Flannery O’Connor “A Good Man is hard to Find” is one of O’conner greatest short stories. O’Connor’s conviction concerning the role of sin, particularly the sin of pride in distorting one’s true identity is the theme of this story.
In “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” a family wants to go in a vacation to Florida. At first, the grandmother of the family does not want to go as she heard that there’s a criminal named the Misfit. But later on, after deciding their destination she tries to convince her son Bailey to take a different route. Not even halfway through the route, the family’s car breaks down and the family waits for help to come along. For instance, the Misfit and two of his buddies seemingly appear to be as the “help” required, but unfortunately the whole family, excluding the grandma, is taken into the forest by the Misfit’s friends and killed. At this moment, the grandmother who is very mean throughout the story in terms of her maternal feelings, finally becomes a mother and gushes not only with love but also with affection to a stranger who murders her family. Actually, the final moment of her life is transformational and reflects the irony portrayed in the story.
In fact, the true trip takes place within the life of the family. One issue in the tale is what is a good man’s definition and how few are left in the globe. Many of the story’s protagonists believe they are good people based on their moral codes. However, these moral codes are profoundly flawed, leaving each character blinded by their own autonomy.
The focal character in the story, which is the grandmother so committed to her selfish and manipulative ways, convinces herself and her family, that she is a good judge on any matter of human nature.
The grandmother recognizes that she has the best values. Wearing a “navy straw hat and collars and cuffs, she overdresses entirely for the journey, so individuals would know she was a woman if there was an accident” (368). This obviously shows how she sees others down. She calls a little black boy “a nice pickaninny” (368) in the same phrase when she criticizes John Wesley about the state. She later says little black kids don’t have things like that and that “if she could paint, she would paint that picture” (368)
Later, on the Southern plantations, the grandmother paints this picture with a romantic story of the good old days. Even a good man’s definition is flawed. She would Marry Edgar Tea garden because “he was a gentleman who bought Coca-Cola stock and made him a rich man” (369)
Ultimately, she tells The Misfit to pray for himself when he kills her family members one by one. But she never tries to beg the Misfit to spare them for her own family. Even when she pulls a handkerchief out to fan herself, she is dramatic and tells the Misfit “you wouldn’t kill a lady would you” (373), effectively trying to save herself instead of her family.
The Misfit appears to have his unique morals, but he has a deep thought process that seems to lack other characters. The Misfit can be a reprobate of perverted morals but he is well aware of himself, saying “I’m not a good man, but I’m not the worst either” (374) to the grandmother.
This is clearly shown at the end of the story when Bobby Lee suggests that shooting the grandmother must have been fun, in which the Misfit answers “It is no real pleasure in life to kill anyone” (377). He knows he has got to kill her and sticks to her. This contrasts sharply with the grandmother, who is not living by her own moral code throughout the story.
The values and moral codes are nothing more than a set of beliefs deemed correct by a culture. The grandmother believes values are based on how you look and where you come from. Although the grandmother sets high standards for herself, she lacks compassion and awareness of herself. Unlikely, the moral code of the Misfit is strong and consistent, although twisted, allowing him to live his life through it. He’s true to himself, and unlike the grandmother, he doesn’t lie about who he is.
A good man in this story is really hard to find. The willful application of the “good man” label by the grandmother reveals that “good” does not mean “moral” or “kind.” A man is a “good man” for the grandmother if his values are aligned with his own. Red Sammy is “good” because he is blindly trusting people and nostalgic for more innocent times, both may be related to the grandmother. The Misfit is “good” because he won’t shoot a lady, she’s reasoning, a refusal that would match her own moral code.
What she doesn’t realize is that because they are moral, she doesn’t consider people as good, but because they share the same values as hers. The only good man shown throughout the story is the Misfit, because in spite of having a twisted and perverted moral code, he is the only one who adheres to his principles.
References
- Litcharts – A Good Man is Hard to Find Summary and Analysis
- Encyclopedia Britannica – A Good Man Is Hard to Find
- Publishers Weekly – A Good Man Is Hard to Find by Flannery O’Connor
- Prezi – ‘Tis a sin to kill a mockingbird
- AALBC – A Good Man Is Hard to Find
- Wikipedia – A Good Man Is Hard to Find (short story)
- Goodreads – A Good Man Is Hard to Find and Other Stories
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