Literary Analysis Of A Good Man Is Hard To Find

The mentioning of the word “grandmother”, is often followed by an image of a sweet elderly woman who will often encourage, support, and model what type of person another should strive to be. In cases like the one presented by Flannery O’Connor in his short story, “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” the grandmother possesses qualities that are rarely associated with grandmas. Most fictional characters have flaws and redeemable qualities to parallel living people and the “grandmother” in the story follows the same trend by having some redeemable qualities because she is dishonest, manipulative and selfish.
As seen in the beginning of the story, the grandmother tricks her family into thinking that she has left their cat, Pitty Sing, at home while they leave for their trip. In reality she has snuck the cat in a basket into the car. Her son, Bailey and
the rest of the family remain clueless. The grandmother states that the reason why she would not leave the pet at home was because, “She didn't intend for the cat to be left alone in the house for three days because he would miss her too much and she was afraid he might brush against one of the gas burners and accidentally asphyxiate himself. Her son, Bailey, didn't like to arrive at a motel with a cat.”(O’Connor, 940). The “grandmother” could have easily explained to Bailey, why she believed it would be best to bring the cat along. She could have reasoned with her son because it was clear she would be unable to successfully hide away the fact that she had brought the pet along for three days. Later on, she lies to her grandchildren about a secret panel existing in the house of the plantation she had once visited. The grandmother states, "There was a secret panel in this house," she said craftily, not telling the truth but wishing that she were…” (O’Connor, 94). Her dishonesty towards her own family, reveals how hypocritical the “grandmother” really is. She easily criticizes others, but is unwilling to find the flaws she possesses.
Furthermore, as the story progresses, it becomes clear to the reader how manipulative the grandmother really is. She takes any opportunity available to change Bailey’s mind on what they should be doing, whether it is going to Tennessee instead of Florida, or taking an unexpected detour to visit an old house. Even when she knows she is wrong, she avoids her mistakes in order to attain what she wants. Due to her ability to use her grandchildren to change her son’s mind, the entire family winds up in an accident. She comes to a realization of her mistakes as seen in the following statement, “The horrible thought she had had before the accident was that the house she had remembered so vividly was not in Georgia but in Tennessee.” (O’Connor, 945). Though she realizes what her ideas have caused, she decides to keep the situation as a secret from her family, in fear that she will be judged. Even in the worst situation imaginable, the “grandmother” tries to use her manipulative ways, to get away from the Misfit. As she comes to the realization of who the stranger is she states, "Listen," the grandmother almost screamed, "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, 947) She continuously tries to use compliments to manipulate the Misfit into letting her live. The grandmother, though unable to fulfill all of her goals by manipulation, proves to the reader that she is in fact just another person with redeemable qualities.
Moreover, when the family comes face-to-face with the Misfit, the selfishness the “grandmother” possesses is revealed.
As soon as she reveals the unknown man’s true identity, she does not stop once to think about what he could do to her family. Instead, she pleads him to spare her life only. She goes on and on about the Misfit being a good man and that this means he could not possibly be able to hurt a good woman like her. As she tries to convince him to let her live, the Misfit’s companions, kill her family members one by one. She is able to see and hear when her son is taken away, and she does not beg the Misfit to spare her child’s life. Her moment of realization is described as follows, “You’re The Misfit...I recognized you at once! You wouldn't shoot a lady, would you? the grandmother said and removed a clean handkerchief from her cuff and began to slap at her eyes with it.” (O’Connor, 946-947). The grandmother even in a situation that involved harm to her own child, refuses to acknowledge anyone but herself. Her selfish thoughts and actions, prove to the reader that the “grandmother” is in reality a self-centered
woman.
Overall, though a grandmother is expected to represent the qualities of a warm-hearted and selfless person, the character presented by O’Connor is quite the opposite. The grandmother is presented as a woman who thinks highly of herself and will often criticize others for their ways, but will not take a second to analyze her own character. Dishonesty, manipulation, and selfishness are all flaws that prove that the grandmother follows a trend of characters with redeemable qualities.