A Good Man Is Hard To Find Character Analysis Essay

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Self-absorbed people only think about what makes them feel good at the moment, they do not have any respect or regard for anyone else, and at the end of the day, that is why their relationships fail. In the story “A Good Man is Hard to Find” the author, Flannery O’Connor uses the character of the grandmother to portray self-centeredness and egocentricity throughout the story. Although the grandmother lacks self-awareness, she still describes herself as a real woman, and a lady. However, the grandmother’s lack of mindfulness leads to the death of her family and hers. As we begin to look at the grandmother, it is important to note that she is nameless. In the opening of “A Good Man is Hard to Find” the author talks about the grandmother three …show more content…

She tells the children, “Oh look at the cute little pickaninny!…Wouldn’t that make a picture, now” (Connor, Flannery O' "A Good Man Is Hard to Find")? Using pickaninny to describe a kid makes her seem racist, and coming from someone who supposedly believes in Jesus it is not acceptable. She is also good at lying and being manipulative which considered a sin in Christianity. When she notice that she is not getting her about taking a side trip to visit the old plantation house, she has no hesitation in lying about the secret panel. “There was a secret panel in this house,’‘and the story went that all the family silver was hidden in it when Sherman came through but it was never found,” she said cleverly (Connor, Flannery O' "A Good Man Is Hard to Find”). The grandmother is choosing her words carefully to have a more potent effect on the children so they would want to go to the plantation. She is again making a great effort to manipulate those around her with a lie. For a woman who views herself as a Christian, and who wants to project just the right appearance, it is clear that the grandmother is a hypocrite who is far from living life as Jesus would

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