The Grandmother In A Good Man Is Hard To Find

In the end, selfish people always end up alone. That is exactly what happened to the grandmother in “ A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor. Bailey, the grandmother’s son, was taking his family to Florida. There was only one problem; the grandmother did not want to go to Florida, she grandmother wanted to go to Tennessee. The grandmother did everything in her power to change the families mind, resulting in the death of her and her family. Throughout the story, the grandmother is manipulative and egocentric; yet, she considers herself to be a lady. The nagging begins with the latest newspaper story about The Misfit, the criminal who escaped from the Federal Pen. “‘Just you read it. I wouldn’t take my children in any direction with …show more content…
The family had escaped death, but not for long. None other than The Misfit showed up, holding a gun. The grandmother pointed it out instantly and the whole family knew that meant disaster. The moment the grandmother realized she may die her manipulation began once more. “‘You wouldn’t shoot a lady, would you?’” (11) the grandmother questioned, referring to her as a lady, higher up than the others. The grandmother continued, “I know you’re a good man.” (11) Hoping to get away without a bullet in her she used her tactic of referring to the criminal as a “good man.” Perhaps the grandmother actually considered him to be a good man because she was just as bad as him and she still considered herself to be a lay. The Misfit then instructed one of the other boys with him to take Bailey and his sun into the woods. Once Bailey and his son got into the woods the sound of two gunshots echoed. The grandmother cried her son’s name, realizing that her fate was certain, not out of sorrow for her son’s death. Next, Bailey’s wife, holding the baby and the daughter went into the woods, also followed by gunshots. Even though her family was dead she still went to work trying to save