A Good Man Is Hard

O’Connor introduces the grandma immediately to the story and right away the readers can tell that the grandma is very irritating. “’Now look here, Bailey,’ she said, ‘see here, read this,’ and she stood with one hand on her thin hip and the other rattling the newspaper at his bald head” (O’Connor, 405). Throughout the story the grandma continues her exasperating ways by ignoring her son’s orders to not bring the cat in the car and manipulating her grandkids and son to get what she wants. Bailey, the son is portrayed as uptight and easily upset, throughout the story Bailey seems to just ignore the grandma and all her comments “She asked Bailey if he would like to dance but he only glared at her” (O’Connor, 408). And later in the car he explodes after the grandma and children keep nagging to go to an old plantation she use to go to.

The grandmother also secretly brought the family cat, “She had her big black valise and underneath it she was hiding a basket with Pitty Sing, the cat, in it” (O’ Connor 1106), even though “Her son, Bailey, didn’t like to arrive at a motel with a cat” (O’ Connor 1107). When The Misfit arrives, “The grandmother had the peculiar feeling that the bespectacled man was someone she knew” (O’ Connor 1112), but when she later realizes who the man is, she claims, “‘I recognized you at once!’” (O’ Connor 1113). She tells The Misfit, “‘we turned over twice!’” (O’ Connor 1112), even though they both knew that it was only once. Lastly, the grandmother lies again to herself and to The Misfit when she says, “‘you shouldn’t call yourself The Misfit because I know you’re a good man at heart’” (O’ Connor 1113). The only reason she says this is in an attempt to save her life.

The Misfit stated that he didn’t have a rough childhood, growing up with the “finest people in the world… God never made a finer woman than my mother and my daddy’s heart was pure gold” (O’Connor 413). It’s commonly thought that serial killers are motivated by their troublesome pasts, yet the Misfit didn’t seem to experience that. This creates ambiguity because O’Connor does not disclose what caused the Misfit to turn into a vicious killer. However, a possible explanation is that he has always suffered from psychological issues and the turbulent events he experienced contributed to his mental instability such as his time “in the arm services” and seeing “a man burnt alive” (O’Connor 415). Another example is when the grandmother touched the Misfit’s shoulder and said, “Why you’re one of my babies. You’re one of my own children!” causing him to shoot her three times in the chest (O’Connor 417). The grandmother’s motivation for saying that the Misfit is her child and the Misfit’s motivation for shooting her after that statement are ambiguous. A possible explanation may be that the grandmother was in shock due to her situation and wasn’t in a clear state of mind when she said that. The statement and physical gestures presented by the grandmother must have agitated the Misfit in some way that resulted in her instant death. However, the true

The story continues to have comical parts as the family continues traveling to Florida until the grandmother remembers of a time when she was young and decides she wants to visit an old home. She tells the children about a house and even lies to them and says that there are "secret panels" (324). They become very excited and Bailey decides to let them go see it and on the way there is when the tone and story line changes.

She intentionally lies about the house having a secret panel just to get the kids interest so that Bailey would be more likely to stop and visit. The grandmother is also portrayed as being very loud and outgoing. When the family stops at the restaurant, she carries on a conversation with a complete stranger. She also wants to get up and dance.

The grandmother hid her cat in a basket, which she puts in the car with her on the day of the trip. The grandmother wears a floral hat and dress, because if she were to get into a car accident people would know she is “a lady”. The two kids June Star and John Wesley clearly dislike their grandmother, it is very clear because they often make remarks to suggest this. The family makes their way through Georgia and they Grandma reminisces about an old suitor she had back in the day when the family passes

People are often over looked and are not acknowledged for the good that they do in every day life. Most would not consider Bailey, the father from the story A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O’Connor, an outstandingly great man. A scholarly critic, Nancy Nester, expresses that the moral of the story is to delineate Bailey as the Grandmothers idea of a ‘good man’. Bailey’s character is bland and also a bit authoritative and can be seen as an ordinary man, not a ‘good’ man. Nester forenamed “[…] that is may be Bailey, in fact, whose goodness that the grandmother affirms at its climax”. Bailey’s true morality is not characterized until the end of the text when the grandmother shows her desperation to the ‘Misfit’, the alleged serial killer who escaped from prison. In the story A Good Man is Hard to find, Bailey, the father of his family and son to his mother shows his ‘goodness’ throughout the story by alleviating the wants and needs of his family but is ultimately over looked because of his bleak and affectionless characteristics.

