Analysis Of A Good Man Is Hard To Find

In "A Good Man is Hard to Find," society, class, and religion are examined by a murderer and a proper Southern woman. Flannery O 'Connor takes readers on twists and turns as a family 's seemingly normal vacation turns deadly. The travel to Florida, against the grandmother 's wishes, where a murderer is on the run. The story ends as this murderer, the Misfit, slaughters the family the family, who is stranded in the woods after their car crashes. The Misfit is the main antagonist in this Southern Gothic story, but there is more to his motive to kill than spite and malice. As proved with psychological explanations and textual evidence, the Misfit 's murderous impulses are caused by subconscious undertones of defense mechanisms: displacement, denial, and projection. The Misfit is a man who seems to have had a troubling childhood, and he justifies his traumatic childhood memories with the defense mechanism known as displacement. Displacement can be seen as the need to satisfy an underlying issue with a substitute object or action (Psychology Today). The Misfit does not accept his personal life and past, so he satisfies his feelings of discontent and neglect by making others suffer. …show more content…
The Misfit battles inner demons in the form of mental illness and psychological issues: displacement, denial, and projection. Without this character 's deep-rooted battle against his own mind, he would feel no need to murder. Therefore, he would never have conflict with the other characters in the story, and actually, the plot of the story would be "Gone With the Wind," as the grandmother says (139). The Misfit is a vital character and driving force that symbolizes the secret battles one faces on the inside. Without him, O 'Connor would not only miss out on an intense and innovative story, but also readers would never be able to visualize mental illness in such an intense and dynamic