A Good Man Is Hard To Find By Flannery O Connor

Perspectives of Life and Religion In O’Connor’s “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” she displays how life and religion plays a huge role when the Grandmother crosses path with the Misfit. Although the Grandmother and the Misfit are the main characters, they did not cross paths until the tragic car accident. This story is intriguing because it beginned as a constant battle over where the family should take their trip rather it was Tennessee or Florida. The Grandmother had her mind made up on traveling to Tennessee, but her son, Bailey was not convinced. O’Connor wrote more than a story based on a family trip that took a wrong turn for destruction, but it was her perspective on cultural, religion, and the fundamentals of life. The cultural aspects of the Grandmother was a polite, respectable, and religious woman that believed in traditional values. On the other hand, her son, Bailey did not seem to share those same attributes especially when it came to his wife and kids. Bailey’s kids, June Star and John Wesley were very disrespectful and did not like authority. The Grandmother stated, “[i]n my time children were more respectful of …. their
parents and everything else” (O’Connor 428). Throughout the story, she challenged her son about traveling to Florida because of the serial killer named the Misfit had escaped from prison. The Grandmother thought about how her past life was in Tennessee for example, “she woke up and recalled an old plantation that she had visited…. when she was a young lady” (O’Connor 430). Bailey’s mom was full of the cultural when it came to talking about manners and religion. In the event that following her thoughts about the plantation house the Grandmother and her son’s family was involved in a tragic accident, which causes them to run into the Misfit. This accident was going to be the Grandmother’s test of faith in God. Although the terrifying thought she had right before the crash she said “it’s not much farther… just as she said it a horrible thought came to her…. that the house she remembered so vividly was not in Georgia it was in Tennessee” (O’Connor 432). At that moment, she realized that they might be in trouble because Bailey’s wife had a broken arm and the car was not in good shape, but some strange three white rugged looking men appeared and the Grandmother recognized it was the Misfit from the newspaper. Once she recognized him and he said “Yes’m …. But it would have been better for all of you, lady, if you hadn’t of reckernized me” (O’Connor 433). The Grandmother realized that she would have to trust in God because she does not want to be one of the Misfit’s victims. O’Connor displayed a lot of her perspective of life in her main characters the Grandmother and the Misfit.
Once the Grandmother and her family was in the tragic accident, it was as if it was fate for her and the Misfit to cross path. The Misfit talked to the Grandmother about religion and how he did come from a good family, but he also spoke of his thoughts of God such as, “Jesus thown everything off balance” (O’Connor 436). The Misfit was speaking of the fact that if God have not let the dead rise maybe he and the Grandmother would have not crossed paths and maybe he would not be blames for his daddy’s death. On the other hand, O’Connor constantly revealed that her characters are not the only ones that has come across a serial killer that talked about God, but the fact that is life and no one knows how it will play out but
God. In conclusion, O’Connor’s story “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” was one of the most intriguing stories that describes life, religion, and cultural tradition in some of her characters. The Grandmother and Misfit displayed their differences about God and their faith. Even though the Grandmother’s faith was tested when she crossed path with the Misfit. The story ended sad, but it is truly a fundamental of life because life is nothing but a circle such as birth, adult, and death that continues on and on through generations.