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In the essay about suspense in her story “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” O’Connor writes writes that readers, like the ancient Greek viewers of tragedy, “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.” We know what the story is about on the surface. What do you feel the story is about in its “interior?”
Please be sure to include your section number at the end of your response. There are 3 sections of students in our big discussion group!
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121 thoughts on “Week 7 Discussion”
Hi,
I think this story is as much about human nature, failure, desire, and morality than it is about violence. To me, all the characters in the story do their best to live the life they desire. A life in which they are happy, in control, and fulfilled.
I think we can see this in almost every character in the story.
Grandmother: She lives in a house that even children don’t seem happy with her present. She doesn’t have much control over the events around her. She uses all her power and manipulation to get what she wants. To feel in control again, she brings her cat with her even though her son is not happy with this decision.
Her son: He also seems to lost control of his life, so he shows his sadness by ignorance and expressing anger.
A young woman, who has no voice, no place to claim for herself to the degree that doesn’t even have a name in the story.
Two young children: They don’t get enough attention and care from their passive and unhappy parents. So they ask for that attention by misbehaving, such as disrespectful comments and expressing anger.
And last, a man, a killer who is not convinced of his crime and doesn’t believe that he deserves what he has experienced. He feels angry about the injustice he feels in his life, and I think that is the root of his violent behavior.
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Afsaneh, thank you for getting the conversation started. I do agree that in its interior this story explores human nature and behavior. Under the surface the story, as you note, is less about violence and more about the ways people choose to live their lives. I suppose you’re right that the characters do “their best” to have what they want, but what the characters in this story want is nothing very admirable. The title tells it all: a good human being is hard to find. For the whole story, except for one moment of illumination, the Grandmother is ruled by self-interest. No one in the story, except for the murderous Misfit, gives any real thought to the meaning of goodness.
Hi, Afsaneh
It’s interesting how you explained the human natural desire with their moral behaviors. I agree that how the children aren’t happy with the grandma’s behavior shes always in a tempered mood which affects the family as well. The grandma feels worried all the time because of the desired needs that make her feel weird most of the time.
Hi Afsaneh,
I agree with your analysis on all the characters in the story. I think the way the characters were written fits very well with the story in the title because when we compare all the characters there is really no “goodness” in them. Ironically when you compare the Misfit to the family, he seems like he really is the normal one compared to them even though he is a killer. His beliefs and opinions are strong and he shows who he really is unlike the grandmother who appears to be “fake”. Th e Misfit shares his thoughts about Jesus and he knows that he is not a good man and he accepts that truth. Unlike the Grandmother who pretends that she’s a know-it-all and thinks she knows what a good man is.
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Hi Angela,
Your idea of the interior of the story is a really interesting one because it has to do with how complex the characters are. On the surface, as you explain, the grandmother is a “know it all’ and she thinks she is a good person. However, as the story ends we see that she is selfish, shallow, and manipulative. I think this idea goes beyond people who aren’t who they claim to be and more towards the idea that people can go as far as to create delusions about themselves. The grandmother and Misfit both do this. The grandmother genuinely believes she is a good person and the Misfit genuinely believes he should not have been punished for the crimes he has committed. I think your idea points to people creating self-delusions to please themselves which is a big part of the story.
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I feel that the “interior” in the story is that the characters are not what they seem to be on the surface. The Grandmother talks as if she’s a “know-it-all” and knows what is considered “good” in the world. She always brings up the past and compares it to the future and says the past was always better. When they eat at Red Sammys restaurant she claims that Red Sammy is a good man but he bosses his wife around and speaks rudely to her. Even his wife doesn’t trust him. Towards the end of the story, the Grandmother claims to be a believer of Jesus but she is really someone who is just selfish, shallow and manipulative. Ironically, the Misfit is the only one who sees who the Grandmother really is: “She would of been a good woman,” The Misfit said, “if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life.” He realizes this when the Grandmother lies about how many times the car has flipped over and he thinks the Grandmother only acts this way towards him just to save herself.
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Angela,
Interesting observation. I think you are right, and the characters in this story are not “what they seem to be on the surface” or what they wanted to show as their personality. But I also think this is more ambiguous than we think. We all tend to try to seem better than we believe we are. (If you study how people behave in the surveys you get the understanding that people really try to seem good or better than themselves even to a total stranger). Many people try to fulfill their image of themselves by asking others to think of them in a certain way. Besides, sometimes our observation from ourselves can be somewhat different from another perspective who sees us from outside.
I also believe that the grandmother is using whatever she has to save her life (As anyone would do in such a situation), but her manipulations don’t seem to work with Misfit.
Angela,
My apologies. I accidentally submitted my reply before it was polished. (And we cannot edit our comments after posting.)
I meant to say ” But I also think this is more *ubiquitous* than we think.”
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Yes, Afsaneh, the Grandmother is no match for the Misfit.
hi Angela, I totally agree with you because I think that the story itself its not everything about violence. I feel like it can be more of like a regular family nowadays because not everybody thinks the same way and people will not always agree on everything other say.
Jeidy, please make sure your comments to others meet length requirements.
Angela,
I feel the same about the grandmother a total “know it all” and a manipulator. She is not happy at all and she does all of this to get attention even if its bad. She is rude with ungrateful kids. She uses religion as a shield for her problems. That is why I love the ending and what the Misfit says about her being a good woman. This is very much like a Greek tragedy. Many people need something drastic to be honest with themselves and see that they are not perfect. I think that for a small moment the villain becomes the hero by being honest and authentic.
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Ha, Kevin. You’re brutal! I think the grandchildren would share your sentiments. Remember when right after the crash, they look at the Grandmother and say, “But nobody’s killed.”
Kevin, that’s interesting! While I don’t know that I would say the Misfit momentarily becomes the hero because of it, I do agree that he is the most thoughtful and authentic character in the story. In that respect, he is miles ahead of the other characters on the self awareness front. He is unapologetic about what he is doing and why.
Had the grandmother not recognized the Misfit, I wonder if the family’s fate would have been the same. Although I doubt the Misfit and his companions would have stopped to be of service, I wonder if they would have simply ravaged the wreck and salvaged the things that would have been helpful to them and moved on leaving the family to whatever other fate may have awaited them.
Angela, this is a pretty good overview of these shallow, thoughtless characters. I’m wondering if you believe that there is any goodness in the story and if something happens to both the Grandmother and the Misfit at the end?
I think the goodness in the story happens in the end when the grandmother realizes she is in the face of death so the goodness she tries to do is save the Misfit. She tells the Misfit that he has a good heart and tells him that he is one of her sons.
“Yes, it’s a beautiful day,” said the grandmother. “Listen,” she said, “you shouldn’t call yourself The Misfit because I know you’re a good man at heart. I can just look at you and tell.”
“Why you’re one of my babies. You’re one of my own children!” She reached out and touched him on the shoulder. The Misfit sprang back as if a snake had bitten him and shot her three times through the chest. Then he put his gun down on the ground and took off his glasses and began to clean them.
The Misfit has always believed he was a bad person and when the grandmother touched his shoulder I believe he freaked out because it almost hit him that maybe he could be good but he stayed true to the road he chose.
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Angela, yes, O’Connor has suggested in her essay about the story that the Grandmother has an epiphany, one clear moment just before she is shot, when she recognizes the humanity in the man about to kill her. O’Connor also liked to think that the Misfit is changed by this transformation in the Grandmother. It alters his whole way of seeing the world.
Hi Angela! I feel similarly about this story. I spoke about this in my own observations as well. Throughout the story, the Grandmother puts her own needs and her own opinions above everyone else. From her racist observations, her attire, the fact that she took her cat knowing the way the cat distracts her son, Bailey. Her concerns begin and end with her. But when her life is in the hands of the Misfit, she finally lets go of her selfishness and tries to heal the broken soul she sees in front of her. None of this would’ve happened, of course, if this chance encounter had never happened, which prompts the Misfit to say she would’ve been a good woman if she had been shot every minute of her life.
Hey Angela,
I totally agree with your interpretation. The grandma plays a key role in this interpretation. At first we think she a church going who fits the normal ideology of someone’s grandmother. But her connection with the misfit reveals it all. Like you pointed out we see that she isn’t how she seem.
Angela,
I think it was a good thing to bring up that the grandma is always comparing the past to the way things are now. I think she does thing she is a know-it-all and she isn’t afraid to show everyone around her that she is always right. She does try to save herself when she could’ve tried to save everyone else, and I really enjoyed the quote you pulled from the story.
