A Good Man is Hard to Find

My initial reaction to this story was one of complete disguest. I detest murder, and this story was all about killing and dying. Ok, enough being spiteful. I think the piece was a good one in the sense of our learning about characterization, because there were all different types of characters in the plot. The characters interacting with one another were from different walks of life and of all different age groups so the way they communicated with one another was interesting to observe. Not much detail was given about the character's personal lives, so it was up to us to glean what we could from their actions and speech.

One aspect that struck me right away was the hints of the time this story was written/occured in. What caught my attention was that of the language and the car ride. The author refers to the comics the children are reading as "funny papers". I've heard my grandmother use this term to refer to comics in the newspaper. Later, the Grandmother refers to an African American boy as a "Nigger" which is a thowback to her age and the age of the piece. Another incident is when the author describes the seating arrangements in the car. The baby sits in the middle seat in the front of the car. This is certainaly illegal today.