Genre Study - A Good Man is Hard to Find

When looking at A Good Man Is Hard To Find by Flannery O'Connor it is a story about a family from the south who are going on a what seems like a harmless vacation to Florida. Though, the whole time the grandmother is trying to persuade the family to change their minds and go to Tennessee. One reason that she did not want to head towards Florida is because there was a Killer on the loose called The Misfit. It was the grandmother then that lead the family off on their vacation to visit a place that she had visited when she was a young girl. Though, on the way to this place they crash into a ditch and are left stranded. Till what the family probably thought would be the people to save them, but because like said in the story countless of times you can't trust anyone anymore. The people who got out of the car was The Misfit, which led to the murder of the entire family. Though, the grandmother tried to find the good in him, but there was none to be found and she ended up dead.
Within the story there are many gothic elements that can be portrayed. It is said that this story is of Southern Gothic. There are elements such as being stranded, the weather, that of suspense and of the common evil horror.
The weather is a concern, in we do not know what time of day it is. We do not know if it is day or night and this would add to the overall effectiveness of the story, but we are never told.
The aspect of being stranded in how the family is not in a place they are familiar with. Though, the grandmother thinks she does, but is mistaking the area with an area in Tennessee. Then to the final scene where the family is left stranded in the ditch after they crashed into, left there injured and know way of transportation. Putting their faith in the hands of the next person or family to come along and help them out. This element adds on to the other element of suspense. Throughout the story, we have an underlying feeling that something is going to happen to this family.Then when the family finally comes in contact with The Misfit, there is the suspense that builds up as he kills off each member of the family one by one. Then to the final suspense if he will kill the grandmother. These two elements help drive the story to the end. Then the final evil that is possessed in the story with The Misfit, if feeling no remorse when killing all the people he has killed.