In the story “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” you feel the parallels of a Greek tragedy. You can see themes like death, faith, and a mysterious villain. The Misfit believes the punishment he received does not fit the crime. The family feel like they are all struggling with something deep inside their soul. I think they also feel like they have a burden that they did not deserve. The kids never receive discipline from the father. The mother is basically nonexistent in the story, she is probably exhausted from taking care of two rude children and a baby. The father is wants everything his way and gets annoyed by everyone. The grandma is pretentious, unhappy, and rude. This family divide can represent the change of traditions or fast pace change of the archetypal family. The grandma’s selfishness and loudmouth basically got the family killed. She identified the Misfit. I she just was a bit more careful things maybe could have been different.
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Kevin, you’re right that the Grandmother sets off a train of events that leads to the family’s death. It begins when she insists on bringing the cat along. I don’t really agree with you that the family feels it is struggling with something in their soul. The only one in the story who has even thought about his soul is the Misift. The rest of them are just slogging through life completely lacking in self-awareness or interest.
Hello Kevin, I agree that in instances of a “family divide”, it “can represent the change of traditions or fast pace change of the archetypal family” but I disagree that there exists any serious “divide” in this particular family that would come to “represent [a] change of traditions”. In what way were the “traditions” of family changed, or even challenged? O’Connor’s characterization of this family are by no means unique – in fact, they are notably so mundane that I’d argue this as more in line with a “traditional” family than one capable of changing “tradition” itself.
Kevin, I think everyone in the family is trying to break out from something they’re struggling with within them. Grandmother is pompous and thinks she can rule everyone’s life. John and June just behaved like kids and like people who haven’t had any discipline at all. The children’s mother especially is inconsiderate and careless about everything. She is just tired of life or just cares less. Their father too is just angry at something him alone can explain to us. Misfit also thinks the world revolves around him. He deceives himself of innocence and continues to sin while I believe authorities search for him.
Mercy, your character analysis is very good here. But where do we see the characters trying to “break out” or change in any way? Isn’t this their very problem?
Hello Kevin,
I agree with you on some points such as the grandmother being pretentious, unhappy,and rude. The grandmother is undoubltey the reason that her family died. It can probably be infered that if the grandmother did not notice the Misfit, her family could be alive. The grandmother was insufferable character who truly wanted her own way. That could be seen right up until her deaath. Everything that the grandmother said about the Misfit being a good man based off of his looks ended up working against her.
Hey Kevin,
I can agree with you on some of the factors that you mentioned, one of them being the grandmother’s character. When I mean her character I mean the way she is presented, the grandmother in this story seems to be a very uptight, miserable, and ill mannered lady. It definitely feels and seems like that because of the grandmother noticing the misfit that’s what caused the family’s untimely demise. All the grandmother wanted was for things to go her own way, she was a selfish person and this was an unchangeable aspect of the grandmother’s character. Not to mention she was also a bad judge of character, because the misfit turned out to be her downfall.
What do you feel the story is about in its “interior?” The inside story hides a social dilemma that marked the way of the story. We see a grandmother who lies to please her own wishes and who in my opinion is the cause of the tragedy in general. The inside of this story reflects how people become insensible and distrustful. First, with the case of Red Sammy and the two fellers who did not pay for gas. Then the life of the criminal. What hides behind this criminal? Maybe he was a good person who makes a mistake and society didn’t give him a second chance. Maybe he lacked identity, maybe he was a good man, maybe he wants revenge. It is difficult to know what is behind the mind of a criminal. In General, it is full of lies, abuse of trust, and naivety. People are not born bad, they make them worse.
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Hi Raquel, you make a good point about grandmother behavior. If the grandmother confessed and was willing to show her most honest side from the beginning, this tragedy would not have occurred, and this story might not have happened. There are many people in this world who put their own interests first and don’t even consider the feelings of others. Most people live in the temptation brought by reality and make a choice between benefit and sincerity, and finally chose benefit. Because often benefits will bring many benefits to people. At the same time, this way he can see his personality clearly.
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Raquel, you are so right that there are many hidden social ills in this story. The characters who believe they are so righteous are actually quite shabby human beings. The author, as you know from reading her essay on this work, maintains that for some people like this, whose “heads are so hard,” only violence can jolt them into awareness. The violence in the story functions as a saving mechanism in the author’s mind, rather than as somethng gratuitious or an exciting element of plot.
Hello Raquel,
I believe it is hard to know what is behinds anyone’s mind or heart. In this story I believe the Misfit is the only one who has a clear and accurate perspective of who he is. His actions were in line with everything he voiced of himself. The grandmother never physically killed someone but those who interacted with the grandmother must of died many deaths. She was conniving, self righteous and self-seeking. It were those flaws that led her to the Misfit. In the face of death she failed to convince her murderer that she was “good.”
Flannery O’Connor defines belief as “the engine that makes perception operate”. Underneath the violence of O’Connor’s “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” this “engine” of belief drives her characters into conflicting modes of superficiality and spirituality. The idea of belief operates as two distinct forms; belief as acceptance of Truth and belief as faith directed toward the Divine. As O’Connor demonstrates, these forms of belief exist in relative opposition to one another, leading her characters to either live blissfully ignorant or painfully aware. Given that the “engine” of belief allows us to perceive ourselves and others, it’s worth to note that perception is always liable to develop in ways we’re unaware of, causing distorted views of ourselves and others. Here, O’Connor’s claim that violence “best reveals what we are essentially” justifies her use of it. Indeed, as she points out, “writers are more interested in what we are essentially than in the tenor of our daily lives”. We’re led to believe in our system of beliefs; the “tenor” of daily life relies heavily on these systems we build for ourselves in order to make sense out of the environment around us. However, the story reflects on belief as inherently and subjectively defective, a flaw in and of itself.
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David, this cuts very close to the heart of what the interior and exterior of the story is. For O’Connor, and as you note, for other accomplished writers, there would be no point to the story if it were simply a plot-driven exercise with no underlying meaning. There are critics, however, who do not accept the author’s explanation of her own story, and feel that there is no goodness or possibility of it either on the surface or under it. She is not surprised by this, and in fact, says that she expects this from secular readers. Yet I think even an atheist could fine interior meaning which speaks to the idea that life should be lived to its best and fullest measure (especially if one does not believe in an afterlife or an y divine redemption).
The author creates the desired atmosphere which is needed to express the characters and their feeling. The story opens on the grandmother whose family is about to take a trip to Florida she rather goes to Tennessee. Grandmother hates the Misfit gang. The next day, on the way in the car, Grandmother thinks about an old plantation, a little past a place called Toomsboro. The detour taken after the Grandmotherc ignites the desire of the children by telling them a false story about a hidden gate will eventually meet the car with an accident.
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“A Good Man Is Hard to Find” portrays a vivid setting of the story within the car on their way to Tennessee. We notice that the grandmother is some what of a hard shell to crack, as she was raised with very harsh and different preconceived notions of early America. Her connection with her grandchildren is obviously affected as they do not feel happy in her presents. We tend to notice a jarring portrayal of religion in O’Connor’s writing. When the family is in an extreme situation with the misfits, religion raises to the surface and gives the reader a chance to perhaps question their faith. The misfit believing in God yet still being a murderer is a perfect example of that. “God never made a finer woman than my mother and my daddy’s heart was pure gold,” he said.” I believe that on the interior, O’Connor created a family that many could relate with. The grandmother ultimately brought the family into this situation, obviously not intentionally, and the climax of the story makes us question society and if there are “good men” in present times. The misfit ends the story with the statement, “She would have been a good woman,” The Misfit said, “if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life.” This leaves me questioning, who is considered a good man or woman?
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Hello David
I agree with you that the grandmother ultimately brought the family into this situation obviously not intentionally. Because she is the one who described the old plantation as it has something very special until the kids pushed also in other for the family to drive at that plantation because they wanted also yo see it. However, as you mentioned the grand mother was raised with very harsh and different preconceived notions of early America, that maybe the raison why she has different behaviors than other family members and that makes them inconfortable.
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David, “a hard shell to crack” is certainly a good way to describe this Grandmother. And this is the reason the author allows her to be killed—so that at the moment of death she can be redeemed. Yes, that is the strange Christian theology. I agree, unfortunately, that many people can relate to this dysfunctional family. And you ask a good question at the end: Who is considered a good man or woman? Is it enough to just not be evil, or do truly faithful people have an obligation to put as much energy into being good as the Misfit puts into being bad?
