In remarks prefatory to a public reading of this story, O’Connor stated that “what makes a story work . . . is probably some action, some gesture of a character that is unlike any other in the story, one which indicates where the real heart of the story lies.” This action, which is “both totally right and totally unexpected,” must operate “on the anagogical level, that is, the level which has to do with the Divine life and our participation in it.” O’Connor, anticipating a non-Catholic audience essentially hostile to her religious and philosophical position, manages to dramatize her views within the story: She shows a human being change and creates an effective scene in which God’s grace intervenes in the natural world. Thus, O’Connor makes it possible for the reader to focus on what she sees as crucial: “In this story you should be on the lookout for such things as the action of grace in the Grandmother’s soul, and not for the dead bodies.”

A balance for the seriousness, even sublimity, of this moment of grace is the black humor of the dialogue between The Misfit and the grandmother, which precedes the grandmother’s gesture. Much of this humor derives from the regional particularities of southern speech, which O’Connor’s sharp ear accurately registers. When the grandmother urges The Misfit to seek God’s help, he replies, “I don’t want no hep, I’m doing all right by myself.” Another source of humor is the bizarre logic of The Misfit’s outlook on the world: “I call myself The Misfit . . . because I can’t make what all I done wrong fit what all I gone through in punishment.” Finally, there is the sardonic understatement of The Misfit himself, who declines the grandmother’s offer of money, noting, “Lady, . . . there never was a body that give the undertaker a tip.”

A brilliant mixture of horror and humor, compassion and tough-mindedness, this story epitomizes O’Connor’s greatest powers as a writer. Her bedrock of belief in the Roman Catholic faith made it possible for O’Connor to view that most horrifying representative of humankind, the serial killer, with sympathy and hope. Her tough, critical intelligence made her sensitive to the petty hypocrisy and smugness that sometimes accompany religious faith, but she was also able to see that these are at worst venial sins. It was this clear perspective that enabled O’Connor to note “that the old lady lacked comprehension, but that she had a good heart.” Thus, the reader may observe about O’Connor what O’Connor observed about the southerner: She “is usually tolerant of those weaknesses that proceed from innocence, and . . . knows that a taste for self-preservation can be readily combined with the missionary spirit.”

Symbolism
Symbols, elements in a fiction that represent more profound or significant ideas, enable writers to convey complex concepts within seemingly simple narratives. O'Connor incorporates various symbols in "A Good Man Is Hard to Find." For instance, O'Connor consistently uses skies and weather to reflect a character's mental state. In another story, "The Life You Save May Be Your Own," she concludes with a man being "chased" by a menacing thundercloud, symbolizing his guilt for deserting his mentally and physically challenged wife at a roadside diner. In "A Good Man Is Hard to Find," the sky at the story's conclusion is cloudless and clear, signifying that the Grandmother has died with a clear understanding of her place in the world. Another significant symbol in the story is the old house the Grandmother insists on visiting. This house represents her tendency to cling to the past, a time she believes was more virtuous than the present. However, the house is not where she thought—it was in Tennessee, not Georgia—highlighting the idea that one's memory of the past is often inaccurate. This fixation on a distorted past ultimately leads the family to their downfall, as they are misled by a past that never truly existed.

Point of View
O'Connor had a strong focus on point of view, ensuring she maintained consistency throughout her work. "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" is narrated in the third person, meaning it isn’t told by any of the characters directly involved in the story. The opening sentence suggests an "objective" narrator: "The grandmother didn't want to go to Florida." However, the narrative only grants access to the Grandmother's thoughts, a technique known as "third person limited," where the author discloses the emotions and thoughts of just one character. The names of the characters also reflect this perspective; for instance, Bailey's wife is referred to simply as "the children's mother," showing that the Grandmother views her primarily in relation to her son and grandchildren. Despite this, O'Connor maintains "authorial distance" by not fully immersing into the Grandmother's thoughts. O'Connor is often commended for her "detached" narration style, which allows readers to form their own judgments about the characters. This detachment is further emphasized by the fact that the Grandmother is never named in the story, preventing readers from closely identifying with her or seeing her as a unique individual. She represents a "type" of person, which enables O'Connor to have characters judged by their actions rather than by subjective criteria.

