Is being “good” the outcome of decent parents, material wealth, and high social status? What exactly defines a person as wicked or virtuous? These are the questions that float aimlessly around the minds of O’Connor’s audience long after the grandmother’s tragic ending. The grandmother is a self-proclaimed “lady” who values image above all else. Typically, those who declare to be something tend to behave otherwise. In O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, O’Connor conveys that goodness resides in actions, not appearances. It’s time for a family road trip and to no ones astonishment, the grandmother fiercely opposes the idea of traveling to the sunshine state. She desires the familiar East Tennessee. In her typical scheming fashion, she
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The grandmothers clothing description indicates her importance in appearances. For a road trip, “Her collars and cuffs were white organdy trimmed with lace and at her neckline she has pinned a purple spray of cloth violets containing a sachet” (297). She mentions in a dramatic irony, that she desires to look like a lady in the event of her death. The truth about the grandmother is that she is not good, nor a lady, and it’s evident throughout the story. While The Misfit is an evil, un-sympathetic serial killer, readers can agree, while he is not good, he certainly has a lot he can teach the grandmother. In O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, O’Connor conveys that goodness resides in actions, not appearances. In spite of all the horrors and malice The Misfit inflicts, he holds strong convictions, he is consistent in his values, is honest with himself, and he approaches religion authentically. His moral compass, while being certainly skewed, and in his very despicable way, holds characteristics the grandmother is lacking. If he could have used himself for good, then he would have left a positive mark on society, not a trail of bloody corpses. The grandmother represents a self-righteous pretender, but with a gun to her head, felt compassion and a moment of revelation. “Why you’re one of my babies. You’re one of my own children” (308). This is conceivably the most good she has done, but it’s too late for redemption. The Misfit recoils and in a cold retaliation, shoots her then cleverly states, “She would have been a good woman, if someone had been there to shoot her every minute of her life”
The grandmothers clothing description indicates her importance in appearances. For a road trip, “Her collars and cuffs were white organdy trimmed with lace and at her neckline she has pinned a purple spray of cloth violets containing a sachet” (297). She mentions in a dramatic irony, that she desires to look like a lady in the event of her death. The truth about the grandmother is that she is not good, nor a lady, and it’s evident throughout the story. While The Misfit is an evil, un-sympathetic serial killer, readers can agree, while he is not good, he certainly has a lot he can teach the grandmother. In O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, O’Connor conveys that goodness resides in actions, not appearances. In spite of all the horrors and malice The Misfit inflicts, he holds strong convictions, he is consistent in his values, is honest with himself, and he approaches religion authentically. His moral compass, while being certainly skewed, and in his very despicable way, holds characteristics the grandmother is lacking. If he could have used himself for good, then he would have left a positive mark on society, not a trail of bloody corpses. The grandmother represents a self-righteous pretender, but with a gun to her head, felt compassion and a moment of revelation. “Why you’re one of my babies. You’re one of my own children” (308). This is conceivably the most good she has done, but it’s too late for redemption. The Misfit recoils and in a cold retaliation, shoots her then cleverly states, “She would have been a good woman, if someone had been there to shoot her every minute of her life”