A good man is hard to find
Flannery O’Connor authored this story in the year 1953. Due to its publication in several anthologies, the book is widely recognized as the best of O’Connor’s works. A man by the name Bailey who lives in Georgia decides to take his family for a summer vacation to Florida. Still, Bailey’s mother requires him to travel to Tennessee because she has friends there. Bailey’s mother argues that her grandchildren, namely June star and John Wesley, have never been East Tennessee. To support her argument, she shows bailey a news report of an escaped murderer by the name “The Misfit,” who was last seen in Florida.
The following day the grandmother rises very early to hide her cat by the name of Pity sing because she has fears that the cat would die while the family is away. She hides the cat at the back of the car. Bailey finds his mother sited at the back of the car; she was wearing her best clothes and a hat to add to a gorgeous look. By this doing, the grandmother wants that if by any chance they get an accident and die. People would see that she was a refined lady.
During the journey, the grandmother continually talks to her grandchildren. She keeps them busy with games, stories, and jokes. In turn, June star makes derisive comments. By telling these stories, she remembers her youthful times when she lived in the Old South. Roughly she talks of her courtships, respect given by children, and how did people right during her time.
The family makes a stop to have lunch at an old diner. The diner was located out of the town of timothy in Georgia. While they were having lunch, the grandmother mentions The Misfit to the restaurant owner, Red Sammy. Red Sammy and the grandmother concur that things were excellent in the past when compared to the present. She agrees with Red Sammy’s statement that “a good man is hard to find.”
After having lunch, the family continued with the journey. The grandmother does not hesitate to narrate another story to the children. She talks of a mysterious house with a hidden panel. The story captures the attention of the children to the point that they yearn to tour the house. Therefore they beg their father to take them to that house. No sooner was Bailey driving down a rough road than the grandmother realized that the house was located in Tennessee and not Georgia.
Bailey’s anger makes him lose control over the car only to end up in a trench. Nobody was injured except the children’s mother. Bailey’s mother was figuring out how to deal with her son’s anger. While in the ditch, the family is frightened; they eagerly wait for help until the grandmother notices a black car heading towards them. She stops the car, and three men begin talking to her only for her to recognize the leader was the Misfit. The Misfit confirms this; he also tells them that it could have been better if the grandmother had not known him. Unfortunately, the Misfit’s gang men take John Wesley and bailey in the forest, after which two gunshots are heard.
Misfit says that he does not have any clue to a crime he was imprisoned for; instead, he claims that his father succumbed to a flu pandemic. Later, Misfits men come back to capture June star, the baby, and the children’s mother to the woods, the grandmother is left with no choice but to beg the Misfit to spare her life. The Misfit then starts to talk to the grandmother concerning the story of Jesus, saying that he has doubts about the resurrection of Lazarus. When Misfit talks, he gets angry and agitated. The misfit snarls on the grandmother’s face saying that life hasn’t any pleasure only meanness.
The grandmother gradually grows into a confusion thinking that the Misfit was about to cry. She moves towards to the Misfit to soothe him, but the Misfit jumps away quickly and fires three shots straight to her heart. After the whole family has been killed, the Misfit cleans his glasses and picks up the cat. He says that the grandmother could have been a nice woman only if anyone was around to shoot her each time in her entire life. The author ends the story by the castigation of Misfit’s men Bobby Lee, for commenting “some fun” (Caruso n .p). The misfit retorts by stating that there isn’t pure pleasure in life.
O’Connor uses darkness and melancholy in her work to show that grace and beauty are essential in life. In this story, the violence shows divine grace, which is vital for the salvation of humanity in a Christian’s life. Besides, Christians believe that evil deeds can be reborn by accepting Jesus in their lives. The sins committed by the Misfit and the grandmother in the story show that they need grace; that is why the Misfit says, “The grandmother could be a good woman if there were anyone to fire gunshots her every minute of her life.” It means that the grandmother’s life needed to be threatened for her to become a good woman. (O’Connor n. p)
Works cited
Caruso, Teresa, ed.”On the Subject of the Feminist Business”: Re-reading Flannery O’Connor. Peter Lang, 2004.
O’Connor, Flannery. A good man is hard to find. Faber & Faber, 2016.