In Flannery O'connor's short story "A Good Man is Hard to Find", 1955 the story opens with an introduction of an unnamed grandmother complaining to her son, Bailey, and his family that she would rather go to Tennessee for vacation than Florida, the family's planned destination. After the family resolves to go to Florida regardless of her protests, she besets them by rising early the next morning and waiting in the car for the rest of the family. The grandmother is dressed in her finest , so that "in case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady"(O'Connor 1202).
The grandmother talks tirelessly during the trip, often recalling her youth in the Old South and commenting on various things she sees alongside the road. When the family stops at a gas station/diner, called "The Tower," for lunch, she beings to speak with the owner, Red Sammy, in conversation about the state of the world's affairs, specifically an escaped convicted murderer known only as "The Misfit." This "Misfit" character is the same individual which the grandmother was reading about in the beginning of the story. Red Sammy and his wife both appear as very skeptical individuals as they suggest that their isn't a soul in all of God's world that can be trusted. Red Sammy's wife states that "I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't attack this place right here" (O'Connor 1205) which I believe is a foreshadowing of the events to come. After their discussion about The Misfit, the grandmother agrees with Red Sammy's claim that a good man is hard to find.
While making their way back on the road, the grandmother, once again recalling a certain memory of a place alongside the families path, attempts to detour the family away from their destination and begins to tell a story of and old plantation that she had visited in the neighborhood of Toombsboro, the town which the family was right outside of. She tells of a secret panel and upon hearing that it has secret passages, the children become fixated on visiting the house, and the grandmother instigates them to pester their father until he gives in and agrees to follow the grandmother's directions to the house. As they travel down an unpaved dirt path, the grandmother continues to recall other points about the house: the beautiful glass over the front doorway and the candle lamp in the hall. When the grandmother's directions lead them down an abandoned dirt road, she embarrassingly realizes that the house is, in fact, in Tennessee and not Georgia. Flustered, she upsets her cat, which panics and attacks Bailey, causing him to lose control of the car and roll it into a ditch.
No one is seriously injured, and the children are inclined to view the accident as an adventure constantly exclaiming "We've had an ACCIDENT!" (O'Connor 1207) which plays into the humor instilled in the piece. The grandmother, unable to accept the trouble that she has put her family in as well as the consequences she must face for not giving her family the correct information, fakes an internal injury in order to gain their sympathy. I believe that this action that the grandmother takes contradicts all of her other actions throughout the story. She instantly comes off as a righteous, proper individual which later comes into play with the stories climax and conclusion.
The family sits in a ditch to recover from the shock. As they are waiting for a passerby, it isn't long that a big black battered hearse like automobile comes by. In seeing this, the grandmother stands up and waves both arms dramatically to attract their attention. As the car pulls up, the family sees three men which are all given vivid descriptions. One was a fat boy in black trousers and a red sweat shirt with a silver stallion embossed on the front of it. The other man had on khaki pants and a blue striped coat and a gray hat pulled down very low, hiding most of his face. The driver, who comes out of the car last was older than the other two. His hair was just beginning to gray and he wore silver-rimmed spectacles that gave him a scholarly look. He had a long creased face and didn't have on any shirt or undershirt. He had on blue jeans that were too tight for him and was holding a black hat and a gun. The other two boys also had guns. I feel that the detail of the description of these men is a way for the author to allow the reader to recognize them as crucial characters to the stories plot. Their description also imparts a feeling of uneasiness for the reader perhaps in order to foreshadow the huge role these characters play.
The driver, who appears to be the leader of the three, instructs his accomplices to inspect the family's car and engages Bailey in polite conversation. While this is going on the grandmother comes to a great realization. As she scrambles to her feet she stands and says "You're The Misfit!" and exclaims that she recognized him at once. They begin to converse and the grandmother asks The Misfit if he would ever shoot a lady. "I would hate to have to" The Misfit exclaims and it is at this point when the grandmother starts labeling him as a "good man". As the talking goes on the grandmother continues to claim that the man is a "good man" and shouldn't call himself The Misfit because she knows he is good at heart. At this point, The Misfit asks his accomplices to take both Bailey and his son, John Wesley to the back of the woods to talk. Bailey tells his mother that he will be back in a minute and this instills shock in the grandmother who begins to shout "Come back this instant!" which ironically reflects her overbearing character. Two pistol shots are heard from the woods and the reader now knows of the fate of Bailey and John Wesley. The Misfit next asks the mother and her daughter, June Star to go with the two men to the woods, and here, like before the reader becomes aware of the fate of the two. While The Misfit instructs his accomplices to murder the family one by one, the grandmother begins pleading for her own life, first reminding the Misfit that she is an old woman and therefore unworthy of death, and then by flattering him. When the Misfit ignores her pleas, she becomes speechless for the first time in the story. Panicked, she attempts to tell The Misfit about Jesus. She speaks to him about prayer and that if he would do this Jesus would help him. The Misfit becomes visibly angry and tells of his philosophy and outlook on life. He is angry with Christ for having given no lingering, physical evidence for his existence, and therefore he casts doubt about the legitimacy of Christianity. The Misfit explains that he is angry because he doesn't want to waste life serving an individual who may not even exist, nor does he want to displease an almighty God who may exist; frustrated by the paradox, he has settled on the idea that there's "no pleasure but meanness"(O'Connor 1210). The grandmother then reaches out to The Misfit, recognizing him as her "child".
As The Misfit's accomplices return from killing off the family, The Misfit who seems unmoved by the whole ordeal, calmly takes a moment to clean his glasses and appraise the grandmother. He concludes that "she would have been a good woman...if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life" (O'Connor 1212). The accomplice, now recognized as Bobby Lee comments on what fun they have all had in murdering the family. At saying this, The Misfit angrily admonishes him saying that "It's no real pleasure in life"(O'Connor 1212).
In reading Flannery O'Connor's "A Good Man is Hard to Find" I recognized a prominent underlying meaning. It is obvious that most of the conflict centers on the grandmother's act of reaching out and touching The Misfit. I feel that the grandmother's final act was one filled with grace and charity, which may imply that the story was written to show a sort of transformation in the grandmother through the progression of the story. At first, she seemed mainly concerned with appearing as a good Christian rather than being a good Christian. This can be seen through her selfish want to travel to Tennessee instead of Florida, but even more so through her attempts to salvage her own life while her family was being killed off. This is made worse by the fact that she characteristically could not keep her mouth shut, and having done so she may have saved the lives of her family. She soon realizes that contrary to her former belief, she has indeed not led a good life and at this point she reaches out to embrace her killer,The Misfit, in a final act of grace and charity. Although her attempts fail her, it is not lost on The Misfit who implies that by enduring a lasting of violence, she could have been a good woman.
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