Flannery O Connor's A Good Man Is Hard To Find

Flannery O’Connor One of the most compelling and provocative authors of the 20th century, Flannery O’ Connor is known for her violent, yet symbolic short stories. Unfortunately, we only got to see a small selection of writings from her, as she died in 1964 at the young age of 39 from lupus erythematosus. Although she was largely unknown during her short life, she has been posthumously recognized as one of the greatest writers of her time. Terry Teachout, chief culture critic and drama critic with the Wall Street Journal, acknowledges O’Connor as “one of the foremost American fiction writers of the 20th century (55).” Teachout goes on to say, “she is by far the most critically acclaimed of the many Catholic writers who came to prominence
in this country after World War II (55)”. She grew up in Millegdgeville, Georgia, and was the minority as a devout Roman Catholic in a largely Protestant region in the American South. My intrigue with O’Connor and her short story “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, originated from her use of comedy and violence to convey the underlying religious symbolism she is trying to express. I found it very compelling how she uses humor to help express her criticism of the religious values prominent in the American South. My interest also flows from her association with that region, as it is an area that I travel to often and wish to live someday. In “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, the overall theme is good versus bad in the context of religion.
Throughout the story, the grandmother’s selfish attitude is apparent. She believes from the beginning that she is the voice of reason and everything she says is right. In response to taking the children to Florida instead of Tennessee, she insists “You all ought to take them somewhere else for a change so they would see different parts of the world and be broad. They never have been to east Tennessee” (59). However, in saying this she has no intentions on helping the children be broad, she says this so the children’s parents will take them to Tennessee, away from The Misfit. Eventually, it is this self-centered attitude that leads to the family’s demise, as she suggests that they take a detour to visit an old plantation in her neighborhood from when she was a young lady. It is in this segment of the story that O’Connor’s religious overtones come into effect. Once The Misfit and his crew of fellow prison escapees shoot the rest of the family, he and the grandmother are alone and she begins to attempt to bring him to Jesus. However, the irony at this point is that The Misfit may be more in touch with Jesus than she is. He says, “Jesus was the only One that ever raised the dead,” The Misfit continued, “and he shouldn’t have done it. He thrown everything off balance. If He did what He said, then it’s nothing for you to do but throw away everything and follow Him, and if He
didn’t, then it’s nothing for you to do but enjoy the few minutes you got left the best way you can by killing somebody or burning down his house or doing some other meanness to him. No pleasure but meanness,” (71). By saying this, he is showing that he does know what it means to be a Christian, but he’s done so much evil to this point, what does it matter? He’s going to hell regardless of what good he does now, so he might as well kill people. The Misfit then says, “I wasn’t there so I can’t say He didn’t,” The Misfit said. “ I wisht I had of been there,” he said hitting the ground with his fist. “It ain’t right I wasn’t there because if I had of been there I would have known. Listen lady,” he said in a high voice, “if I had of been there I would of known and I wouldn’t be like I am now.” (71) What he is saying is that if he knew that Jesus was real, he wouldn’t have committed these crimes because he would have known that there was life after death. After he says this, the grandmother has a revelation. As her head clears, she says to The Misfit, “Why you’re one of my babies. You’re one of my own children!” (71). This very saying is one of the main doctrines of Christianity, that everyone is your brother or sister and that you should treat them as such. By saying this, the grandmother is redeemed. She is then shot by The Misfit and goes to heaven. The grandmother was brought to Jesus for the first time in her life, and without this encounter with The Misfit she would have never been. Primarily towards the climax of the story, O’Connor uses irony as a way to attempt to help her audience find salvation. When the grandmother and The Misfit are alone and she is begging for him to spare her life, she tries her hardest to bring him to Jesus. She says, “If you would pray, Jesus would help you.” (70). However, soon after we realize that the old woman was full of illusion and never really knew what Christianity was. It was only after her confrontation with The Misfit, when she says, “Why you’re one of my babies. You’re one of my own children,” (71) when she is actually brought to Jesus. It is ironic in the sense that up to that point we believed that she would be bringing The Misfit to Jesus, when it was actually The Misfit who brought her to Jesus. Mark T.
Mitchell, Professor of philosophy and political theory at Patrick Henry College in Purcellville, Virginia compares The Misfit to Plato’s tyrant. Mitchell also compares the grandmother to Alexis de Tocqueville’s democrat, as equality has undermined her ability to see beyond the immediate and the physical (212). Mitchell believes that the grandmother has a vague memory of aristocratic ideals, which serve to turn the mind towards things that transcend one’s self (211), but she is living in a democratic age that is impairing her ability to believe in that transcendence (213). Mitchell sees The Misfit as Plato’s tyrant, a solitary figure who shuns meaningful relationships and blatantly rejects the Good (212). Mitchell calls upon the altercation between the grandmother and The Misfit, and sees his rejection of the grandmother’s gesture of love as a rejection of the Good (216). Mitchell states, “And it is at this moment that The Misfit is confronted with transcendent love: he must either accept and, in accepting, submit to its power and constraints, or he must reject and, in rejecting destroy. He chooses the latter (216).” According to Mitchell, the grandmother recognizes the transcendent value in The Misfit and acts upon it, in effect becoming better than she has ever been
(216).