Marxist Examination of “A Good Man is Hard to Find”
The principles of the Marxist literary theory consist of a critical and practical analysis of society. Then another tenet is the capitalist society. It means that aspects of capitalism were analyzed by applying dialectical materialism. The Marxist literary theory makes reference to the bourgeoisie taking power or pressuring the proletariat or working class. Lastly, another tenet is not only to analyze but to seek change in the society.
The tenets and assumptions of this theory can be applied to the story “A Good Man is Hard to Find” which was published in 1953. We need to remember that at the moment this story was published, there was an industrial change. In America, people had recently returned from World War II. Also, there was mass production and television was the main media. In the story, the characters of the grandmother and the Misfit are characters that represent two opposite polarities. They have two conflicting world views. In the text, we can note that O’ Connor makes reference to her faith. Repetitively, the main character of the grandmother is asking God for help, but her prayers are not heard. It is as if her God is absent or simply doesn’t exist. “O’Connor’s felt endlessly compelled to bring her faith to the forefront of her life’s work, which suggests, at some level, there existed an internal struggle against her religion (Webster, 1).” Marxism doesn’t believe in religion. It says that religion is just a way to exercise control over people.
If we think about how this theory can be used to interpret this text, we can start by saying that the character of the grandmother is very strong one. This character has issues related to social affirmation, wealth, and status. She represents the bourgeoisie willing to confirm their social status as being powerful over the rest. For example, the text says, “(…) Her collars and cuffs were white organdy trimmed with lace and at her neckline she had pinned a purple spray of cloth violets containing a sachet. In case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady (O’ Connor, 1).” So, the regular people (proletariat) will know she was someone with power. The Marxist literary theory can be used for analyzing how society was understood and see how the bourgeoisie wants be dominant to over the proletariat. “Marxist approaches to literature require an understanding of the primary economic and social basis of culture since Marxist aesthetic theory sees the work of art as a product, directly or indirectly, of the base structure of society (“Literary Theory,” 1).”
Interpreting this text according the theoretical lens of the Marxist literary theory, “the character of the grandmother is concerned with keeping up her social appearance and being seen as a Christian woman. She is entirely concerned with keeping up appearances of social hierarchy. The grandmother is generally selfish, and petulant in her actions and dialogue; the grandmother continues to plead with the Misfit only for her own life. For example, she said, “You wouldn’t shoot a lady, would you?” (O’Connor, 1).” In contrast, we have the character of Misfit that is not concerned with appearances according to social norms, the Misfit lives beyond it: working when, where, and how he pleases; living as a nomad; rejecting religion for his own moral code. The Misfit constantly rejects the grandmother’s imposed salvation upon him. The text says, “She would of been a good woman, The Misfit said”, “if there had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life” (O’Connor, 1). “Misfit continues on with life as he sees fit. Like Marx predicts, the governing class is overthrown by the revolutionists. The Misfit holds no false preconceptions about the man he is (…) he allows himself simply to exist, and to exist in ultimate freedom, living closer to Marx’s ideal of “true self” than any other character of the narrative (Webster, 1).”
To interpret this text according the Marxist theory, it will be necessary to look at the historical context too. As much as we feel this theory is clear, it will make us find a tie between the theory and the text. “A Good Man is Hard to Find” fits as a text that can be interpreted according the Marxist theory because, as long as you read the story there are elements that remind us that there was a time period in the history of the US where the difference of social class was blatant. Some people were worried to show their social position in society in contrast to others. They wanted to note that they exercised power over other humans. At the same time, there another group which feels abandoned and oppressed. Then, elements of religiosity are present in the text when it is repeated as a mantra that “A Good Man is Hard to Find.” There are prayers asking God for help, but it never arrives. So, the existence of God is questionable and nonexistent in the text. Now, the Marxists are not religious people. They deny the existence of God and believe that religion only serves to limit and control people. So, the elements of religion, expressed as failed prayers are ways to show that Marxists were right to think that religion is not a solution for any problem. As we continue reading the story of “A Good Man is Hard to Find” and then one by one the characters were killed by the Misfit, you arrive to the point where you see that it doesn’t matter how much wealth you have or how many accomplishments. At the end, we are all equal. We are all humans, and we are not exempt from dying in an accident or being killed by someone. In the real world, there will never be equality in terms of position. Only at the end of life, when everyone is subject to the same fate of being mortal are we really equal in society.
Works Cited
Literary Theory. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 2021.
https://iep.utm.edu/literary Accessed August 1st 2021
O’ Connor, Flannery.1953. A Good Man is Hard to Find. Retrieved from:
http://web.archive.org/web/20191023200923/http:/xroads.virginia.edu/~drbr/goodman.html
Accessed July 1st 2021
Webster, J.R. “A Good Man is Hard to Find: A Marxist Critique.” 2021.