In the introduction of “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” the grandmother is excited about taking the road trip with her family. After the family is set for the road trip the grandmother is first in the car but was carrying the cat as she does not want to leave the cat behind because she will miss her too much and because she was afraid the cat might brush against one of the gas burners and accidentally asphyxiate himself. The grandmother is not what she seems to be on the surface, she claims to believe in Jesus and pride herself on being a lady, however he is actually shallow, selfish and judgemental. The misfit is a violent killer, speaks and acts thoughtfully it seems to me he is neither religious or if he has philosophical ideas. The grandmother and the misfit both have personalities that they don’t assume, it makes me think the misfit is maybe the son of the grandmother. The grandmother being old fashioned and judgmental and like to leave in the past because she wanted to revisit the old plantation so badly made them get that accident. Time only moves forward, anyone who is trying to leave in the past is typically doomed.
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Souadou, yes, I think that at the interior of this story, we see paradoxes. Characters who see themselves as “good” are really not very good at all. The Misfit does not seem himself as good. At least he recognizes the difference between goodness and nothingness. He is dedicated to badness. However, the Misfit is not the Grandmother’s son. It is just that she has a moment of compassion when she realizes he is a human being just like her own son, her own babies.
I think this story is as regular human being regular life. I feel like everything in the story is not about violence, there might be some things said that might make us think its all about violence but its not like that. I most likely think that is more like regular family member who have their difference. As an example from the story, the grandmother was trying to convince her son to go to Tennessee instead of Florida.The grandmother came up talking about an article and said how the kids were already there before. Therefore the son said that grandmother should have stayed at home and the daughter came up saying she would never do that. Which means that they were just having their difference in the way of thinking about a certain situation. Sometimes old people have their own way of thinking and can be pretty different than the way of a young person’s way of thinking. On the other hand, old people just don’t feel like going to wherever the younger people are going because they think its too modern or too loud, which is sort of what happened with the grandmother in this story because she would always bring the past up and say that the past was better than the present. I can also say that she did not want to go because she said that she dressed up with a dress and a hat with flower so in case they had an accident they would think she was a lady. that doesn’t necessarily means she was violent that can just be some things old people thing and they just say it out loud.
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Jeidy, you have a good analysis of the old Grandmother in this story, but does your response really address the question of the interior and exterior of the story? There is the plot, which you describe in part, but underneath the plot is where the real action takes place.
I believe the interior of Flannery O’Connors “A Good Man Is Hard To Find” is about the self absorption of the human condition. It is illustrated through the selfishness of the characters, family dynamics, and the judgement of others based on appearances.
While all characters (like people in life!) see through their own lenses of thoughts and experiences, the characters in this story seem especially tunnel visioned in on their own desires.
The grandmother dresses well for the road trip so that if she dies in an accident along the route the people who find her body will know she was a lady. It’s interesting that although she did not die in an accident, she did end up dressing herself in the way she would like to be remembered!
Knowing that her son will not drive her by a house simply because she wants to see it, she manipulates the situation by making it enticing to the children who she knows will relentlessly beg until her son gives in simply to make them stop badgering him.
I also find it interesting that no one begs for their life or the lives of others directly. Or at least within ear shot. As the father is being led away he doesn’t ask for his wife or children or mother to be unharmed and his wife willingly goes with the gunman with her daughter and baby without protest. And they all left the grandmother to fend for herself. Although she seems fairly unaffected by losing her family.
Side note: the grandmother is not especially likeable, but I have to say, coming from the South, she is familiar and does make me laugh! I love that she notes the mileage because it will be a good story later. And the cat in the box is priceless.
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Hello Lauren, I agree with your first line about self absorption of human condition in the play. The grandmother shows us this throughout! She is depicted to be self-absorbed, racist and even when she talks, she doesn’t recognize her prejudice. The example of her dressing well to go on a trip incase she dies lol, is another example of her self-absorption. But beyond this, I think we cannot forget she is a lot like most people that we meet today. I think that turn to reality is what makes the interior of the story.
Hi Lauren,
I agree with you i think the grandmother is selfish to an extend, when not getting her way she tries to manipulate the situation so the results are in her favor. When she realizes the house isn’t in Georgia she doesn’t tell anyone instead her movements cause the cat, that her son didn’t want to come on the trip, to jump on the son shoulders and cause them to crash. But we she speaks to the Misfit despite all the bad things he says he has done she still looks to see the good in him. I think the story is less about violence and more about searching for the good in people despite what is on the outside.
Ashley, you are definitely one of those Southern readers O’Connor mentions in her article about the story! The Grandmother is an annoying pain the whole time, but as O’Connor notes, she is a type familiar to many people from the South. You make a good observation about the family members’ lack of concern for one another after the crash. This is very striking. It seems especially strange that the Grandmother would not be concerned about the children. As for the children, they’re disappointed that “nobody is killed.” You put it well when you describe the people as “tunnel visioned,” only able to see their own needs and interests. And yes, this dark view of human behavior is certainly a certain element on the interior of this story.
Hi Lauren,
I think you’re spot on in that this story discusses vanity and self-absorption. O’Connor is great at capturing the shallowness of the characters and their values, also a brilliant observation about the father’s reaction. The emptiness of what it means to be “good” in this world is really shown in the lack of kinship between the family, it adds an element of hopelessness. The only time goodness was shown was when the grandmother was pleading for her life, slowly realizing that all that she values and deems to be “good” means nothing to the Misfit and not much separates her from the Misfit eventually calling him a son.
Hello Lauren,
I, too, wondered why no one tried to fight for their life or even the children. It seemed as if the family had an emotional disconnection to one another. This disconnection spoke a lot of who their true characters were. The Misfit and his partners had more loyalty to each other than this family. We have all encountered a character like the grandmother, someone who is superficial and oblivious to the errors of their ways. She seemed cynical to dress up as a “lady” for the possibility of death.
In the story of “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor, I feel the story in “interior” is about irony. Everyone has a dark side in their hearts. Or in other words, everyone takes their own interests as the center point. Their behavior is very selfish. In the story it said: “I found out the crime didn’t matter. You can do one thing or you can do another, kill a man or take a tire off his car, because sooner or later you’re going to forget what it was you did and just be punished for it”. No one can pass the buck because you “forgot” what you did wrong to someone else. Also, this is not an excuse to get away with it. So in the story, the role of “good man” is really not easy to do. The truth of profit is often irresistible. In the end of the story, the grandmother realized that she had done something wrong but it did not change the fact that she was going to die.
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Mei Yan, you are right that the Grandmother’s epiphany does not change the fact that she is going to die. However, the author believes that she will go to heaven because she dies in a moment of love and compassion. The author also liked to think that ultimately the Misfit too will be saved by this act of kindness. It’s O’Connor’s intensely Catholic point of view.
Hello Mei,
What a in-depth interpretation of the story. Most of the time 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 irony is we learn the grandmother is no better than the misfit.
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The interior of this story is much more complex than it appears on the surface. On the surface you see a family trip, with a grandmother, her son, his wife and their three children… oh plus the cat. But as you dive deeper into the story you find that there is some resentment towards the grandmother. Even the children pick up on it and put it out by saying that even for a million dollars grandma wouldn’t stay home. The grandmother wanted to go to Tennessee and justified that by telling her son that the Misfit was moving into Florida and that she wouldn’t bring her children there. And while the misfit is in Florida, they never would have encountered him if it wasn’t for the cat that the grandmother refused to leave home and the son didn’t want there in the first place. The stories interior is full of irony, as most tragedies are.
Hello Claire. I agree with you completely that the story is full of irony. One of the points in which you describe this irony is by stating the grandmother’s characteristics and interactions with the other family members. The way in which she acts is not the way in which a typical grandmother would act as she can be described as being a selfish character who, through her own wants, gets her whole family in trouble and causes them all to face eventual death. This aspect to her character is what adds to the complexity of the story just as you have stated.
Claire, yes, we see a disdain for the Grandmother in this story. I think we also see a lack of care among all the members of the family. They live very grey lives. They are not evil, but they are also not good. The Misfit, on the other hand, is morally clear. He is evil but he is committed to his religion of evil.
