It started off with the grandmother who was trying to persuade her family to visit Tennessee instead of Florida for their vacation because she had motives, she tried everything in changing his mind and said “the kids already been there” they suggest she stays home but they knew that wouldn’t happened, the grandmother hides the cat in a basket in the car. The grandmother was dressed in the finest clothes, while driving and they were seeing some beautiful scenery. The grandmother conversations with the misfits reveals a lot about the grandmother and her religious beliefs, the misfit on the other hand does not believe the grandmother likes red Sammy because he agrees with her. The grandmother is so manipulative she convince Bailey travel off course.
Daily Archives: October 11, 2022
In “A good man is hard to find” by Flannery O’Connor takes us in a roller coaster of emotions where each character plays a role in Mediocrity. The grandmother comes off as stuck in her ways as a manipulative, prejudice, deceitful lady. In the story, it seems as if there’s a hunt for goodness in everyone that the grandmother engaged with or mentioned to base her believes that “good” people do exist. Every character had a basic human positive trait as well as a negative trait since no one is perfect. I perceived the story as everyone trying to prove themselves, especially the grandmother. She judged her grandchildren, but uplifted Red Sammy for doing a kind gesture to customers. She uplifted The Misfits when she saw her and her family’s life in danger. I believe that by her portraying she saw good in others, possibly others would see good in her. Also, the grandmother bringing in the topic of Jesus to the Misfits showed me that she knew her time was coming to an end and she needed grace. The Misfits were the ones that had to convince the grandmother that good people are very hard to find. This story depicts that no one takes accountability for their behaviors and ways but The Misfits. Even if they were bad, they were the only ones to show self awareness.
When speaking about the interior of the story, I found it helpful to re-read and consider what was being displayed passed the dialogue. Initially, I found the grandmother to be persuasive and charming and even harmless. However, after reading the entire story, her so-called harmlessness is what lead to the demise of the entire family. I went back to the beginning of the story, and realized her persuasive charm was more of manipulation all for self-serving purposes. For example, she insisted on visiting Tennessee over Florida and went as far as to try to scare her son using the escape of the Misfit from jail to instill fear in him. Also, using guilt by saying, “I wouldn’t take my children in any direction with a criminal like that aloose in it. I couldn’t answer to my conscience if I did.” Her willingness to exploit her sons fears to get him to adhere to her wants, displays extreme selfishness and lack of consideration for her impact on him. Again, her responses seemed harmless during my first read because it is common for people to make comments like that. Towards the middle of the story, when the grandmother told of the old house on a plantation with hidden silver in the wall panels, the way the children began to impose their wants onto the father, was very similar to how his mother treated him, only with less grace. It showed how her overbearing treatment of him turned Bailey into a push over even by his own children. On the surface the children just seemed like regular kids who, ” say the darndest things.” a bit rude but it isn’t uncommon for kids to test their parents, especially in public. Again, after re-reading the story and seeing beyond the surface of my first […]
