Flannery o connor's misfit and the mystery of evil

Corbin, Page # 1

Shayla S. Corbin

Ms. Pearce

English 1302

Tuesday, December 5, 2017

“A Good Man is Hard to find”

"A Good Man is Hard to find” was written by Flannery O'Connor in 1953. According to John Desmond, the story, was named after the Title verse of a song written and performed by Eddie Green back in 1918(Desmond 129). Stephen Bandy stated that O’Connor writes the way she does because she was a true Christian, and her stories entail life lessons to live by. According to Bandy, in "A Good Man is Hard to Find" the focus is on individuals needing salvation and the violence that they experience which awakens them to that need (Bandy 107). It frequently takes one single disaster to make somebody aware of profound issues. Catastrophe in someone's life sometimes uncovers a spiritual lesson that someone may benefit from. That indeed described the mission that the grandma takes in "A Good Man Is Hard to Find." It's very important to read this story considering O'Connor's Christian faith and to seek the message demonstrated by the characters and their encounters. In Flannery O'Connor's short story, "A Good Man is Hard to Find", the grandmother's journey of being controlling and selfish to graceful symbolizes a Christian's journey toward salvation.

Robert Evans pointed out that the Grandmother was nameless (Evans 184). Evans stated that the two main Characters was the Grandma and the Misfit. There were other characters, However, they weren’t part of the main debate. In the beginning of the story, the grandma was called by her title as opposed to her name. The story opens, "The grandma didn't want to go to Florida" (O’Connor 1). "She desired to visit some people in East Tennessee and she was clutching at each opportunity to change Bailey's mind". She lived with Bailey, and he was her only Boy. She states, “Now look here, Bailey” read this (O’Connor 1).

Stephen Bandy, pointed out that the Grandmother was self-centered (Bandy 109). She starts talking about the Article that contained information about the Misfit to try to change Baily's mind about the family's trip, as opposed to the safety of her Family. Alex Link points out that the Grandmother is manipulative (Link 127). Link included that the focal point of the grandma's soul wasn’t full of God's love, but with selfishness. In my opinion, this behavior demonstrated a corrupt, wicked condition.

This story has numerous resemblances and distinctions between The Misfit and the Grandmother. A case of this, in "A Good Man is Hard to Find," includes the Grandmother's solid, southern legacy. As indicated by Stephen Bandy, she discloses to her grandchildren a story in which a watermelon was eaten up by "a nigger kid (Bandy, 108)." in this day and age, grandmas are typically decent and sweet, yet O'Connor's grandma is extremely manipulative, and a bossy lady that talks too much for the greatness of herself and her family. Bandy pointed out that she had too much pride, she was self-centered and was obsessed with her outer appearance (Bandy 109). She goes out of her way to dress up, although the rest of the family dresses casual and comfortable (Link, 126). As the family sets out, the Grandmother puts on her public face: carefully turned out in a lace-trimmed dress, straw sailor hat, and a sachet pinned at the neckline, so that "In case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady"(O’Connor 2). She is wearing her Sunday best, as though she was going to worship the Lord. This was unanticipated because before the day was out she got killed. Having a public appearance, even in death, was essential to the grandma's feeling of self-worth. Appearance meant more to her than her own life.

Notwithstanding her precise outside appearance, the grandma had some essential inner indiscretions with her character. Because of her references to the Bible, Jesus, God, she evidently sees herself as a Christian woman, however, she showed some very un-Christian behavior while riding in the family's car (Link, 127). She told the kids, " Oh look at the cute little pickaninny"! "Wouldn't that make a good photo, now?" (Bandy, 108). That was very racist words and she wasn’t setting a great example for her family. According to Bandy, she was great for lying and being manipulative. When she was losing the fight about visiting the Plantation house, she stated "'There was a mystery board in this house,' she said cunningly, not coming clean but rather longing that she was, 'and the story went that all the family silver was covered up in it when Sherman came through however it was never found. The word crafty shows how precisely the grandma is with picking her words to have the most skillful impact on the kids. As much as she may have longed for it to be a reality, it was a lie and she knew that. She is again attempting to control people around her. The motive was to make the kids side with her. However, for a lady who sees herself as a Christian, should carry herself as such (Bandy 108). Sometimes it takes a personal crisis to get someone’s attention and to change their ugly ways. For the grandma, this is starting to happen. She needs to defy her self-pride before she can genuinely discover salvation. She thinks that manipulating others will be enough to spare her from any circumstance. Indeed, even after the auto collision, which was her fault, she goes on to make her family sympathize with her rather than criticize or fault her. The Grandmother is convinced that she can handle anything until she faced the Misfit (Bandy 110).

