A Good Man is Hard to Find

A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O'Connor is one of my favorite short stories. I like the sense of Karma in this story. It seems like the grandmother's whole life has led up to her encounter with the Misfit. She is this intensely annoying woman who talks all the time and doesn't really care about anything but her outward appearance. I don't think that she deserved the fate she got, but she definitely didn't lead a life that would repel any harm.

I think it is interesting how O'Connor used religion in this story. She was a very religious person, and so she involved morals into her stories. In this story, the grandmother uses religion to make herself look better to other people. She also uses religion as a bargaining tool with the Misfit. She says "If you would pray, Jesus would help you," to convince the Misfit that he is worthy of something better than killing people. It seems like she is only a good Christian when it is imperative to her survival.

I also think the grandmother's feelings towards her family are very telling to her true character. She seems to ignore all of what her son says, bringing her cat along, and disregards her daughter-in-law because she is not as worried about what the outside world thinks of her. The grandmother also thinks that her grandchildren are spoiled and seems to tolerate them, only because she has to. And her family, in turn, tolerates her, but not as much as she would like.

I am interested in her obsession with her appearance to the outside world. She is very concerned that she upholds a ladylike veneer, even if she was lying dead in a ditch. I think there were lots of old white southern ladies in the fifties who felt the same way. Society was a big part of how people acted. Today, we tend to relate to society, but don't let it run our lives. At least, i hope that's what happens.

There are so many facets to this story, it is hard to touch on everything. As I said before, this is one of my favorite short stories. It is complex and makes the reader think about the way they live their life. It makes us reflect on our characters and realize how our actions could play out in our lives. I think that shows powerful writing.