Flannery O’Connor’s text “A Good Man is Hard to Find”

One of the finest works by author Flannery O’Connor is the short story “A Good Man is Hard to Find.” A family led by Bailey chooses to travel to Florida, but on the way, they are involved in an accident and come across a thief who kills the entire family. The Grandmother and the Misfit appear to alter their personalities as they attempt to cope with the experience of running into each other at an inappropriate time and place, which is the most important aspect of the conflict. The Grandmother’s character and that of the Misfit do not changes when they meet because the criminal the Grandmother still seems to be the self-centered, manipulative woman while the Misfit does not become a good man as he is a killer.

The grandmother’s personality does not change when she meets the Misfit because she is known for her manipulative behavior even though she fails to make use of it when they are in trouble. From the initial scenes when the reader meets the grandmother, she seems to be a cunning woman because while Bailey wanted to visit Florida, she objected and gave her preference. She proceeds to convince Red Sammy on the subject of people changing and the fact that it is difficult to find honest individuals. In response, Red Sammy said, “Everything is getting terrible. I remember that day you could go off and leave your screen door unlatched. Not no more” (O’Connor). It means that by engaging in a conversation with Red Sammy, she had managed to get her to reason with him as she was manipulative in some way. Thus, the ability to convince Red Sammy further builds on the understanding that the reader gets about the Grandmother.

However, upon meeting the Misfit, the Grandmother fails to convince the criminal that he is a good man and her self-centered, manipulative behaviors continue being manifested. It would be expected that the grandmother would change her controlling personality and instead look at the situation at stake and convince the Misfit not to kill the rest of the family but the Grandmother opts not. It is indicative of her change of character from being devious to being self-centered and not bothering about others affairs though the reader is accustomed to both personalities from the beginning. The Grandmother continues her behavior and does not seem to change from being self-centered because rather than convince the Misfit to spare the family’s life, she still focuses on herself and how the Misfit looks at her. Instead, when she meets the Misfit, she tries to persuade the criminal not to kill her because she is a lady while she could look at the broader picture of the family. She says, ‘You wouldn’t shoot a lady, would you” (O’Connor 86). The statement means that the old woman was still only interested in her issues just as when the reader first meets her when Bailey wanted the family to visit Florida.

Meanwhile, the Misfit is also another character whose personality does not change when the moment of change arrives. The Grandmother first mentions that the Misfit is a killer and has escaped from prison. The immediate effect is that the reader perceived the Misfit as a bad person who is likely to engage in crime. When he finds the family stranded in the forest, he appears to be a changed man by offering to help them until the Grandmother mentions that she recognizes him. In fact, everything seemed going on well until the moment the Grandmother mentioned his name. It is then that the Misfit ordered for the killing of every member of the family. Out of fear, the Grandmother states, ”I know you’re a good man. You don’t look a bit like you have common blood. I know you must come from nice people“ (O’Connor 88). The account was meant to change the Misfit from the criminal with a bad personality to being a good, forgiving person who cannot murder. However, his killer-mindset does not shift in the end because even with the Grandmother trying to remind him that he can be a good man, the Misfit is not convinced and manifests his true self.

In summary, the short story by Flannery O’Connor is a piece of literature that is stimulating but also mind-blowing at how people never really change their behavior even in time of need. The Grandmother is known to be a manipulative woman all along and a person who is only focused on herself and does not change even when the rest of the family is in trouble. Similarly, the Misfit’s behavior remains to be that of a person with a killer instinct because when the Grandmother wrongs him by stating that she recognizes him, he thinks of killing them all. The story is thus significant to the reader because it serves to demonstrate the need for exercising a flexible personality and not being too rigid to one’s interests as the Misfit and the Grandmother did in the narration.

Works Cited

O’Connor, Flannery. A Good Man Is Hard to Find. United States: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1953. Print.