In this story, violence was the reason that causes the Grandmother to seek Redemption and Grace (Bandy 107). The first sign of evil was when the family gets a quick look at the Misfit's automobile. "The car was being driven slowly” (Evans 190). It was a dark battered hearse-like vehicle" (Evans 190). The Misfit, like the grandma, is called by a title instead of a name. The title of Misfit precisely represents someone who doesn't believe in God. He stated he named himself the Misfit (Desmond 131). Desmond pointed out that the automobile that was operated by the Misfit and his group expresses a sign of evil and death (Desmond 130). The evil misuse of the automobile gives an abused appearance (Desmond 130). Desmond pointed out that Violence carries demise into this world similarly as the Misfit brings this image of death into the grandma's life. In the same way as other individuals, the grandma doesn't abandon her world of manipulation and selfishness until she is confronted with Death.

The Misfit's men chaperoned the grandma's family into the wooded area to be killed (Desmond 131). As the remainder of her family was executed, "There was a powerful shout (Desmond 130) from the forested areas, after the gunshot", and just she and the Misfit are left alone (Desmond 131). The grandma's encounter with the Misfit, makes her cry out for God's help (Evans, 182). Link stated that the Grandmother wasn’t prepared to die (Link 136).

Nevertheless, her actions to diffuse the situation and escape her encounter with the Misfit and her own mortality was a challenge. She was now all alone just her and the Misfit. According to Link she was ready to except God in her life (Link 136). After witnessing the killing of her Family, she tries one final time to control the situation by making sure she looked presentable, "The grandma then reached up to fix her hat, then it came off in her hand then fell to the floor. Bandy Stated that was a representation to her that the situation wasn't going to get fixed by looking good (Bandy 108).

When her outward appearance wasn't successful in settling the matter, the grandma started examining her inner self (Bandy 116). She learned about God as a kid. She then started evaluating the Misfit’s life (Link,126). As they were discussing his life, the Misfit, who represented evil, became angry and emotional. "'Listen, woman,' he said in a high voice (Evans 181), 'in the event that I had of been there I wouldn't have known, and I wouldn't resemble the person I am now. ‘His voice appeared to be going to break" (Evans, 181).

The story then went from a discussion about Jesus to the facts that surround the center of the Christian message. Just knowing facts about God doesn't spare a man; it only brings an individual closer to Him. God must be let inside a life for that life to be spared. With everything outer and inner stripped far from her life, she finds redemption (Evans 182). "Her head was now clear (Evans, 182). She then Murmured to the Misfit" Why you are one of my babies" (Bandy 116). She then states, "You are one of my kids" (Bandy, 116). She then stated, “we are all God's children” (Bandy 116) because he created all of us. According to Evans, her perspective of people changed from the beginning of the story. The grandma recognized that she and the Misfit are both children of God, and she then noticed that outside appearances are meaningless (Bandy, 116). She then starts following the ways of Jesus (Evans 182). The Misfit stated ", "If he did what He stated, then it's nothing for you to do except to live by His will, and appreciate the couple of minutes you have left on Earth". Until that point, the grandma was living a life as a manipulator, liar and very selfish. Now, that she has accepted Jesus into her soul, she discards her old ugly ways. She now expresses genuine Love for the Misfit (Bandy, 181).

She is now being threatened by the Misfit and his men. They have already killed her entire family. When she expresses God's grace and love to the Misfit (Evans, 181), "he sprang back as though a snake ready to attack (Bandy, 114), and shot her three times through her chest". Wicked people can't accept genuine love, so they run from it (Bandy, 116). He then executed the Grandmother.