Hello Claire,
The grandmother is to blame for most of the irony in this story. There were many interior stories, in my opinion. Like Oedipus Rex, the grandmother could not escape her fate. Her family paid for the consequences of her decision. I agree that this story is more complex than it seems. O’Connor added a lot of depth in her writing. This week’s optional activity, which was to listen to O’Connor narrate the story, was a bonus. As the author she read the story with the emotion and emphasis that she wanted her readers to take away. This leads to a better interpretation of what the author was trying to convey.
Flannery O’Connors’ work entitled “A Good Man Is Hard To Find” plays itself as a tragic story that gradually climaxes itself to a twist ending that can be all read on the surface as a violent crime story, the interior is what makes the overall story and its characters more interesting. The two characters whom add most to the story and drive relatively most of the plot are the grandmother and the misfits. Both characters can be interpreted outside the story as being opposites of each other as one is an old lady who are stereotypically viewed as sweet and innocent. This is contrasted by the misfit who is a felon which are viewed stereotypically as cold hearted and ruthless. However, these quality traits can be read as being almost reversed as the grandmother is the one who is a loudmouth and gets the whole family into these dilemmas in the first place. This is once again contrasted with the misfit who is relatively well spoken and shows a sense of realization on the life he has chosen to live as a public enemy. This interior difference in readers perspective on character traits is what makes the story overall more captivating of a read rather than just being a typical good versus evil story or crime drama.
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In “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor, I feel the interior of the story tells us how difficult it is to find a good man. “Man” in the title can be referred to as a representation for all human beings, both male and female. The story uses the example of the grandmother to show readers how someone can be self-absorbed and racist and not even know. The examples of June Star and John Wesley can be used to symbolize how rude people can be even from a very young age. At a glance, the story may seem fixated on the grandmother and her behaviors, but then if you look deeper, it connects to personalities, up-bringing and a bunch of misconceptions. The misconceptions come from the grandmother’s thoughts about the misfits which turned out to be totally untrue. I feel the whole story reflects present-day living with its’ different personlaities showcased.
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Hello Ebube,
I agree with what you said about the story depicting how a good man is hard to find. One thing I wanted to add onto was how you said people can be self-absorbed, and how that relates to being considered “good”. In my opinion, I feel it is natural for one to look out for their own interest and benefit first before others, which is the opposite of what people generally consider a good man to be. Rather than the story being reflective of present-day living, I think it would be more fitting to say it is reflective of human nature whether they are from the past or present.
O’Connor’s ‘A Good Man Is Hard to Find’ is but different from the usual we see or read. We expect that the protagonists in every story either wins or survives in the end. This is quite different. With the way O’Connor introduced our antagonist that early awakens my suspicions that something similar is about to go down. O’Connor may have been referring to every character in the story when he considered this title because it is just hard to find any good in every character. I think it all has to do with the upbringing of each character. I believe where we grow up or how we’re nurtured plays a very important role in our lives. Grandmother, a very talkative, self-centered and judgmental lady who forgot to turn a critical eye on herself, ignorantly leads her family into their early grave. The children’s flippancy tells us of the neglect and irresponsibility from the parents side. The children’s parents also live close but far apart from each other. The Misfit..oh mine..the mysterious character who intensifies the story for us. His repulsive behavior tells us of how sinful men can be and still argue about the punishment they deem fit.Grandmother could have done things differently. She should not have told the Misfit she recognizes him.
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After reading “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” I think the interior is about change. Mainly focused on the grandmother, we see how she was willing to change in a matter of minutes. Even though the transformation is only brought about to benefit her, in the end, she has a chance to realize her own hypocritical, flawed, and selfish ways. Throughout the story, the grandmother isn’t necessarily a “good” person. She is dishonest, feels superior to others, and is essentially responsible for the family’s terrible predicament. At no time did she try to intervene to save anyone else. When it is her turn to be executed, she changes, trying to redeem herself offering the misfit compassion with “unconditional love and acceptance.” At that moment, the grandmother has grown more than she ever did in her life. However, it was too late. The misfit refused to spare her even though he saw her as a “good” woman.
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Faith,
I agree about how hypocritical the grandmother was, and I agree that it was suspicious how quick she was to say the right thing to save herself. You can’t change your ways only in the face of death, some people never change, even in the face of death. Whether you’re a “good” person or not, you can’t change who you really are. Like they say, too little, too late.
Well, what a cheerful story. After reading this it left a bad taste in my mouth all morning, and in a rather somber mood. It made me have some dark thoughts and brought up old obscured sad memories. I believe this story is just that, it’s the feelings deep down inside of you that keep from the world. The interior of this story I believe is focusing on the dark nature in all of us, and what we do to keep ourselves from letting it out. In the story the Misfit claims he is unsure of what he was originally guilty of, and that he was just guilty in general, he is our inner demons, while the grandmother was what we display to the world. You reason with your emotions just as the grandmother tried to do with the misfit, telling him he was a good man deep down. But alas these emotions can sometimes come out in horrible ways, especially when bottled up inside about to burst, just like the gun the Misfit held.
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After reading “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor, I saw a great deal of irony being displayed. Take the grandmother for example, she portrays herself as the best of the best and knows what is right at all times. Though at the end of the day we can see that she is very naive and only cares about herself. The grandmother wants things to go back to how they were when she “believed” things were better. When approached by the Misfit we are shown that she is only concerned for herself, not her son Bailey or his family. That to me makes no sense as she is literally his mother and usually mothers would do anything to help their child. The only time we see the grandmother be kind is right before she was murdered and in my opinion it was only to save her own life.
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After reading “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor, I saw a great deal of irony being displayed. Take the grandmother for example, she portrays herself as the best of the best and knows what is right at all times. Though at the end of the day we can see that she is very naive and only cares about herself, I would call her fake. The grandmother wants things to go back to how they were when she “believed” things were better. When approached by the Misfit we are shown that she is only concerned for herself, not her son Bailey or his family. That to me makes no sense as she is literally his mother and usually mothers would do anything to help their child. The only time we see the grandmother be kind is right before she was murdered and in my opinion it was only to save her own life. If she was a kinder more caring person there would have been a big chance things could have gone differently.
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In this story we see characters who are not what they seem to be. The grandmother and the Misfit are two main characters we see this in. The grandmother talks like she know everything, she is very persistent when she is alone with the Misfit she tries everything she can to get him not to kill her. The Misfit know what he’s doing is wrong he knows the difference between right and wrong but choose to stay on the path he is on. He is a very intelligent when the grandmother tell him there is goodness in him he tells her facts about himself and the reason he was locked away because they had papers saying he killed his dad and this causes him to become interested with signatures and documentation. There is goodness in the Misfit we see that when he speaks. When the grandmother touches his shoulder its in that moment even for a slight second he realizes this. i think he shoots the grandmother because he might be scared of the realization that what she said about his having goodness in him might be true. I think even though he killed the grandmother her words will impact him for the rest of his life. Maybe even change him for the better.
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Hi class,
First, I would like to share my personal experience from reading this story. The story “A good ma I Hard to Find” is a tragedy and I was shocked while reading it and realizing how did it turn in the end. I was not expecting this ending, and it was hard for me to read it. I think that the fact that the end of the story is so surprising, and it is such a tragedy, is what makes this kind o story familiar to the readers of ancient Greek stories.
I think that by writing her story “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” O’Connor is trying to criticize our society. At first, it seems like the story is just another “ordinary” story about an “ordinary” family. We can see all the characteristics of a regular family: many people, many different perspectives, different points of view, and different attitudes towards life events. We read about the grandmother, which is a strong woman with strong opinions and how she treats her family members. We read about the family dynamic and the way they treat one another. I believe we all can relate it in some way or another. But I think that underneath the surface, and after diving in a little, we can see there is another stratum, and it is the author’s critics on human nature and social behavior. While reading, we saw the way the grandmother interacted with the people around her. She tried to find the good in every person: Mr. Red and even the Misfit. It made me feel like she is trying too hard to categorize people as “good people” like she feels she hasn’t done a good job with her son, so she is trying to compensate it by enforcing others into that category. Reading the story and seeing the grandmother trying to find the “Good man” made me wonder, is there someone who is purely good? How owns determine good? And maybe what I see as good isn’t good for others? I guess this is part of the Irony we see in the story when the title tells us a good man is hard to find, but once you finish reading it, you start to wonder what is good in the first place.
