Essay about Painting a Portrait of Death - 811 Words

â€Å"Painting a Portrait of Death† Death is inevitable to all forms of life. In giving birth to a typical family, Flannery O’Connor immediately sets the tone for their deaths, in the story, A Good Man is Hard To Find. OConnor’s play on words, symbolism and foreshadowing slowly paves the way for the family’s death. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;OConnor begins to paint the image of death with her presentation of the grandmother. As the family prepares for their adventure the grandmother carefully selects her attire. â€Å"A navy blue straw sailor hat with a bunch of white violets on the brim and a navy blue dress with a small white dot in the print. Her collars and cuffs were white organdy trimmed with lace and at her neckline she had pinned a†¦show more content†¦OConnor purposely places â€Å"five or six† graves in that area to symbolize each of the family members. This scene foreshadows that all of the family members are put to death in a completely isolated area, surrounded by the thickness of nothing. The grandmother tells the family, â€Å"That was the old family burying ground. That belonged to the plantation† (OConnor 268). Not only does her quote symbolize that their whole family will soon lay their, but it allows the son to inquire, â€Å"Were’s the plantatio n† (OConnor 268). The grandmother responds, â€Å"Gone With the Wind† (OConnor 268), this symbolically representing each of the family members at the end of the story as their souls have been let loose and set free like the wind. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;By illustrating play on words, OConnor continues to maintain the trend of death. The town where the family meets their fate is brilliantly noted, Toombsboro† (OConnor 270). Two deadly words are excreted from the town’s name, tomb and bury. The meaning of the town enhances a foreshadowing quote from the misfit. The grandmother asks, â€Å"What did you do to get sent to the penitentiary that first time?† (OConnor 276). The Misfit’s answer slyly enhances the meaning of the town’s name by explaining, â€Å"Turn to the right, it was a wall†¦Turn to the left it was a wall.Show MoreRelatedJohn Copley and Benjamin West813 Words   |  4 Pagesfurther into Copley’s and West’s artwork(s) and this is what I have found. John Singleton Copley’s painting: Mars, Venus, and Vulcan: The Forge of Vulcan features Venus which is the symbol of love and sex. It shows Venus as very seductive young woman. It also has cupid’s arrows which also represents love. Half of the painting is painted dark giving the painting a dreadful feeling. Half of the painting is painted light giving the feeling of relief. 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