Episode 277: “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor

The Literary Life Podcast

On today’s episode of The Literary Life podcast, Angelina and Thomas continue their series on Flannery O’Connor with a discussion of her short story “A Good Man is Hard to Find.” After sharing their commonplace quotes, Angelina explains why she chose this particular story to go over on the podcast. She and Thomas then go over the characters in the family and the dynamics at play. Some of the ideas they talk about in this story are the appearance of respectability, the sentimental view of the “Old South,” the medieval and Sophoclean elements in the story, superficial Christianity versus nihilism, and so much more. They wrap up this episode with more thoughts on O’Connor’s use of violence as a means of grace and how her stories can open people’s eyes to their own depravity.

If you are interested in learning more about Flannery O’Connor, you can purchase Angelina’s previously recorded class, The Redemptive Vision of Flannery O’Connor.

Now is the time to sign up for the upcoming summer classes and webinars at The House of Humane Letters. Some of the classes highlighted in this episode are Angelina’s next installment in her series of classes on Harry Potter and Thomas’ class on five famous figures of the Victorian era.

To view the full show notes for this episode, including book links, quotes and this week's poem, please visit https://theliterary.life/277.