“Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor is a tragedy. I agree with O’Connor when she writes that readers “should know what is going to happen in this story so that the element of suspense in it will be transferred from its surface to its interior.” While reading the story, I did predict that The Misfit would want them all killed as soon as he told Bobby Lee, for the second time, to watch the kids because they “make him nervous” (line 82).
In its interior, I feel that the beginning of the story is about a woman who wants her grandchildren to learn to appreciate the things around them: the scenery, the people, and the stories she had to tell. Even though she was ignorant and didn’t realize how her behavior and the things she was saying was offensive, I think she had a good intention-with the kids at least. Towards the end, I feel the story is about a man who is so angry with his upbringing that he takes it out on random people who have no significance for him as a way to heal his inner child. In the story, The Misfit saw the accident happen and then waited to approach the group, as if he was waiting for it or like he expected it to happen. After he approached them he told his story to the Old Lady, which I saw as a way for him to try and justify his actions, as he was having the others killed. He then maybe feels remorse because he tells Bobby Lee that there is no fun in killing people, yet it’s something he regularly does.