The way she died, resembled the Holy Trinity. According to Stephen Bandy, the three bullets symbolized the Father, son, and the Holy spirit (Bandy, 116). The grandma was shot through the chest, which was where her heart was. According to William Bonnie, God has entered her heart as the shells infiltrated her chest, and God is having an extraordinary effect on her soul as the bullets are present in her body (Bandy 116). The stance of the Grandmother after her passing was symbolic. Her legs crossed under her like a kid's (Bonney, 349) and her face grinning up at the cloudless sky" (Bonney,350). Her legs are crossed, alluding to the cross of Jesus. She is lying in her own blood, symbolizing how her soul is presently resting in the blood of Jesus. Since her soul has been released from her body, her soul will join God in heaven. Bonnie said the correlation of her posture to children is important because Jesus said that to be a believer in His, you need to have the faith of the youth (Bonney 348) (Matthew 18:2-4). Since all adult distortion and externalities are gone, the grandma has at last gotten to the profound level of genuine confidence. At the point when the Misfit says, "She would have been a decent lady if someone was there some to shoot her each moment of her life" (O’Connor 21), he explains that receiving Christ isn't a onetime occasion. He states that she should have been consistent with receiving God. The way that she discovers salvation and that there is no reference to her family being spared is similarly Biblical. The Grandmother reacts to the severity of the violence by accepting the Lord's salvation. Her family got executed, yet clearly without discovering God.

In conclusion, in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” the grandmother and Misfit lived by a code that affected their choices, actions, and insights. The grandmother built her thoughts and actions on the idea of what she believed made people “good.” She placed great standards on being a lady, for example, highlighting her appearance over matter. At the same time, she regularly betrayed her family and lacked the basic awareness of what’s going on around her. Despite her stated love for Christian virtue, she couldn’t pray when she found herself in calamity and she even questioned Jesus. The Misfit, however, followed a code that was steady and evil. Being a convicted criminal, he alleged that the penalty is always disproportionate to the crime and that the crime, in the end, didn’t even matter. O’Connor passed on the idea around "a great man" by the awesome creation of the two important characters, the grandma and the Misfit. The message of "a Great man" showed up all through the story, yet just toward the end, the definition which was suggested in the announcement of the Misfit was the correct moral code. Therefore, if the grandma and the Misfit can complement their good parts to their philosophies to each other, a great man won't be indefinable. An incredible man is someone that practices being positive, nice, and ethical. A Good man practices using empathy and sympathy. A Good man cares for others, and will not cause harm to others. With the grandma's death, it's credible to understand the main point of this story. What is the character of a "Good Man" who is apparently elusive? The appropriate response is found by following the pathway of the grandmother on her journey to God's Faith. The examination of the result of her prideful, narrow-minded, manipulative, and unhappy life displays that the great man wasn't the Grandmother of the story. The great man dislikes the Misfit, his men, or any of the other individuals in this story. At last, the grandma finds that the only genuine Good Man is Jesus. It's, without a doubt, credible to discover Him. The grandma surrendered every bit of her evil ways to meet Jesus. In return for her corruption, she is given the Grace of God, forgiveness and peace in Heaven. At last, she meets Jesus and is changed by the Grace of God. For the grandma, A Good man was Jesus, and she didn’t discover that until the end of her Journey.

Work Cited

Bonney, William. "The Moral Structure of Flannery O'Connor's a Good Man Is

Hard to Find." Studies in Short Fiction, vol. 27, no. 3, 1990, pp. 347-356. EBSCOhost,libproxy.lamar.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=mzh&AN=1991061329&site=eds-live.

Link, Alex. "Means, Meaning, and Mediated Space in "Good Man Is Hard

to Find.." Southern Quarterly, vol. 44, no. 4, Summer 2007, pp. 125-138. EBSCOhost,ibproxy.lamar.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=27082602&site=eds-live.

Bandy, Stephen C. "`One of My Babies': The Misfit and the

Grandmother." Studies in Short Fiction, vol. 33, no. 1, Winter 1996, p. 107-117.EBSCOhost,libproxy.lamar.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hgh&AN=9707153051&site=eds-live.

Desmond, John. "Flannery O'Conner's Misfit and the Mystery of Evil."

Renascence, vol.56, no. 2, Winter 2004, pp. 129-137. EBSCOhost, libproxy.lamar.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hgh&AN=11859777&site=eds-live.

Evans, Robert C. “A GOOD MAN IS HARD TO FIND” Short Fiction: A Critical Companion.1997, p181-191. 11p

O’Connor, Flannery. A good man is hard to find. London, New York,

Harcourt, Brace [1955] 251 pages 21 cm. Language: English Primary Source Pg. 1-24.

English 1302-Research Paper Peer Review

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