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Shai, I agree with you that this story is the author’s commentary on the behavior of most human beings. In many of O’Connor’s stories, she focuses most harshly on the hypocrites—the ones, like the Grandmother and Red Sammy, who see themselves as righteous examples of how human beings should behave. I love what you write at the end of your post about how the story leaves you wondering what is good and who is good. The story always leaves me wondering if I am any better than the bunch of awful characters in the story. And if I’m not, what should I do to become better? I love your comment because it shows how literature can shift our perspective and make us think about things we may not have considered before.
Hi Shai, I love your analysis of this story and its commentary on our society. I absolutely agree that the Grandmother seems almost hell-bent on finding the good traits in others–even the man who has already killed her family and is about to kill her as well. However, I believe that this desire comes less from her perceived failure to raise her son properly (as we actually do not know all that much about her parenting techniques, or about her son’s actual personality). Instead, I believe she is focused on the personality flaws she herself has. She is far from perfect, and although she lives under the guise of being a prim and proper Southern, Christian Lady, she cannot escape from the truth of her own bad personality.
As a result, I believe she does not actually believe that there is good in everyone and instead NEEDS to believe that others, like herself, are hiding their true personality. Maybe she, knowing that she is not as great as her facade would have others believe, even needs to feel that there is goodness in others to prove that there is goodness within herself.
I believe that the “interior” of the story “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” is that the characters are not what they present themselves to other characters. The Grandmother acts as if is knows the world. Yet, she always brings up the past and compares it to the life she has currently. She is stuck in her old ways. The scene at the restaurant displays her willful ignorance. The Grandmother claims that the owner of the restaurant, Red Sammy, is a good man. In reality, he is a terrible husband. He treats his wife so unfairly that she can’t trust him. Towards the end of the story, the Grandmother claims she is a Christian woman. But throughout her life she was just selfish, ignorant, and arrogant. I also believe another intended moral is that it is hard to find good people because nobody wants to be the antagonist of their own story. This is displayed through all of the grandmother’s actions because she never stops to think if she is a good or bad person. Nor do any of the other characters.
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In the story “ A good man is hard to find” the surface of the story is full out explained as the family who desire to take a trip to Florida but Their grandmother refuses to go because of her of the misfit and her lethal relationship with them, so she preferred to go to Tennessee. The grandmother appears and is set in her head as the desirable and superior grandmother to her family. In the car on the family trip away to Tennessee the grandmother interior self surfaced to the readers as someone in opposite she had claimed to be, her remarks and instructions she showcased to her grandchildren came off very prejudiced , racist and very selfish. She manipulates a lot of situations and somehow thinks on the outside she’s the helpful saint she sought out to think she is to her family. Basically the interior of the story showcased the savagery and interesting side of the grandmother because after every story she told it showed her true colors to her family.
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“A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” by Flannery O’Connor the grandmother is the main character in this story. Who is shallow, selfish, and judgmental in her actions. The grandmother’s actions are very similar to that of the other character in the story. In the beginning of the story, the households are talking about the tour trip in Florida but the grandmother doesn’t want to go there, so she planned to tell the kids a false story in the car about Tennessee. The kids were all excited to hear about it because the old plantation that grandmother once visited was in her location. I was surprised when the family went to the restaurant. The grandmother told the owner of the restaurant Red Sammy and his wife about how hard it is to trust people and find a good man, she also talks about Misfit with them. I was wondering if Red Sammy and his wife’s character are bad? Because none of the characters in this story are good. I like the ending part of the story when the grandmother tells Misfit “pray to Jesus”. But still the ending part is sad because the grandmother and her family got killed by Misfit and other people were with Misfit.
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On its surface, as O’Connor describes in her essay, this story is about a family that gets wiped out by an escaped convict. It is a tense story, even before the mass slaughter at the end–the family does not really seem to get along with one another, and their differences are making for a long, arduous car ride. However, the interior of the story is not so much about violence or interpersonal relationships as it is about the characters’ sense of self–the way their interiors relate to the persona they present to the outside world.
The Grandmother, as the protagonist, is the character we receive the most intimate information about. Not only does she appear to be a dignified, old world Southern Lady, we know she goes to great effort to achieve that effect–even for a long, interstate drive with her grandchildren beside her. However, her incessant complaining when she doesn’t get her way, her blind racism, and her refusal to admit when she is wrong show a far different interior personality. Not only is she a somewhat hypocritical person, she seems to refuse to admit that others are not as multifaceted as she. The Misfit, for example, tells her straightaway that his true personality shines through in all of his actions. He has no want nor need for a delicate facade like the one she has created. Through either denial born of fear or genuine myopia, however, the Grandmother simply cannot understand that and literally spends the last moments of her life appealing to a better side that does not exist.
This struggle between letting the ugly, antisocial genuine personality or the false but proper one control one’s actions is the true star of the story. The violent and tragic slaughter that takes hold of the plot happens only because of it. Were the Grandmother to let her true self free as the Misfit has, she and her family would probably still not have survived, but at the very least she would have been able to relax a little more at the end of her life.
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Hello Kia, I agree that the story was about the “characters’ sense of self- the way their interiors relate to the persona they present to the outside world.” The grandmother wore clothing in pristine condition and acted innocent, but it was all an act in reality. She was a liar, selfish, and a hypocrite but always wanted to be presented as a lady. Unfortunately, in the end, the chance for her to change was shortlived.
Hi Kia,
I enjoyed reading your observation. The true nature of people that are on deaths door unwillingly is a commonly used scene in literature and film. When you get to know a character and they end up facing this moment you’re always analyzing their reaction, hoping (if you support the character) they stay true and honest. I think one of my favorite end of life scenes was in Game of Thrones, (spoiler “maybe”) when the Hound begs Arya to kill him after his fight with Brienne. There’s always a lot to flush out from these moments of truth, and that’s no different in “A Good Man is Hard to Find”.
For me, I felt this story’s “interior” can be seen as different things just like how The Misfit and the grandmother have different opinions as to what a good man is. When I first read this story in high school, the interior I was focused on was the grandmother’s hypocrisy and the religious aspects of the story
However when reading the story for the second time, my attention fell upon The Misfit. The “interior” of the story I was focused on this time was the inner conflict The Misfit struggled with. He calls himself The Misfit because: “I can’t make what all I done wrong fit what all I gone through in punishment.”. He says that he was framed as the murderer of his father and imprisoned for it, despite his claim that his father had actually died from an epidemic. When bad things happen to people, they may question why it happened to them as well as if they deserved it. They may also choose to push those thoughts to the back of their minds and try to live without thinking about it. Those of the former like The Misfit may not ever get the answer to their questions and to me, it seems like he may be doing what he does in an attempt to make sense of why he was punished.
Or perhaps he was just looking for solace through his crimes as he says “then it’s nothing for you to do but enjoy the few minutes you got left the best way you can by killing somebody or burning down his house or doing some other meanness to him. No pleasure but meanness,”. Maybe he’s just committing these crimes to feel like he deserved the punishment he received, and in turn possibly relieving his inner turmoil without necessarily finding an answer.
The “interior” of the story to me can best be summed up by a line from Gang Starr’s “Moment of Truth”:
“Why do bad things happen, to good people?
Seems that life is just a constant war between good and evil”
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Johnson, I love to hear how students’ reaction to a story can change with time and maturity. Your increased interest in the character of the Misfit reflects this growth.
I believe the interior of the story “A Good Man is Hard to Find” to be about people’s desires. For example, if we were to look at the Grandmother, the main character of this story, it was her desire to be her best self. The best version of herself was her younger self. She talks of the past so often, it is like she is stuck in it. She reminisces about her time spending with Mr. Edgar Atkins Teagarden and how she would have had a good life if she married him. You can also see how she’s still stuck in the past when she is talking to Red Sam. She refers to him as good man especially when that is not the case. Red Sam doesn’t seem to be a good man due to the fact that he talks to his wife rudely. After he does that, the grandmother simply proceeds to discuss the past with him. On top of that, she seems to be a pain to most the people that she meets. That’s apparent when even the Misfit found her to be annoying, which happens to be ironic. It is ironic because one would think that the person who is about to be killed is the annoyed by that fact. c
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Hey Karl,
I really liked how you put it. When i think about it, desire seems to appear in many parts of the story, I especially seem to find it in the grandmother who desires to make the family do what she likes and think of others the way she thinks. O’Conner really can make a good story with a lot of elements and meanings to ponder;
Underneath the surface, the story is ultimately about the goodness that truly lies beneath the veneer of how we as humans present ourselves to be. It’s a story about how while our personalities may be shrouded in self absorption or bitterness or ignorance, when finally put to the test, our goodness will always come out in some form. The grandmother spent the entire story solidifying herself as a character who cared nothing about anyone other than herself. She was selfish, manipulative, racist, and self serving at every turn of the way, until her life was at stake. In her final moments of life, she revealed a rare moment of empathy. On the other hand, the Misfit, while still a man who is a much more likable character than the rest presented thus far, is a cold blooded serial killer who shows no mercy towards any human from any walk of life. However, when the Grandmother puts his hand on his shoulder, and calls him one of her sons, he nearly break his character, causing an instant and fatal reaction. No matter how narcissistic and cruel people become over the years, it only takes one moment to spark something visceral inside you. A Good Man is indeed hard to find, and no matter how hidden it is, it’s found deep inside.
