“It is not easy to say who is the more evil, the Misfit or the Grandmother, and indeed that is the point. Her behavior is the manifest of her character.”
Bandy chooses to believe that the Grandmother did not grow in terms of character. Since it is seen that when the tension rises the grandmother turns to her religion for guidance through this ordeal. She asks the Misfit if he has ever prayed, hoping that by mentioning God he will not kill her. This quote raised to the occasion when the comparison of good and evil was in question. So is she really a good god fearing woman or is she playing some kind of manipulative game to get through the misfit’s head? This question will seem to go unanswered due to the fact that we as readers will never actually know now since the grandmother has been killed.
It is expected to think that the misfit may have come from a troubled past since he grew to be a serial killer and an escaped convict from prison. But, in the story O’Connor gives some insight on the misfits past as well. She shows the misfit reflecting back on a previous conversation that he once had with his dad. We then can share the experience and some thoughts that may occur in his mind, when he makes his decisions.
[The Misfit:] “My daddy said I was a different breed of dog from my brothers and sisters. ‘You know,’ Daddy said,’ it’s some that can love their whole life out without asking about it and its others has to know why it is, and this boy is one of the latters. He’s going to be into everything.”
This quote gives important information and insight on the things that may go through the misfits mind. It explains part of his personality and further explains his curiosity. Viewed in this light, he's not just a thoughtless killer b...
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...ey do believe in god, there sinful ways are looked at the same. Good and bad. Right from wrong. Guilty and Innocent. These are just a few of the many themes that surround everyone’s life. Everyone has their own opinion about certain issues, and they depend on their values, judgment, and beliefs to see them through their difficulties. Good and evil can be defined in many ways. It can also be mistaken for the other since people want to believe and see only the good in themselves and in a person. Denial is the essence that seems to put everyone at a loss. In conclusion, the grandmother and the misfit both showed traits of being good and evil. But No one can truly recognize the difference between good and evil because they convince themselves to believe what they want. People are so condemned in what they want to believe that sometimes they fail to see the true picture.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the grandmother's behavior is the manifest of her character. she asks the misfit if he has ever prayed.
- Analyzes how o'connor shows the misfit reflecting back on a previous conversation that he once had with his dad.
- Narrates how their daddy said they were a different breed of dog from their brothers and sisters. this boy is one of the latters.
- Analyzes how the quote gives important information and insight on the things that may go through the misfits mind.
- Analyzes how the misfit knew exactly what kind of person the grandmother was, read her actions and listened to her reasoning, and saw her as an evil deceitful person.
- Analyzes how the grandmother is disbelief when the misfit willingly murders the family. she pleads for her own life because she can't imagine the misfit wanting to kill a little old lady.
- Narrates how the misfit uttered the shocking words, "why you're one of my babies." she touched him on the shoulder and sprang back like a snake had bitten him.
- Analyzes how the story moves to its climax, when the misfit shoots the grandmother dead, but what comes just before that killing interest us even more.
- Opines that the misfit is simply a more evolved form of the grandmother.
- Analyzes how the grandmother valued her life so much that she only pleaded for her. bandy uses this quote to plead his argument because when one considers one as their own child there is some sort of connection drawn between the two.
- Analyzes how the grandmother and the misfit both showed traits of being good and evil. they were given a rorschach test and discussed their relationship with christianity.
Related
- analytical
- Similarities Between The Misfit And A Good Man Is Hard To Findanalytical essayThe grandmother has never truly understood what being saved means. She is also ignorant to what salvation is. The Misfit is missing the ability to empathize and bind with other people. He does not hold respect for human life. In “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”, it says “She would of been a good woman, The Misfit said, if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life” (430). In “‘One of My Babies’: The misfit and the grandmother”, written by Stephen C. Bandy, it says “The Misfit has already directed the execution of the Grandmother’s entire family, and it must be obvious to all including reader and the Grandmother, that she is next to die” (108). These example justifies that The Misfit does not have any regard for human life. The only people that he has are the two goons that help him murder people. The grandmother sees that The Misfit has never had anyone to take care of him. At the end of this story she tries reach out to him on a spiritual level, but he shoots her three times in the chest as soon as she touches
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how flannery o'connor's "a good man is hard to find" is one of the most interesting stories in the class. the grandmother and the misfit are both hypocrites and missing important spiritual relationships.
