“A Good Man is Hard to Find” and “Good Country People” are both Flannery O’Connor’s work or masterpiece. Through these masterpieces of Flannery, she conveys a message to the readers. In other words, enlighten them and give them ideas about what Southern traditions are. They also reflect the soul and attitude of southern people. These short stories have a number of differences and similarities regarding violence and religion.
Almost all of the characters in “A Good Man is Hard to Find” are Christian and at the same time hypocritical. They consider themselves good because of the idea that they are going to church and they are religious. But what they don’t know is that they are purely evil inside. All they want is to see others fail and some of them are deceitful. Their high faith doesn’t match their actions and mentality. At the beginning of the story, the grandmother lied to her family. She’s deceiving her grandson Bailey not to go to Florida simply just because “she wanted to visit some of her connections in Tennessee” (O’Connor, A Good Man is Hard to Find). However, she told her family that a criminal named Misfit is on the loose and heading Florida. Another lie was the one about the old plantation house with a secret panel, which will lead them to a mysterious hidden treasure. Unfortunately, this second lie was a flop. It resulted in an accident, where they encounter unexpectedly the Misfit and their death is pretty close. June Star and her brother, who is ironically named after the founder of the Methodist Church, John Wesley, showed their meanness throughout the story. “Tennessee is just a hillbilly dumping ground and that Georgia is a lousy state.” (O’Connor) John Wesley insulted the Negro kid while his sister looks at him with ridicule in his face because he was half-naked. This story is full of characters who are proud to be Christians but doing evil things without even realizing it and doesn’t really care about what they do.
In negative reference to religion, the Misfit admitted that he was once a gospel singer but unfortunately he became a criminal. The table has turned upside down for him so badly. O’Connor indicates that being a gospel singer means that there is a closer union with God, did nothing to change the path of Misfit or worse led him to become what he is now. Grandmother kept saying Jesus repeatedly knowing that she is in big trouble while Misfit is talking to her. This portrays the futility of religion when one is in a dilemma. For Christians, when the name of Jesus is mentioned in whatever kind of situations, it indicates that the person is expecting to be saved by Jesus Christ but it is pretty obvious that she was not saved. “…was shot through the chest three times by the Misfit.” (O’Connor) The Misfit did not even blink and hesitate to shoot her. Both of these characters were never saved religiously speaking. Misfit was not transformed into a good man and the grandmother was calling help from Jesus but she was killed anyway.
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The Misfit was actually honest and true in front of grandmother saying, “I ain’t no good man … but I ain’t the worst in the world neither.” (O’Connor) He did not deny his identity and is rare to be found inside the religious grandmother who burst out shouting that he was a killer or a criminal. And she told lies to his family as well. Six people were slaughtered at the end of this story. Bailey, John Wesley, Bailey’s wife, the baby, June star, and the grandmother. The family was murdered and this kind of violence was fully justified because they were all pretentious people. However, killing the baby was unjustified due to the fact that it can never be justified. The baby was innocent and does not know what’s going on. Zero ideas of what is happening.
The title itself in “ Good Country People’ is actually an irony itself. The character is named as Manley Pointer also represents irony towards his actions. He is a Bible seller or in other words, a messenger who brings the good news of God willingly to the people. In this story, he showed how good he is at creating common denominators with others easily. He also represents the complete opposite of being a sweet, charming, and trustworthy person exposing himself later in the story. Manley stated, “It was hollow and contained a pocket flask of whiskey” and what he is trying to say is that he is hiding his sins behind the Bible cover that he is selling. It is also symbolic of the fact that evil hides inside the cloak of religion waiting for the right time to come out and unleash. All the time, Manley was just wearing a mask and avoiding the things that can dirt his true personality. But at the end of the story, he removed his mask and showed everyone his true color. He unmasked it in front of Hulga by saying, “I may sell Bibles but I know which end is up and I was not born yesterday and I know where I am going!” (O’Connor) He then accused Hulga by not being smart enough to spot or to tell what his true intentions are. Pointer runs away with Hulga’s artificial leg after Hulga taught him how to remove and attach it back. Hulga realized that when the heart is under attack you really can’t think of what to do next and she let him enter her heart instantly.
In this story, religion is more ironically stated for Manley, who disguised himself as a Bible seller that turns out to be evil deep down inside him. Every time Hulga compliments him that he is a perfect Christian, he turns it down immediately in front of her. He said, “I hope you don’t think … that I believe in that crap.” (O’Connor) As a whole, the attack on religion here was more negative and flagrant.
The violence in this story involves no murder but through Manley’s action where he stole Hulga’s artificial leg. “… by grabbing the artificial leg putting it inside the valise that swung … down the whole.” (O’Connor) This kind of activity is less violent that murdering the whole family, just like what the Misfit did in “A Good Man is Hard to Find”. Manley’s action was violent because Hulga was handicapped since she was ten years old and now that her artificial leg was stolen, she was helpless. This story is just cruel.
Hulga intended to demonstrate the thing that is called “love” to Manley is simply a disguise for lust. She thinks that love is just an illusion for Christians, the other myth that Manley seems to believe. (Holmes, John R., Good Country People by Flannery O’Connor, Salem Press Encyclopedia of Literature, 2019)
Both stories display how insignificant they treat Negroes in Southern. They always see them the evil one when the real evil is the one who sees the Negroes as evil. The characters in both of these stories may appear humane, religious, and kind are just ridiculous. What they truly represent is that they are pretentious people who regard all Negroes as slaves and filled with evil intentions. The Christian religion also displays how insignificant and negative as a whole in both Flannery O’Connor’s works. These two amazing masterpieces of O’Connor differ in matters of violence and how the southern faith doesn’t match their actions. The most important thing that was revealed in both stories is that those who considered themselves as ’good’ people, are actually the opposite, and could possibly just hiding under the shadows of the cloak of religion.