This is first seen as the grandmother constantly warns her family about a murderer named the misfit running rampant in Florida in hopes to derail their trip and go to where she wants. She states "wouldn't take my children in any direction with a criminal like that a loose in it. I couldn't answer to my conscience if I did. " This raises the possibility that Bailey, and his family might run into some trouble.

Do you discover yourself stunned or baffled at the end of a decent book? Do you wind up scratching your head and marvel what simply happened? Great author’s know how to influence reader’s to think a certain way, and include a contort that will abandon you saying, "I didn't see that coming!" After rereading, concealed intimations turn out to be clear paving the way to the last conclusion. This is known as "bread crumbs."Author's love tossing bread pieces into their story to demonstrate that things aren't precisely as they show up. One case of an incredible plot turn is "A Good Man is Hard to Find" by Flannery O' Connor. The story has numerous laughter and funniness that we all can relate concerning vacations. Rotten little brother’s and sister's, grandma who gets what she needs, father who is in

“Hiriam and Bobby Lee returned from the woods and stood over the ditch, looking down at the grandmother who half sat and half lay on a puddle of blood with her legs crossed under her like a child’s and her face smiling up at the cloudless sky” (O’Connor 377). The moment of grace is a significant occurrence in the short story, in the Catholic terminology, the moment of grace is a special gift from God, in which God suddenly fills her with almost supernatural love and understanding. “The Misfit” murders the grandmother, she has already redeemed herself, she has accepted the fact that she is going to die therefore she dies with a smile on her face, peacefully. “Redemption is possible only through an extreme act, an act of absolute, irrevocable

In Flannery O’Connor’s short story, “A Good Man is Hard to Find” the grandmother and the Misfit become the main focus even though the other characters are involved in the story. Throughout the entire story, The Misfit is portrayed as the symbol of evil because he was in jail; he escaped from jail, and he committed murders. The grandmother believes to be greater than the people that she are around because of the “good” that she portrays. The conventional meaning of good, or possessing or displaying moral virtue, is not the particular good that the grandmother is trying to portray throughout the story. The grandmother believes that good

Flannery O 'Connor is a Christian writer, and her work shows Christian themes of good and evil, grace, and salvation. O’Connor has challenged the theme of religion into all of her works largely because of her Roman Catholic upbringing. O’Connor wrote in such a way that the characters and settings of her stories are unforgettable, revealing deep insights into the human existence. In O’Connor’s Introduction to a “Memoir of Mary Ann,” she claims that Christians live to prepare for their death. This statement is reflected in her other works, including her short story “A Good Man is Hard To Find.” After reading “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” many questions remain unanswered

She tries to make Bailey feel guilty by saying “I wouldn’t do that to my children”. She is practically saying that if the family does get killed, Bailey is to be blamed. And the biggest irony of the story sets here because the grandmother is in fact the one who brings the family to the misfit, albeit

The irony of the story is that it is under the directions of the Grandmother that leads the family into a run in with The Misfit, which is what she told her son she would never do. Throughout the trip we are given examples of the racism that was present during this period. The Grandmother makes multiple racist innuendos such as her observation of the “cute little pickaninny,” and her statement that “little niggers in the country don’t have things like we do” (O’Conner 2). During the ride, The Grandmother convinces Bailey to take a detour down an old, dirt road which supposedly leads to an old southern plantation home she once visited. The road leads them deep into the woods where an accident is caused by The Grandmothers cat, which leaves the car upturned and the family stranded. It is then the family encounters The Misfit, whom discovers them stranded as he was passing by. He approaches the family with two young men and shortly after The Grandmother lets out a scream as she realizes him. During their encounter, the readers are given a small glimpse into the deranged mind of The Misfit. It is apparent that he has an upturned moral compass. He gains pleasure from committing crimes and the meanness that goes along with it. During his conversation with the Grandmother, he slowly has his men take members of the family out

Only when the grandmother is facing death, in her final moments alone with the Misfit, does she understand where she has gone wrong in life. Instead of being superior, she realizes, she is flawed like everyone else. When she tells the Misfit that he is “one of [her] own children,” she is showing that she has found the ability to see others with compassion and understanding.