- Analyzes how flannery o'connor's "a good man is hard to find" describes the misfit and his crew as the oldest in their groups.
- Analyzes the similarities between the grandmother and the misfit. the misfit is clearly a criminal, but he deflects responsibility from himself and refuses to bear the results of his conflicts.
- Analyzes how the grandmother and the misfit are missing important spiritual bonds. the grandmother has never truly understood what being saved means, and is ignorant to what salvation is.
- Compares the differences between the grandmother and the misfit. the grandmother has a family, while the misfit doesn't.
- Analyzes how similarities between the grandmother and the misfit in "a good man is hard to find" outweigh the differences by a ton.
813 wordsRead More - Character Analysis A Good Man Is Hard To Findanalytical essayRegardless of the grandmother’s attempt to reason with him by praying, he has a profound concept of Jesus. He tells the grandmother about his anger and lack of faith towards Jesus. As the Misfit compares himself to Jesus, the Misfit seems upset because they have “papers” on him and not on Jesus (O 'Connor 151). Even though the Misfit is a cold blooded murderer, he is interpreted as a wise man who is almost superior to the others. The Misfit is taking on the role of God when he chooses to make his call and kill the family. Not only does he make a decision for the family to die, but he also judges the grandmother: “She would of been a good woman, if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life" (O’Connor 153). In this case, the Misfit does not believe the grandmother is a “good” woman considering her beliefs. However, when she was in a life and death situation, she embraced her faith in
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how o 'connor uses southern gothic literature to convey the personalities of the unusual characters in "a good man is hard to find."
- Analyzes how o 'connor portrays the grandmother as a selfish cranky old woman. she dresses up just in case she and her family get into an accident so she can express herself from her hat.
- Analyzes how the misfit, despite being a cold-blooded murderer, compares himself to jesus, and is interpreted as being superior to the others.
- Analyzes o'connor's understanding of how life and death situations blur the definition of a good man, and how these situations can make people look for higher power.
- Analyzes how the misfit describes his actions as "no pleasure but meanness" before killing the grandmother's family.
- Analyzes how flannery o 'connor uses nostalgia to connect the diverse characters' definitions of a "good man." the grandmother, the misfit, and the man from the diner share their longing for the past.
- Analyzes how flannery o 'connor's "a good man is hard to find" conveys deeper meanings, particularly struggling with faith and the idealistic views on a "good man."
1081 wordsRead More - The Misfit's Innocenceanalytical essayThe Misfit’s past experiences also expose his vulnerability and inconsistent lifestyle. In the beginning of the story the grandmother is trying to please The Misfit in order to save herself by saying “You don’t look a bit like you have common blood. I know you must have come from nice people” (455). The Misfit agrees with her and says his parents were fine people. However he says that he is “not a good man…but not the worst in the world [either]” (456). The Misfit was not a good man but his Father was, this is odd. It causes the reader to wonder if the Misfit actually meant what he said or if he was lying to make the grandmother trust him. The Misfit’s description of his family makes him seem vulnerable because he is hiding something. However, he does share
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the misfit's past experiences expose his vulnerability and inconsistent lifestyle.
401 wordsRead More - Essay On A Good Man Is Hard To Findanalytical essayIn Flannery O’Connor’s short story A Good Man is Hard to Find, there are two main characters whose faith should be analyzed: “the grandmother” and “the Misfit”. We can use Paul Tilloch’s six components to analyze their faith. The grandmother seems to have a great understanding of what faith is in five of the
In this essay, the author
- Explains that paul tillich's 1957 work dynamics of faith describes the franciscan perspective of "faith".
- Analyzes the two main characters in flannery o'connor's short story a good man is hard to find, namely, the grandmother and the misfit.
- Analyzes how the misfit doesn't understand part i of tilloch's definition of faith. he is confused as to why he was sent to prison.
- Concludes that paul tilloch's definition of faith is very applicable to their own faith.
