A Good Man Is Hard To Find Conflict

The Grandma tried to keep her family safe by trying to take a different direction other than Florida because of The Misfit, who is criminal who escaped from the Federal Pen. She convinces them to go to East Tennessee instead to visit some of her connections since she grew up there. ---“Here this fellow that calls himself The Misfit is aloose from the Federal Pen and headed toward Florida and you read here what it says he did to these people.”(Par. 2) She wouldn’t feel comfortable by taking her children in that direction since a criminal was on the loose in the area. Also the Grandma mentions to her son that he should take the kids somewhere they haven’t been before since they had already been to Florida. ---"You all ought to take them somewhere else for a change so they would see different parts of the world and be broad.”(Par. 4) I figure that the Grandma was just trying to do a mother’s job to do anything

The narrator starts the story giving background information about the grandmother and her son, Bailey. The narrator explains that the "grandmother didn't want to go to Florida" (320). Although a major conflict could result from her dislike of the family's choice of vacation spots, it does not. When

Here the author points out that the Grandmother “lurches from one strategy to another” (9) in an attempt to save herself. Almost as though the death of her family does not affect her, she exhausts all of her “manipulative techniques” (9) and ruses until her ultimate demise. While this argument may seem harsh, it is helpful because it allows students to see multiple layers of the character. It offers an opinion that students may not have been exposed to, and in the process, illuminates a more well-rounded character. In a sense, it pulls back the mask she carefully creates to reveal new aspects of her, ultimately making her a more interesting character to study.

As the story progresses, the theme changes from being comical to being violent. Also, the reader's perception of the grandmother becomes more intense . As O'Connor said, "[t]here is a change of tension from the first part of the story to the second where the Misfit enters, but this is no lessening of reality" ("On" 176). The presence of the Misfit causes the story to become more of a mystery; therefore, the actions of the grandmother also become a mystery because the reader doesn't know what to expect from her. It is a surprise to the reader to find the grandmother become so sincere. The grandmother tries many traditional methods to keep the Misfit from killing

Furthermore, the understanding of the grandmother, she started to sympathize and show love towards the Misfit. Even though it costed her her life she was still willing to care for

The family originally intends to travel to Florida for their vacation, but Bailey reluctantly changes the location to Tennessee because the grandma feels that the children could use a change in scenery. Oddly enough, in the same conversation, the grandma reads a newspaper article that informs the family that a man who, “calls himself The Misfit is aloose…and headed towards Florida,” and she explicitly states that she would never “take [her] children in any direction with a criminal like that aloose in it” (1). The fact that the family is traveling to the same area as The Misfit hints at their encounter in the end of the story.

Initially, it appears the Grandmother wanted to avoid Florida for the safety of her family but it turns out that she never really felt or intended to display that kind of compassion. The reason why she truly wanted to avoid Florida was because of her desire to go to Tennessee. This may not seem all that serious but attempting to persuade her family at any means necessary even if it means using an excuse. According to the Grandmother, “Here this fellow that calls himself The Misfit is loose from the Federal Pen and headed toward Florida and you read here what it says he did to these people. Just you read it. I wouldn't take my children in any direction with a criminal like that loose in it. I couldn't answer to my conscience if I did.”

“She would have been a good woman,” The Misfit said, “if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life,” (O’Conner pg. 418). In Flannery O’Conner’s short story, “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” she explained the dynamics of how the grandmother is an unlikely recipient of grace, she related the actions of the Misfit with religion, and also, the intangible definitions of a good man. The short story is about a family going on a trip to Florida, but the grandmother did not want to go on this trip. She wanted to go to Tennessee, but since she lived with her son Bailey she went with them where they wanted to go. While on the drive the grandmother remembers about a plantation she went to when she was a young lady. Bailey decides

O'Connor does the same thing here; the grandmother's first action was to convince her son, Bailey, into going were she wanted to go, a selfish act, not a trait that we see a grandmother having. Also she thought out a plan to get what she wanted by acting as if she cared about her family's safety. "Now looks here, Bailey........ see here, read this...Here this fellow that calls himself the Misfit is aloose from the Federal Pen and headed towards Florida and you read here what is says he did to these people(328)." The grandmother's relationship right away to the reader is one that can not be trusted. Throughout the story you now question the grandmother's intentions, are they honest or selfish.

"Adversity defines the essence of who we are and who we desire to be!" This can be best realized in the rural southern regions of the United States during the late 19 forties and early fifties. Without a specific location of long-term concentration, this story finds three generations of a family taking a vacation (planning at least) to Florida despite objections from the grandmother. Factor in her impatient son (Bailey), his wife, and two smart-ass children have marginal respect for their grandmother resulting in a crew of authoritative, uncertainty, distant, and manipulative people about to engage on a trip that ends with certain doom for all with a twist indicative of self preservation and ironic irritation.

     “Adversity defines the essence of who we are and who we desire to be!” This can be best realized in the rural southern regions of the United States during the late 19 forties and early fifties. Without a specific location of long-term concentration, this story finds three generations of a family taking a vacation (planning at least) to Florida despite objections from the grandmother. Factor in her impatient son (Bailey), his wife, and two smart-ass children have marginal respect for their grandmother resulting in a crew of authoritative, uncertainty, distant, and manipulative people about to engage on a trip that ends with certain doom for all with a twist indicative of self

The grandmother in the beginning of the story sees the Misfit as a vicious criminal on the loose. However, now when she sees vulnerability in the Misfit, she tries to exploit it and show acceptance and love to one that only knows “meanness.” The Grandmother is not showing moral strength, but changing her moral beliefs and ideals once again to save herself, but to no avail, as the Misfit quickly jumps back and shoots her three times before she can exploit his moment of

She made this judgment using the bare information she assessed, instead of using his character which can only be known in a length of time. The character is determined by distinct qualities which are unique in a person and this cannot be identified within a very short time especially when you meet a person for the first time (Dockery, David, Gregory, George, Brad, Harry, David, Jimmy, Barbara, Glenn, Karen, Paul, Antonio, Kina, Thomas, Susan, Mary, Donald, Kimberly & Todd, 2002). The grandmother objected spending the vacation in Florida but she is the first person to go into the car. We expected her to be dragged into the car since Florida was not her favorite place to spend the vacation.

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.

A horrible epiphany of the truth about the plantation strikes the grandmother which then leads her family and herself to a mishap. It is significant that the story reveals how nowadays, circumstances are getting worse because before, everything was fine and this produces a positive effect to the young characters such as the grandchildren. Having said that, this is also the reason why they get into a misadventure where they encounter their vicious murderers.