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Hello Caleb,
I find your contribution to be very intriguing. I interpreted the Grandmother as being self-serving in her final moments, and I think it’s very interesting that you found her to be empathetic and morally sound at the end of her life. In a way, I think we’re both right. On one, hand, I saw her grappling for any sort of humanity within The Misfit, but only in an attempt to preserve her own life. Right down to her last second, I viewed her as being just as manipulative and self-serving as she seemed throughout the story, with only a facade of empathy shrouding her. On the other hand, you saw her having a moment of clarity and empathy. However, I do agree that the simple act of her hand on his shoulder is truly what brought out emotion within him– she certainly did draw forth a “good man” but only for a fleeting moment.
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On the exterior, “A Good Man is Hard to Find” is a morbid, grotesque, and unforgiving story about an unfortunate family murdered at the hands of a killer known as The Misfit. Initially, it evokes a gut-wrenching reaction, and at first glance, appears to be primarily centered around violence. However, on the interior, if we are able to look past the violent nature of the story and put the aspect of suspense aside, we can clearly see that it is a story about human nature, morality, and a person’s “true colors being revealed” so to speak. This is most evident in the character dynamic between the Grandmother and The Misfit. On the outside, the Grandmother appears to be a “good” woman, moral, almost on a moral pedestal above everyone else. The irony, here, is that The Misfit is the only one who sees through the facade to reveal the cowardice, manipulative, and selfish person she truly is. Although by no means can we characterize The Misfit as morally conscious, he actually presents himself in a fairly mild-tempered, level-headed, and clean-cut way on the outside, even though we know he is none of those things.
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Hey Emily,
Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us. I definitely agree with your statement saying the interior of the story is about human nature and human behaviors. I also mentioned in my discussion post that I think that’s the interior and it is curious to see how the author is criticizing our society, using the behavior of the grandmother towards her family and towards other people she meets. Also, that’s a good point you mentioned about how the evil Misfit was the one to see the real “colors” of the grandmother.
There is a lot of foreshadowing at the beginning of this story which makes the reader think they know how the storyline will go, but for me, the complete opposite happened. It seems like we know the grandmother’s character perfectly well, she seems slightly manipulative and selfish. She cares about herself a lot and is great at getting her way, but she still seemed good-natured to me. I think the interior of this story is that you can’t know the good until you experience the bad. The grandmother is very close-minded and concerned about herself but it didn’t seem like a problem until we see the side of her that she reveals when she encounters the Misfit and tries to keep him from killing her. She changes her personality completely, constantly trying to empathize with the Misfit and offering him help from Jesus. When her family members were being killed she started screaming and didn’t want to lose them. She dropped her pride and would do anything she could to save herself and everyone. But before this incident she was so prideful she wore a dress to the outing just so her body could be recognized as a lady if it were found. She couldn’t see the good until the bad and the reader may not have recognized the bad until seeing the good. She never felt the need to compromise and be a morally good person for her family or in general until she was being killed which I think explains what the Misfit meant when he said “She would of been a good woman if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life.” Also, I didn’t recognize how actually bitter and cunning she was until she started showing compassion for a man trying to kill her. The reader wouldn’t have ever known she had that in her unless that incident occurred.
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Hey Zubaida,
I agree with you, there was a lot of foreshadowing in the beginning of the story and I was odd because I knew where the story was going but the journey there was unexpected. I did not expect the grandmother to was so well put together to so immediately switch up her concern for her family and be completely be concerned with her own demise. She was so foolish and tried to use different tactics to hinder her death were all pointless because the Misfit was able to see right through her.
Hi Zubaida,
Yes, I also didn’t see this coming! Honestly She seemed like a very caring woman to the misfit. Then again, she didn’t want to get hurt. Unfortunately at the end she did. She definitely changed her personality very quickly once she realized who he was.
Thahina, please be sure comments to others meet the length requirements.
The story “A good Man is Hard to find” by Flannery O’Connor is about the selfishness and the violence everyone has within themselves. The Grandmother shows herself has a friendly honest grandmother. While on their way to the trip the grandmother says that “in her time children were more respectful.” In my time, said the grandmother, folding her thin veined fingers, “children were more respectful of their native states and their parents and everything else. People did the right then, lines 19-20. In the beginning of the story she already reveals her inner identity. She is a hypocrite, the Grandmother later says, “Oh look at the cute little pickaninny!” She proceeds to insult a little boy after she says children in “her time” were more respectful. The Misfit is a criminal that became to be through trauma. The mother is a person that does not speak much but shows very much consideration for her children’s life. She chooses her children’s life over hers and even though she already knew her destination, the Mother went along. Although the Misfit is violent, I feel like he showed some respect towards the children. Since he killed the Grandmother alone. Over all the title reveals that there is no good man any where to find because every single man has some cruel manners within.
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Hi Mariana, I too agree that the grandmother was very selfishness throughout the entire short story. I believe that selfishness is definitely the “interior”
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I think there is a lot to speak on but, what stands out to me is the grandmothers’ ignorance of what she says and how it affects those around her. Unfortunately I see too many similarities to my own family, and to often their words mean little to them. Her comments on the children’s attitude and lack of respect stems from her. It is my believe that these flaws in character are passed down more often than not. I see this story as a comeuppance for the grandmother. What settled me on this, is the last scene, and the writer’s decision to have everyone killed before her. I’m still puzzled about the writer’s choice to have everyone so silent about their impending death. This is the strangest line for me ““Jesus!” the old lady cried. “You’ve got good blood! I know you wouldn’t shoot a lady! I know you come from nice people! Pray! Jesus, you ought not to shoot a lady. I’ll give you all the money I’ve got!””
She doesn’t beg for anyone’s life but her own.
In the story “ A Good Man is Hard to Find”, the people of the story, go by multiple codes of moral; and to me, the story brings up the idea of morality shows up in both what the grandmother and red sams talk as well as through the title. The grandmother of this story thinks that a good man/person means that you are well mannered, truthful, and being respectful. The grandmother even calls Sam a “good man”, even though she has only seen Sam basically put on a facade of niceness and sentimentality just so that he can help business. Grandmother even considers the person who had killed the whole family a good man. While talking to the one who killed her family she states to him numerously and claims that he wouldn’t do anything to ever harm an elderly woman. The recognition of goodwill that she bases on comes from normal morals that, even for a murderer, because of her old age and having respect will somehow stop the murder from inflicting harm upon her. Of course to him whatever makes a good man does not matter in the slightest and has come to terms with the fact that he was never a good person to begin with and also does whatever he chooses to do. He simply chooses to complicate the definition of what goodwill actually means and does not even answer the question. I don’t think the point of asking the question was to actually answer but to make the audience more present of how we can’t unravel the meaning of concepts.
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Hi Zakiyah,
You really have a great point here, I agree with you grandmother thinks Red Sammy is a good man even though she met him only once in the restaurant. After reading the story I kind of hated the grandmother’s behaviors because how can you tell someone who killed your family “pray to Jesus” she also thinks the murderer is a good “man”, then what happened he killed the grandmother too. You can’t really tell if it was her fault calling the murderer a good man without even knowing him. Throughout the story we see that the grandmother is looking for a good man because she knows that there are not many bad people around.
