Short Story Analysis of A Goodman is Hard to Find
Flannery O'Connor uses conflict in A Goodman is Hard to Find to demonstrate the tendency of people to change beliefs when faced with adversity through the actions of the grandmother. Originally, the grandmother believed herself to be a good woman with strong beliefs but as the story progressed, her ideals shifted. O'Connor portrayed this mainly at the end of the story when the family encountered the Misfit. The Misfit, a recently escaped prisoner charged with murder, found the family after a car crash and slowly sentenced them to death. The Misfit challenged the grandmothers' spiritual beliefs and ultimately changed her view on what it meant to be a "good" person moments before her murder. …show more content…
The grandmother's actions during the conflict revealed the opposite. She pleaded to the Misfit that he was a good man with "common blood" who came from "nice people." The old lady hoped that by appealing to his "good" and proper nature, her life would be spared. She then goes on to tell the man that he is unjustly called the "Misfit" because he is a good man with a genuine heart. The Misfit, not affected by the words of the grandmother, sends Bailey and John Wesley into the forest with Bobby Lee to be shot. He then goes on to say that the is not a good man but he "ain't the worst in the world either." The old lady now tries to appeal to him on spiritual level because she understands that he doesn't believe he is capable of being a good man. She repeatedly told him to pray because at this point she still believed that Jesus would solve everything. Once again, the Misfit ignored the old woman's appeals and sent the mother, baby, and June Star into the forest to die. After doing so, the Misfit revealed the he doesn't believe he deserved his punishment and blames Jesus for throwing "everything off balance." The Misfit explains to the grandmother his religious doubts about whether or not Jesus raised the dead. The grandmother became confused and doubted her own faith for a brief moment before her "head cleared for an instant." In this instant, the grandmother realized that her previous beliefs about good people were
Flannery O'Connor uses conflict in A Goodman is Hard to Find to demonstrate the tendency of people to change beliefs when faced with adversity through the actions of the grandmother. Originally, the grandmother believed herself to be a good woman with strong beliefs but as the story progressed, her ideals shifted. O'Connor portrayed this mainly at the end of the story when the family encountered the Misfit. The Misfit, a recently escaped prisoner charged with murder, found the family after a car crash and slowly sentenced them to death. The Misfit challenged the grandmothers' spiritual beliefs and ultimately changed her view on what it meant to be a "good" person moments before her murder. …show more content…
The grandmother's actions during the conflict revealed the opposite. She pleaded to the Misfit that he was a good man with "common blood" who came from "nice people." The old lady hoped that by appealing to his "good" and proper nature, her life would be spared. She then goes on to tell the man that he is unjustly called the "Misfit" because he is a good man with a genuine heart. The Misfit, not affected by the words of the grandmother, sends Bailey and John Wesley into the forest with Bobby Lee to be shot. He then goes on to say that the is not a good man but he "ain't the worst in the world either." The old lady now tries to appeal to him on spiritual level because she understands that he doesn't believe he is capable of being a good man. She repeatedly told him to pray because at this point she still believed that Jesus would solve everything. Once again, the Misfit ignored the old woman's appeals and sent the mother, baby, and June Star into the forest to die. After doing so, the Misfit revealed the he doesn't believe he deserved his punishment and blames Jesus for throwing "everything off balance." The Misfit explains to the grandmother his religious doubts about whether or not Jesus raised the dead. The grandmother became confused and doubted her own faith for a brief moment before her "head cleared for an instant." In this instant, the grandmother realized that her previous beliefs about good people were