Grandmother Vs Misfit

A felon on the loose and an old grandmother may not seem to have much in common but looks can be deceiving. In A Good Man Is Hard to Find the author, Flannery O’Connor, introduces two characters that are very self-driven and relate to each other through their common traits. The Misfit and the grandmother share major characteristics that coincide with the story such as selfishness, brashness, and determination. Their lifestyles are polar opposites with the Misfit living a lawless, heartless, and detached life while the grandmother comes from a very family centered past. Together they show how similar personalities can lead to a common ground where the reader can infer that both characters share the same overall objective. The Misfit and the
Anyone who has a survival based mindset will naturally have a selfish personality. The grandmother flaunts a self-loathing attitude throughout the entirety of the story. She announces her dissatisfaction with heading south to Florida instead of to Tennessee at the very beginning of the story and that conflict shows how she has a primal need to feel safe. The idea of visiting Florida seemed unsafe to her, especially since she read about the Misfit and in her mind Tennessee represents a safe environment. Another example of the grandmother’s selfishness is how she persists on going to the old plantation even though it is clearly irritating Bailey and would extend the time of the family’s arrival. The memory of the plantation grew inside the mind of the grandmother to the point where seeing it was necessary. Memories that are generally good make humans feel safe which coincides with survival and the grandmother was experiencing this while her mind was focused on the plantation. With her and the children continuously insisting on making the father take a detour to see the plantation, the grandmother shows how her selfish behavior caused a dispute with her son which ultimately stemmed from her desire to be in a safe mind
The grandmother is a very determined woman and the reader is made well aware of that. Up until she remembered that the plantation was not actually in Florida, she was set on getting to visit it. The ones who have an enduring determination to survive will in most cases find a way to make it out. Jessica Hooten states that “The grandmother in the story “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” exemplifies this self-focus and self-righteousness; because she believes the grandmother is “defiantly assured of her own merit” (197). Her determination to survive is so strong that she had to resort to her offering the most important tool she wielded which was her