beginning with the knowledge that there is an escaped
convict on the loose who goes by the handle “the Misfit”. This foreshadowing
creates a sense of dread because we as the reader become aware that we are
likely going to have to deal with this Misfit character at some point, and
things may not end well for our story family.
There are also racial elements at work in this story. It was written
in 1955, which was roughly the beginning of the Civil Rights era, when
Americans were beginning to push back against the injustices of racism. I think
that O’Connor used racist terms in her story both to create a more realistic
and immersive environment, as well as to illustrate the grotesque-ness of
racism and racial mindsets.
There are some specific passages that are fairly grotesque, too:
the grandmother insists on wearing her Sunday best during the drive so that “If
I die, I’ll look like a lady”. During the car crash toward the end of the story,
it is mentioned that the mother is ejected from the vehicle while holding her
baby, which is a fairly disturbing and almost obscene notion (especially since
we never learn whether they actually survive). Or, what about the fact that
this family in dire straits happens to be found by the Misfit, creating an
unlikely “worst possible case” scenario.
Good discussion. Although Flannery O'Connor and other writers (like Carson McCullers and Harry Crews, my favorites) do write their fair share of stories with obvious freaks and outcasts, their best work often centers on, for lack of better terminology, freaks whose freak flags don't fly proudly but for whom readers are raising the flag. I like to think of grotesque as the shiny red apple with the worm inside (or the mealy apple...or the rotten apple). The grandmother is typical. She's demanding. She's got her head stuck in the social proprieties of another era and in her Bible. She's concerned with looking like a lady, yet she isn't. This woman who spews out all sorts of good Christian ideology, is not good at all and could likely take the advice she's spouting. Finally, I'd go back to your Fight Club reference. The world keeps up appearances. Worker bees work their 8-hour shifts and seem normal, but then they have empty lives and need to get their jollies by going to AA-type meetings to feel alive. Upon further reflection, a reader figures out that the real freaks are the ones who go about their daily drudgery and do not find something to spike their pulses and make them feel alive again. That same strange reversal takes place at then end, when we are forced to figure out who is good and who is evil in AGMIHTF.
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