Foreshadowing
Foreshadowing, or hints of future events, appears multiple times in "A Good Man Is Hard to Find." Many short story writers avoid unnecessary details, ensuring every element contributes to the story’s intended effect. Consequently, certain descriptions or dialogues that might initially seem insignificant often gain new meaning upon reflection. In the story's first paragraph, O'Connor introduces the Misfit, who ultimately murders the family. Additionally, as the family prepares for their trip, the Grandmother chooses her outfit with a sense of impending doom. She wears a polka-dot dress adorned with organdy and violets, ensuring that "anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady." Later, as they drive through the countryside, they pass a cotton field with "five or six graves fenced in the middle of it," hinting at the impending deaths of the car's six occupants. Finally, when the Misfit and his gang arrive, their vehicle is described as "a big battered hearse-like automobile," further indicating that death is imminent in the story.

Irony
Irony is one of the trickiest elements to recognize in a narrative because it is closely tied to tone and the author's perspective. Irony is a literary device that suggests things are not as they appear; the straightforward meanings of the words in the story convey an idea that is actually the opposite of what is stated. "Ironic" is not synonymous with "sarcastic" or "coincidental." Irony can manifest in situations where events unfold in unexpected ways; for instance, a family sets off on a summer vacation and ends up being murdered. Irony can also appear in dialogue when a character's words convey a meaning different from what the speaker intends. Lastly, there is "dramatic irony," where the reader understands something that the characters do not. In "A Good Man Is Hard to Find," O'Connor employs various types of irony to express her views on the human condition. At the story's outset, the Grandmother declares, "I wouldn't take my children in any direction with a criminal like that aloose in it. I couldn't answer to my conscience if I did." Yet, she does precisely this by diverting the family to a remote roadside. Verbal irony is evident after the car accident when June Star disappointedly remarks, "But nobody's killed." The story's dramatic irony revolves around the family's interaction with the Misfit, where readers grasp the seriousness of the situation while the characters do not; Bailey says, "we're in a terrible predicament! Nobody realizes what this is."

Structure
The story is divided into two parts, each with a distinct tone. The first half, leading up to the car accident, is light-hearted and humorous. However, after the accident, it becomes clear to readers that a tragedy is imminent. The tone shifts to dark, the subject matter turns serious, and the dialogue becomes laden with irony and symbolism. The conversation about religion between the Grandmother and the Misfit is deeply philosophical, starkly contrasting with the earlier trivial exchanges about old boyfriends or impoverished children. The narrative transitions from depicting an ordinary family to exploring themes of death, forgiveness, and injustice.

Tone
In fiction, tone is evident through an author's word choices and actions. The tone in "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" blends humor, detachment, irony, and seriousness. O'Connor's stories often feature humorous descriptions or scenarios. For instance, the story humorously depicts the children's mother as having "a face as broad and innocent as a cabbage... tied around with a green head-kerchief that had two points on the top like rabbit's ears." O'Connor's approach to her characters is detached; her narrative voice does not encourage readers to sympathize with them. Instead, she portrays the characters with all their flaws and peculiarities, allowing readers to judge them impartially. As the story progresses, the tone shifts to a more serious and tragic note when the Misfit encounters the family. O'Connor illustrates a scenario where ordinary people face a force of pure evil. The dark tone intensifies as the characters find themselves unable to reason with the malevolent Misfit and are forced to confront their own mortality.

In A Good Man Is Hard to Find, O'Connor employs a third-person narrator who tells the story from the Grandmother’s perspective. The narrative style fluctuates between limited omniscience and full omniscience. O'Connor establishes whose story this is right from the beginning: "The grandmother didn't want to go to Florida. She wanted to visit some of her connections in east Tennessee and she was seizing at every chance to change Bailey's mind."

The narrator's omniscience is limited, as it does not delve into the thoughts or mental states of any character except the Grandmother. Instead, it merely recounts their words and actions.