I feel the story “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Conner screams Irony especially pertaining to Grandmother. The Grandmother carries around the word “Good” a lot through the story when talking to and about other people, but she was far from it. From the beginning of the story, the Grandmother began to irritate me. She didn’t want to go on the family vacation to Florida instead she wanted to “visit some of her connection in east Tennessee and she was seizing every chance to change Bailey’s mind.” She then begins to talk about the Misfit who is headed towards Florida and the things he does to people. I feel as if she was only using the Misfit as a reason to avoid going on the trip, but no one pays attention to her but the children.
The next day when it is time to go, she ends up being the first one in the car, which is ironic being that she didn’t want to go in the first place. Throughout the way there she talks a lot about her past and how “people did right then” but in the same sentence makes racist remarks and jokes.
When the family stopped at Red Sammy’s Famous Barbecue, she begins to tell Red Sammy of how good of a person he is immediately after he was plainly being mean to his wife.
While continuing their journey to Florida Grandmother begins to tell a story about this plantation to the children because she wanted to stop there. Because she knows her son Bailey won’t stop only for her benefit, she then begins altering the story the kids can get riled up and cause a scene, so they have no choice but to stop. The son caves in and stops and begins on the way to the plantation only for the grandmother to realize that the plantation she was thinking about was In Tennessee. Instead of addressing her mistake she instead keeps it to herself and now they have suffered a car accident because of her wrongdoings. “The grandmother was curled up under the dashboard, hoping she was injured so that Bailey’s wrath would not come down on her all at once.” The grandmother is trying to play the victim here, knowing that because of her everything happened the way it did.
What appeared odd to me was that the entire time Bobby Lee was taking the other family members into the woods to take their lives, she never seemed to try to intervene but continue to try to talk the Misfit out of killing her. Telling the misfit, she believed he was a “good” man and that he should pray. Pulling the religion card despite her not coming off as someone religious. What was ironic in this story to me was how much of a good person the grandmother seemed to make herself but she was far from it.
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Senia,
Great point there is definitely a great deal of irony in this story. The grandmother seems very righteous in that she thinks she knows what is “good”. She manipulates her son into visiting the plantation but she ends up in the wrong place which gets her in a lot of trouble. I know what you mean because I also realized at the end of the story the grandmother was not good in any way all along. If anything I felt like the Misfit was better than her in some ways because at least he recognized that he was a bad person and never tried to fake it.
I feel that the stories interior is about giving hints on who the characters are which in turn explain why they act he way they do. The grandmother is arrogant and pushy thinking she is right and in the end even try’s to make up lies so she can save her self. The parents seem to be uncaring and sad throughout the story almost like they don’t really care about nothing anymore which can really reflect on there children which which seem to be starved for attention causing them to act angry and unruly. Even the killer, who expresses why he is the person he is can clearly be suffering from deep rooted anger from his father but believes he had done the right thing do to his summed up judgement of life. To conclude I think the stories interior gives off the description at why and how the people in the story are who they are and why they act the way they are.
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Reading the pretext and following the story from its surface to the interior to get the root of what the story is about you get to see the real characters and I didn’t base it off of what I knew on the surface. I thought the notion of getting the surface of the story prior to knowing in depth was great and I knew it to be what I did with all stories. We get a preview to what the story is based on but little do we know whats really going to occur. Which is how we all are introduced to a film or book, we are always met with summary or review on what the story will be about. We believe that since we know the Misfit is going to kill family, he believed to be the only villain in the story but little do we know he’s has some good character and judgement and its funny how you are able to see how Misfit see’s through the grandmother and her immoral ways and see she only after self gain. How I feel about the interior is that, it shows one solid theme. You may think you someone but there is always another side and people are not always who they appear to be.
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Beneath the surface of Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man Is Hard To Find”, there is an underlying story about prejudice, morality, and the meaning of true faith. Up until her very last words, the grandmother holds value in family, status, and faith believing herself to be a “lady” because of these principles. She publicly shares her belief that as the times change, there has been a decline in good people saying “A good man is hard to find.” and looks down on criminals like the misfits and even people like her daughter in law who seems too modern for her as she doesn’t call her by name and instead on one occasion mentions her as a woman who wears slacks. Despite being a good woman, she seems to be very critical of others and selfish as during the trip to Florida she constantly makes decisions that solely benefit her even if it inconveniences the family around her. When the grandmother is alone with the Misfit, she pleads for her life and repeatedly tells the Misfit that he’s a good man. The Misfit sees through her manipulative pleads because she remains very critical of him and not of the justice system that produced him. Realizing that the values that once protected her in everyday life hold no value to The Misfit, as she tries to give him money and hears the horror of her family, she realizes that all she has left is God. This epiphany shows her that she’s not better than the Misfit and nothing that she values can be used to save her, so she shows genuine kindness and doesn’t judge as she calls the Misfit one of her children, seeing true faith and true good doe not involve what you have or who you are externally.
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I believe the grandmother is not who she seems to be. She tries to perceive herself as a church going woman, and who’s innocent. I believe she has very selfish intentions. ( trying to manipulate the trip in the first place). The misfit is a dangerous person, who seems to have a conscious, but refuses to acknowledge it. He seems to know he does wrong, but he shouldn’t be punished for it. He doesn’t seem like a person who is very religious. I think they both have corresponding personalities. They both refuse to acknowledge their actions. The grandmother led the family to deal with catastrophic events.
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Thahina, please make sure posts meet the length requirements.
My belief of what the “interior” story is that we can not determine our own “goodness.” It is others around us that makes this determination. The grandmother made claims of being good but never in her actions did she express that. This is a life lesson, we must observe people’s interactions and behaviors, not what they claim about themselves, to truly determine their character. The Misfit knew this. He chose to be “bad” for he knew he could not fully commit himself to the other extreme. Before reading the lecture, I believed this was why the Misfit killed the grandmother after she touched him on the shoulder. I believed it was another manipulative ploy and not genuine at all. If this was the grandmother’s “epiphany” moment, it was too little too late. It was ironic, from the beginning of the story she was trying to stay clear of the Misfit. It was his darkness that brought out her light.
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Hi Arlene! I totally agree with what you said. I too think it was super ironic that the person that the grandmother was trying to avoid to begin with was the person that ended up finding her. I think it sucks that it takes a traumatic event like facing a murderer to finally realize your mistakes and change. I wish there was a story that dove deeper into the grandmother’s life as well. She is an interesting character.
Hello Arlene! I like how you said “we must observe people’s interactions and behaviors, not what they claim about themselves.” I at first did not think that the misfit knew but after reading your comment I understand how that would make sense. I also agree with you on the fact that towards the end of the story before the Misfit killed the grandmother. Her words about him being her child and touching him on the shoulder was all an act being fake nice just to save her own life. We can agree that she only cares about herself at the end of the day. Also can you explain what you mean at the end by “It was his darkness the brought out her light.” Let me know please!
Thank you,
David
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Hello David,
Thank you for your response. What I meant by that was, it was only through the Misfit’s wickedness that the grandmother’s display of affection and sympathy came forth. Hence the reason the Misfit stated, “she would of been a good woman, if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life.”
Arlene,
That’s a great point. The grandmother decided that she was a good person even though from the reader or outsider’s perspective she really just cares about herself. In the beginning, it was easy to judge the grandmother and the Misfit and decide who was a good person and who was bad just based on their stories. We quickly assume the Misfit is the real bad guy in this story because he’s the criminal. But I actually felt like the grandmother was to blame a lot more for what happened.
What do you feel the story is about in its “interior?”
I think the moral of the story is not really about a silly grandmother, but the fact that no one is truly good. While each of the characters may believe that they are good, through their actions and words we can see a stark difference. For example, the grandmother. She is extremely self centered and rude. The only time we see her act in a genuine way is after she begs The Misfit to spare her life. The grandmother’s selfish actions are the reason for the family’s unfortunate demise as well. Her need to always be listened to ended up not working in her favor. The children are spoiled, and constantly bicker and tease each other. Bailey is constantly frustrated and annoyed due to his mother causing issues from the moment they got into the car. This story shows us that “good” is a trait that everyone envisions and embodies in a different way.
