The character of the grandmother from A Good Man is Hard to Find, was manipulative and self-centered. She also seem conflicted in that she clearly tries to portray herself as a “lady” and religious with high morals, but the actions of this character do not seem to support this. The character serves as an antagonist as her character causes a majority of the controversy for the story. She is motivated by the desire to get her way, often indirectly through the manipulation of others.
Her manipulation and selfishness is apparent in the beginning of the story, we find that she does not want to go to Florida as the family has planned. To try to change the minds of the parents, she attempts to sway Bailey’s mind when she states that the Misfits are heading towards Florida and that, “I wouldn't take my children in any direction with a criminal like that aloose in it. I couldn't answer to my conscience if I did.” (The Pearson Custom Library of American Literature, 2011). It’s as if she is trying to make Bailey feel that his decision is going to put the family, specifically the children in harm’s way if he were to do this. But the motive is not to keep the children or family safe. It is merely her attempt to change their minds and take the family to Tennessee instead of Florida. When this doesn’t work, she then attempts to manipulate the mother when she says that the children have already been to Florida and that they should be taken somewhere they have never been. Her manipulation continues when they are on the road and she tells a story about a house in the area that she was fond of growing up. She tells the kids of a “secret panel” that hid the family silver (The Pearson Custom Library of American Literature, 2011). This d...
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...ed praying. Due to the timing, her religious beliefs appear to be more of a ploy to save her own skin, just like she did when she tried to portray herself as a lady. It presented itself only due to the circumstances, but not that she had deep rooted religious beliefs.
In the end, the grandmother ultimately realized that her actions played a big part in the demise of the family when she cries for Jesus. I believe at this point she truly does realize that her actions, such as not being honest by telling Bailey the house was in Tennessee, her sneaking the cat on the trip, and her telling the Misfits that she recognized them, caused the death of the family. It was then she realized that she was not the perfect southern lady she tried to portray herself as.
Works Cited
The Pearson Custom Library of American Literature. (2011). Boston: Pearson Learning Solutions.
I feel that the Grandmother in the story 'A Good Man is Hard to Find' suffers from psychological conditions. She does not care at all about anyone but herself. I feel that she may even be narcissistic. It is ironic because she would be expected to look out for her family. The Cambridge Dictionary defines narcissism as 'too much interest in and admiration for your own physical appearance and/or your own abilities' It is ironic because she would be expected to look out for her family, however in reality she only really looks out for herself. She shows how self centered she really is many times throughout the story. She displays a complete lack of regard for what anyone else wants to do. All she cares about at first is what ...
In Flannery O’Conner’s, “A Good Man is Hard to Find” the story begins with the family going on a road trip to Florida. The Grandmother who is very critical, selfish, judgmental, forgetful, and dishonest and almost enjoys manipulating others to get her way. The Grandmother holds herself in very high regard and
Selfishness. The grandmother “didn’t want to go to Florida,” instead she wanted “to visit some of her connections in East Tennessee” and of course, she was going to take advantage of every chance she had in attempts to changing her son’s mind. (O’Connor 1) The grandmother was going to get her way and absolutely nothing was going to stop her. It never crossed her mind to consider how the rest of the family members would feel about changing their whole plan just because she did not want to go to Florida. Not only was she inconsiderate, but also manipulative. In fact, she even goes on to tell her son, “ ‘...The Misfit is aloose from the Federal Pen and headed toward Florida and you read here what it says he did to these people… I wouldn't take my children in any direction with a criminal like that aloose in it. I couldn't answer to my conscience if I did.’ " (O’Connor 1) This was her first attempt at making her son feel guilty for wanting to take his wife and children to a place where a dangerous criminal would be roaming around in the same streets as them. The primary reason why she shows her son Bailey the newspaper is to change his mind about the final destination rather than genuinely caring for the family’s safety. Preston Browning says it well when he states, “The grandmother . . . displays a soul so empty that it seems to reverberate with the
The grandmother character in A Good Man is Hard to Find is the Christian icon of the story, while the Misfit represents all that is evil. True to her southern roots, ...
As they drove she talks Bailey, her son, into taking a detour to see an old plantation she visited when she was younger, halfway...
After stopping to eat, the Grandmother convinces her son Bailey to take a detour; the car crashes, afterwards; they encounter the serial killer and then he kills the entire family. Throughout the story, the Grandmother exemplifies that she may be egocentric, so O 'Connor 's character of the Grandmother feels that When she sees the little black boy who was not wearing pants, she proceeds to call him a "pickaninny" and "a negro". Then she puts herself in higher position, claiming that he doesn’t have pants because she felt that black people don’t have things like they do in the country. 50 's were a time of discrimination against black people because they could not receive a high paying job, education, and vote. She does not believe change which is shown in conversations with the kids and with Red Sammy.
