The Grandmother Symbolism

In her short story “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, Flannery O’Connor represents symbolically, that leads her readers, to ideas and images, of what it is to be a good man. If a man looks, acts, or dresses a certain way, does not mean they are a good man. The symbolic story reminds readers of the Old South; racism, segregation, and inequality. The Grandmother represents Old South, meaning, kids respected their elders, and people were proud to call the South home. Also, the story describes the children as being disrespectful, and Bailey disregard of this mother native state. As Bailey was driving through Georgia, there is distinct symbolism that associates with each character’s fate. For example, thy sky, when the Grandmother spoke to Red Sammy

The sky and clouds represent a person’s state of mind. In the beginning of the family trip the sky is full of clouds, expressing the family mind not being clear. When the children were bored, they played a cloud game. John Wesley and June Star had to guess the shapes of the clouds. The children have their own opinion about what the clouds look like. Just like the Grandmother had her perception of a good man. At one point the clouds blocked the sun, preventing the family from seeing the light, or the truth. When the Misfit finds the family, there are no clouds in the sky. Indicating the mind is finally clear, there is no sunlight, bearing no truth. The sky also represents the Grandmother’s state of mind that leads up to her death. When Bailey and Hiram return from the woods, they were looking down on the Grandmother. “She lay in a puddle of blood; legs crossed under her like a child, with her face looking toward the sky, smiling at the cloudless sky” (O’Connor 152). This means she was at peace and her mind is

The Grandmother persuades the family to visit the house, with the secret panel that she lied about. In order to get to the house, with the secret panel, the family had to turn off the highway onto a dirt road. The dirt road symbolizes the wrong path that is sinful. The road the family was on is the right path. Unlike, the dirt road is described as bumpy, rigid, with sharp turns, and woods all around. Also, the woods are very dark meaning death. The Grandmothers death is very symbolic, because the Misfit shoots her three times. Christ died on the cross and rose on the third day. Therefore, when the Grandmother died, she was a born again Christian, accepting God in her