The Misfit's Awakening In Flannery O Connor

The Misfit’s Awakening in O’Connor’s “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” Flannery O’Connor is known for her grotesque tales, and “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” is no exception. The story follows a family’s journey to Florida and their encounter with a wanted criminal, the Misfit. The Grandmother lies and leads the family to a plantation with a secret panel. However, the plantation she remembers is in Tennessee and not in Georgia. While the family drives through the woods, the Grandmother comes to this realization and startles Bailey, the driver, which causes him to wreck the car. A passing car stops by the accident, but unfortunately it is the Misfit and his henchmen. The Misfit orders his henchmen to take the family out into the woods and shoot them one by one. The Grandmother is the last remaining …show more content…
The Grandmother’s transformation led the Misfit to change himself. O’Connor implies that the removal of his glasses signifies the turning point of the Misfit. All the events that follow the Grandmother’s death were a positive change for a person like him. The Misfit reevaluated the meaning of life, became more controlled, and understood the punishments that came with crime. The Misfit’s experienced with the Grandmother positively affected his life. Through this short story, O’Connor conveys the idea that it takes a catastrophic event to truly impact an individual’s purpose in life. Consequently, this idea is true for both the Grandmother and the Misfit. The Grandmother experience epiphany by encountering the Misfit. The Misfit now sees his life differently after meeting the Grandmother. Furthermore, the Grandmother and the Misfit were satisfied with their lives and did not question how they were living life. The event prompted a transformation that they did not expect. Nonetheless, the Misfit and the Grandmother reevaluated their way of living; they experienced an