In the short story, A Good Man is Hard to Find, by Flannery O'Connor, every object including the characters are symbols. The Grandmother, who is the one and only dynamic character, represents all of us who have repented. The story is, as Flannery O'Connor has suggested a spiritual journey because of the Grandmother's Plight. In the beginning of the story the Grandmother is obsessed with everything worldly and superficial. She cares far too much about how others perceive her,
The grandmother's character in "A Good Man is Hard to Find" is also very selfish in her motivations. She felt she had to lie to her son, daughter-in-law and her grandchildren in order for her to be able to see that nice house again. "'There was a secret panel in this house' she said craftily, not telling the truth but wishing that she were, 'and the story went that all the family sil...
The grandmother is the central character in the story "A good man is hard to find," by Flannery O'Connor. The grandmother is a manipulative, deceitful, and self-serving woman who lives in the past. She doesn't value her life as it is, but glorifies what it was like long ago when she saw life through rose-colored glasses. She is pre-scented by O'Connor as being a prim and proper lady dressed in a suit, hat, and white cotton gloves. This woman will do whatever it takes to get what she wants and she doesn't let anyone else's feelings stand in her way. She tries to justify her demands by convincing herself and her family that her way is not only the best way, but the only way. The grandmother is determined to change her family's vacation destination as she tries to manipulate her son into going to Tennessee instead of Florida. The grandmother says that "she couldn't answer to her conscience if she took the children in a direction where there was a convict on the loose." The children, they tell her "stay at home if you don't want to go." The grandmother then decides that she will have to go along after all, but she is already working on her own agenda. The grandmother is very deceitful, and she manages to sneak the cat in the car with her. She decides that she would like to visit an old plantation and begins her pursuit of convincing Bailey to agree to it. She describes the old house for the children adding mysterious details to pique their curiosity. "There was a secret panel in this house," she states cunningly knowing it is a lie. The grandmother always stretches the truth as much as possible. She not only lies to her family, but to herself as well. The grandmother doesn't live in the present, but in the past. She dresses in a suit to go on vacation. She states, "in case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady." She constantly tries to tell everyone what they should or should not do. She informs the children that they do not have good manners and that "children were more respectful of their native states and their parents and everything else." when she was a child.
Elmore Leonard once said “I don’t judge in my books. I don’t have the antagonist get shot or the protagonist win. It’s just how it comes out. I’m just telling a story.” “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”, written by Flannery O'Connor, is one of the most interesting stories that we have read in this class. The protagonist in this story is the grandmother and the antagonist is The Misfit. In any other short story, the protagonist and the antagonist would not have much in common, but that is not the case in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”. The three major similarities between the grandmother and The Misfit is that they are both the oldest one in their groups, they are both hypocrites, and they both are missing important spiritual relationships.
Since the beginning of the story, the readers have come to known the grandmother as a spiteful old lady due to her repulsive and deceitful attitudes toward others. Right from the start, we can see the grandmother using her manipulative tactics on her family. “The grandmother didn't want to go to Florida. She wanted to visit some of her connections in east Tennessee and she was seizing at every chance to change Bailey's mind.” (O’Connor 1) This initial quote shows an early indication that the grandmother is determined to obtain whatever she wants and will not allow anything to get in her way, even if it means manipulating her own family. This line already suggests that the grandmother may have sly motives concealed in her mind. “Here this fellow that calls himself The Misfit is a loose from the Federal Pen a...
“A Good Man Is Hard To Find” by Flannery O’Connor explores the complexity of human nature. The unnamed grandmother is a perfect example of how contradictory a person’s beliefs and standards can be. She is indirectly manipulative, yet she holds herself to a higher, purer standard than the other characters. Not to mention, the grandmother is not as she first appear, and she is stuck on the views of the past and how they apply to her as a lady, whether the views are correct or not.
The story opens with the self-righteous grandmother trying to manipulate her son, Bailey. The family is planning a trip to Florida, but the grandmother wants to go Tennessee. She has tried to persuade him to change the trip, but he will not listen. The grandmother finds an article in the local newspaper about an escaped convict, the Misfit. She tries to convince Bailey the family should go a different direction because the Misfit is on the loose. “Here this fellow that calls himself The Misfit is aloose from the Federal Pen and headed toward Florida and you read here what it says he did to these people. Just you read it. I wouldn't take my children in any direction with a criminal like that aloose in it. I couldn't answer to my conscience if I did” (O’Connor 356). The grandmother indicates she has a strong conscience, yet she continually lies throughout the story. If she really let her conscience guide her, then she would be more concerned about her own actions.
O’ Connor forces the reader to wonder which characters are “Good Men”, perhaps by the end of the story she is trying to convey two points: first, that a discerning “Good Man” can be very difficult, second, that a manipulative, self-centered, and hollow character: The Grandmother is a devastating way to be, both for a person individually and for everyone else around them. The reader is at least left wondering if some or all of the clues to the irony I provided apply in some way to the outcome of this story.
In “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” the readers are lead to believe that the Grandmother is a good Southern woman who lives her life by God’s grace, and the Misfit is a horrendous, murderous, mad man that believes in nothing. Although these first impressions seem spot on at a first glance, the actual characteristics and traits of these characters are far more complex. The Grandmother and Misfit have a very intriguing conversation before he murders her, but in the short time before her death, the readers see the grandmothers need for redemption and how the murderous Misfit gave her the redemption she so desperately needed,