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In its “interior”, the story is about morality and goes beyond good and evil. In her story, “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” Flannery O’Conner creates complex characters that don’t stay within the boundaries of morality. The grandmother is one of the prime examples of this with her sudden change at the end of the story. For almost the whole story, the grandmother is very superficial, vain, and selfish. She tries to manipulate the family into doing what she wants, which is going to Tennessee. On the road, she lies and is extremely hypocritical. She is also very ignorant and racist, but despite this believes she is a lady and a good person with manners. By the end of the story, none of these things matter since she is going to die. Despite this, it seems that she becomes what she thought she was, a good person, when she shows the Misfit “illuminating grace” as mentioned in “Where is the Goodness?” From O’Conner’s essay and Professor Conway’s lecture, there is a difference in how this change in the grandmother is interpreted. O’Conner believes that this change is a genuine one and that there is goodness in that while from Professor Conway’s lecture it seems to question whether or not there is goodness in this change and the story in general. After reading both, I find this to be subjective. Morality is subjective and there isn’t a right or wrong idea of morality. As mentioned in “Where is the Goodness?” the misfit knows right from wrong, but is his idea of right and wrong is different from that of the grandmother. She spent the whole story believing that she was a morally right person, but the misfit found her to be the opposite. This is an important point because the Misfit would be considered bad since he’s a criminal and a murderer. However, because he knows he bad does that make him good since he isn’t pretending to be something he isn’t? Does the make the grandmother bad because while she isn’t a criminal or a murderer, she was a hypocrite and a liar? I think it depends on who you ask. Everyone is simultaneously good and bad, but at the same time, everyone has their ideas of what good and bad is which is why I think the interior of this story is on morality and how subjective it is
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The interior of the story was the characters painting a picture of who they wanted to be but in reality they weren’t really “all that.” When the Grandmother was starting to have a sort of epiphany when she realized that the Misfit was a a part of the family. The whole time the grandmother wanted to put up this facade of who she really was from the very beginning. It was said that she dressed up a specific way, acted a specific way and didn’t really see her prejudice and racism at all. For example, when the family was driving by Georgia and she saw the African American boy and immediate called him the hard “r” word. Though it is explained that it was common in the 50’s, it’s safe to say that that word was used to diminish him. Another example is when she kept talking about going to Florida and even her grandkids were mocking her in a way saying that she wouldn’t leave the house unless she went there.
Hi Nathaly, the grandmother was selfish, and it was sad that she had to learn her flaws and recognize her behavior when she is about to die. In real life there’s many people that behave like the grandmother. I believe that people that behave like the grandmother will always have to learn the hard way.
The interior of “good man are hard to find” is about irony. In the story the grandmother was a woman who believes she was superior to others, its her way or no way. In the story the grandmother wanted to go to Tennessee instead of Florida. But once she noticed that they weren’t going to Tennessee she did everything in her power to stop the trip. She judged the kids mother or not traveling to Tennessee. she also judge the lack of goodness in people.
The grandmother wears her hat and dress to indicate that she is a lady. she will never point out her own flaws . In the story the grandmother begged the Misfit to spare her life but not once she begged to spare her families life that shows she is selfish. Se tried convincing the misfit that he is a good person but the misfit doesn’t see this as a reason to spare the grandmothers life. When she was about to die that’s when the grandmother realized that she did wrong in her life.
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Hi Tamaris,
I totally agree with your sentiment about how this story is an example of irony. I didn’t actually see it from this perspective until I read your commentary on the story. I do believe it is ironic that the grandmother uses her ungracious attitude to try and persuade the family to vacation elsewhere, and as a result, they were faced with a notorious serial killer, who ultimately murders the entire family. This makes me wonder what might have happened to her and the family had they’d taken a separate route or gone to Tennessee rather than Florida.
A GOOD MAN IS HARD TO FIND
When one looks below the surface of the story “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor, many layers are revealed, one of which is selfishness. This trait is obvious in the grandmother, who was not given a name. Right from the beginning, she made every effort using guilt to have the planned trip to Florida changed to Tennessee. Although it was her fear of the escaped convict that she had read in the newspaper, she made them believe that her choice of Tennessee was because she wanted them to have varied experience rather than going to the same place, Florida over and over again. She won and the trip went in her favor. Her selfishness is alsoevidence in her hiding the cat Pitty Sing, and bringing it with her so that she will not miss the cat,even though she knew her son would not approve of the cat being brought to the hotel. Throughout the story, the grandmother highlighted her selfishness. This is seen in the way she dresses and carries herself, even thinking how she would want to be viewed as a lady should there be any mishap or accident and she is found. He focus on self even takes over in the story she tell the kids to keep them engaged on the trip. She talks of the rich man she had the chance tomarry but did not. Again, we see a selfish side of the grandmother when her desire to revisit a plantation was rejected by her son. She lied to whip up interest in her spoiled grandchildren to encourage, even manipulate their father to go to the plantation. Her selfishness was satisfied when he turned around to go explore the lavish house on the plantation. It is this selfishness that had its consequences that led to their demise.Moreover, in the end the consequences of her selfishness resulted in the accident as the surprise of the cat took her son Bailey off guard. Her selfishness is evident because despite the crash her focus is getting sympathy because she realized that she was mainly responsible having been deceptive about having the cat on the trip.
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After reading the story “A Good Man Is Hard To Find” by Flannery O’Connor, I think the interior of the story is about how one’s selfishness and be a danger to others. Throughout the story the grandmother was being very selfish. From the start she didn’t want to go to Florida, she wanted to go to Tennessee. Later on after the family left the restaurant named “Red Sammy’s”, the grandmother was explaining to the kids this house that she wanted to see. She then convinced Baily to drive to the house knowing that he didn’t want to. She said she remember where it was at all they had do was head back a mile and turn down a dirt road. When they got to the dirt road they got into an accident where the car flipped over. The grandmother had remembered then that the house was in Tennessee and not in Georgia where they currently were. So because of this grandmother being so selfish the car was wrecked and the family had ran into “The Misfit” which was a know killer on the loose. The family ends up dying and its all because the grandmother was being so selfish and thought about nobody but herself.
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Hi Brandom
Good comment, I like the term that you use “selfishness” basically some people only think for them and they think that they know everything. When they are selfishness they also try to be dangerous to others this is really bad. If you remember the end the Misfit also said that she was not a good woman.
The interior of this story is about values and morals that people have made up for
their character. Moral codes are nothing more than a set of beliefs that a culture believes to be right. The Grandmother thinks that values are based on how you look and where you come from. Despite thinking of herself as a lady, she manipulates and deceives those closest to her. Although the Grandmother sets herself to a high standard, she lacks compassion and self-awareness. The Misfit’s moral code, although twisted, is strong and consistent, allowing him to live his life by it. He is true to himself and does not lie about who he is, unlike the Grandmother. A good man is really hard to find in this story. When Red Sam tells the Grandmother the story about him getting swindled for the gas, she calls him a good man. She then tries to tell the Misfit he is a good man because she believes he would not shoot a lady. What she fails to realize is that she is not calling people good because they are moral, but because their values are the same as hers. The only good man to be shown throughout the story is the Misfit, because even though he has a twisted and perverted moral code, he is the only one that sticks to his principles.
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HI Isis
Your comment is very interesting when you start talking about moral values. As we can see the Grandmother is even a religious person but, she is bad with others. I like when you say “she is not calling people good because they are moral, but because their values are the same as hers”. If she says that she is good with that bad behavior she also is going to say that people like her are good people.
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Hi Isis , I did not even look at it this way but it makes sense why you would say the “interior” is about morals. Especially your point “The Grandmother thinks that values are based on how you look and where you come from.” I agree that who she is lacks what she truly believes
In the passage “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor, we can see how a family is killed by a Misfit while they were traveling. We know the exterior of this story by the action of the characters but it has something occult in its interior. As we can see the Grandmother acts very kind but, in her interior, she is really bad. Even the Misfit says that “the grandmother could have been a good woman if someone had been around to shoot her every minute of her life.” It means that she would behave differently if someone knew who and how she is.
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In the story, “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor, I believe, in its interior, there is a story that talks about humanity and empathy. I believe that the story instantaneously sets the family up for failure by describing their dynamic throughout the beginning of their trip. But once the family experiences the accident and is confronted by the misfit, all of the controversial dialog coming from the grandmother and the rest of the family is met with an ultimatum – mortality. By facing mortality, the family finds themselves essentially begging for mercy, along with the grandmother experiencing curiosity and open-mindedness. Instead of focusing her feelings and emotions on fear, they’re focused on the well-being of The Misfit and his accomplices. I believe that this story is showing how one’s perspective on life, at once point being so ignorant and unapologetic, can quickly change once they are met with a situation that determines life or death. The grandmother could easily be viewed as crass and distasteful throughout the first half of the story, but the best version of herself comes to light when she is faced with death.
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