O'Connor provides background information about events that occurred just before the story begins, but this is only presented through the Grandmother’s perspective. The reader learns about the story's actions solely from her viewpoint: "Bailey didn't look up from his reading so she wheeled around then and faced the children's mother, a young woman in slacks . . ." Nonetheless, O'Connor does not allow the Grandmother to narrate the story directly. The reader remains distanced from any direct access to the character's mind.

Throughout the narrative, O'Connor balances between an omniscient and a limited omniscient narrator. Occasionally, the narrator explicitly describes the Grandmother's motives:

She didn't intend for the cat to be left alone in the house for three days because he would miss her too much and she was afraid he might brush against one of the gas burners and accidentally asphyxiate himself. Her son, Bailey, didn't like to arrive at a motel with a cat.

However, much of the story is told by simply describing events as they occur, from a relatively objective viewpoint. O'Connor's blend of total omniscience and limited omniscience allows the reader to visualize the unfolding story while restricting the perspective to the Grandmother's view. It is the Grandmother who curses the family by warning about "The Misfit." It is she who gets the family lost and ultimately leads them to their demise. Observing the story from an all-seeing perspective, sans the Grandmother's inner thoughts, enhances the drama while enabling the reader to interpret the events independently.

Maintaining an objective narrative allows readers to draw their own conclusions about the characters' thoughts and provides a broader insight into the other characters' psyches. Even though the reader gains more understanding of the Grandmother's thoughts than those of the other characters, the narrative is not biased by her perspective on them. In the end, this approach offers a more comprehensive understanding of all the characters, allowing the reader to appreciate the broader scope of the story.

O'Connor's story is loaded with foreshadowing, evident in both the dialogue and descriptions. From the outset, the grandmother is reluctant to travel to Florida due to the Misfit being on the run from the authorities. As the story progresses, the grandmother dresses in her best clothes for the trip, worried she might die in an accident. She secretly brings the cat along, hinting that the cat might play a significant role later. Indeed, the cat causes the accident that leads to the family's deadly encounter with the Misfit. The vehicle driven by the Misfit and his accomplices is described as a "big black battered hearse-like automobile," symbolizing impending doom. When the Misfit confronts the family, John Wesley spots a gun and asks, "What you got that gun for? . . . Whatcha gonna do with that gun?" The answer becomes clear soon enough. O'Connor paints the woods behind the family as gaping "like a dark open mouth," setting a menacing scene for the unfolding events. Throughout the narrative, O'Connor builds suspense through foreshadowing, leading up to the moment the Misfit kills the grandmother.

Despite the dark nature of the tale, O'Connor injects humor, however dark, to humanize both the horror of the situation and the characters involved. Through meticulous detail, O'Connor elicits laughter even as readers gasp in horror, surprising them with the blend of humor and sorrow. The title itself carries a touch of humor: not only is a good man hard to find in this story, but good men are only recognized after committing acts of evil.

Additional details add humor to the story. After the grandmother identifies the Misfit, her son Bailey tries to negotiate their way out of the grim situation. The grandmother, in a desperate bid for composure, tries to adjust her hat, but "it came off in her hand. She stood staring at it and after a second she let it fall on the ground." The hat falling apart symbolizes the overall disintegration of their situation, conveying a sense of impending doom. Elsewhere, June Star, on the brink of being taken away to her death, remains spirited. When the Misfit instructs his friend to hold June Star's hand, she protests: "I don't want to hold hands with him . . . He reminds me of a pig." This audacious remark might evoke a chuckle from the reader, who laughs at the child's boldness despite, or perhaps because of, her imminent fate.

A popular adage suggests that the line between laughter and tears is thin. In O'Connor's "A Good Man Is Hard to Find," these emotions are deeply interconnected.

The narrative is deeply rooted in the rural American South. The characters, especially the grandmother, embody quintessential Southern traits and possess a deep familiarity with their environment. As the family travels from Georgia to Florida, the grandmother continually highlights various aspects of the Southern landscape, such as the kudzu and the now-defunct plantations.

The most crucial element of the setting is its depiction of the Old South's decline. The children's disdain for Georgia and Tennessee starkly contrasts with the grandmother's pride in her home state. This setting provides O'Connor with a backdrop to juxtapose the traditional Southern values against the diminishing sense of pride seen in the younger generations.