575 wordsRead More - Intended Conversion to Christianity in Flannery O'Conner's "A Good Man is Hard to Find"analytical essayOne example shown in "A Good Man is Hard to Find" involves the grandmother's strong southern heritage. She dresses with the intention that if something should happen and she was found dead on the road, anyone that found her would certainly know she was a lady. She also was always telling stories of southern gentlemen courting her. At the end, the Misfit, whom the grandmother knows is of quality southern blood, shoots her and her family despite her belief in southern hospitality. The grandmother is seen as a woman who believes in God during her encounter with the Misfit, but we see early on in the story that her belief isn’t very strong through all the lying and deceitfulness she continues in. Not until her confrontation with the Misfit, do wee see her become so passionate about her faith.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how flannery o'connor's "a good man is hard to find" is written partly to convert people who have not yet fully accepted the christian faith.
- Analyzes how the grandmother's strong southern heritage is shown in "a good man is hard to find." the misfit shoots her and her family despite her belief in southern hospitality.
- Analyzes how flannery o'connor's works follow a similar pattern. her characters never seem to find their redemption until they find god at the end.
- Opines that the misfit represents a new generation of young people who have been religiously misguided. the grandmother symbolizes an old generational perspective, which has grown somewhat distanced from religion.
- Opines that o'connor's "a good man is hard to find" was an exceptionally written short story that contained thought-provoking content. the ending was not much of a surprise, but it still had the effect she was looking for.
774 wordsRead More - A Good Man is Hard to Find, by Flannery O'Connoranalytical essayThere are three phases of thought for the Grandmother. During the first phase, which is in the beginning, she is completely focused on herself in relation to how others think of her. The Second Phase occurs when she is speaking to The Misfit. In the story, The Misfit represents a quasi-final judgment. He does this by acting like a mirror. He lets whatever The Grandmother says bounce right off him. He never really agrees with her or disagrees, and in the end he is the one who kills her. His second to last line, "She would of been a good woman," The Misfit said, "if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life," (O'Conner 152). might be the way O'Conner felt about most of us alive, or how she felt that God must feel about us.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how flannery o'connor suggests a spiritual journey because of the grandmother's plight in a good man is hard to find.
- Opines that anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady. her collars and cuffs were white organdy trimmed with lace.
- Analyzes how the woman dresses up for a car trip so that the people passing would think that she is lady. make-up represents us as humans because we choose to be way too self-conscience.
- Analyzes the three phases of thought for the grandmother. the first phase is focused on herself in relation to how others think of her; the second phase occurs when she is speaking to the misfit.
- Explains that flannery o'connor's life in samsara, her reasoning with the final judger, and her redemption all add up to the spiritual plight that we all must take in life.
581 wordsRead More - According to Ellen Douglas, the "evil in human hearts, and the possibility of grace, the gift of love, are made terrifyingly and magnificently real" when the grandmother, at gunpoint, admits that The Misfit really is, in her standards, a good man at heart (381). He is better able to express his beliefs about religion, but she has no firm foundation. When he says, "She would [have] been a good woman, if there had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life," he is revealing the fact that her pride, instead of her faith, has carried her through life (O'Connor, "A Good Man" 392). She has merely acted out the life of a typical Southern lady of he...
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how joy/hulga is forced to face her pride in o'connor's "good country people." she achieves a ph.d. in philosophy and believes in the simplicity of believing in nothing.
- Explains meyer, michael, ed. the bedford introduction to literature: reading, thinking, writing.
- Analyzes how flannery o'connor's "a good man is hard to find" makes her characters realize their pride and overcome it.
- Analyzes how o'connor uses an intellectual girl to bring mrs. turpin to a point of grace in "revelation."
- Describes douglas, ellen, and edwards, jr., bruce l. "o'connor's 'a good man is hard to find.'
973 wordsRead More - The granny and the misfit are two completely opposite characters that possess two different beliefs. The grandmother puts herself on a high pedestal and the way she calls the misfit ‘a good person’ based upon his family background gives the reader an idea of what the grandmother acknowledges to be considered as ‘good’. Self absorbed as sh...
In this essay, the author
- Opines that flannery o' connor's "a good man is hard to find" is one of the most interesting stories they've ever come across in their life.
- Analyzes how o'connor's "a good man is hard to find" revolves around a self-absorbed grandmother who loves to talk about how everything used to be back in her day.
- Analyzes how the granny and the misfit are two completely opposite characters that possess two different beliefs.
- Analyzes how the grandmother sneaks the cat into the car and lies about the secret panel. her views on the "old south" are established when she calls an african american boy a "cute little pickaninny."
- