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.
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4 thoughts on “Janice Boelk, Discussion 8”
Janice, thanks for the good comments and for jumping in so early in the week. You’ve shown the backwardness of the grandmother’s perceptions and her glaring hypocrisy. And yes, she and Red Sam are soulmates, he being the quintessential Red Neck. It is as if he were the model for that term. I have to ask you, however, to please, please, please do not check anything under Category Sticky. Leave that to read “Select Category.” When students change the Category Sticky, my directions no longer appear first. (I’ve edited to change this on your current post).
Hi, Professor!
Oh my goodness I’m so sorry. Thank you so much!
& yes the grandmother definitely backtracked a lot in the story. Re-reading the story and seeing everyone else’s perceptions have made me analyze the grandmother’s behavior even deeper.
Hello, Janice! I agree that the grand mother seemed to want to believe that there was still some good in people, but it felt like she was being self-righteous and almost looking for people, like Sammy, who agree with her idea of goodness so they can sit and a praise themselves for carrying on those behaviors and that outlook. Not believing that she was causing direct harm because it wasn’t as heinous as murder. Even though, indirectly, it still contributed to the death of her family. Maybe not even indirectly, because had she been honest and supportive of the son, they would not have found themselves on the path that led to their deaths in the first place. Thank you for sharing!
Hi, Melissa!
You are correct, she was being self-righteous and definitely saw a similarity with Sammy. I didn’t think of that when I first read the story, but now that you mentioned it, it’s clear. Thank you for your input!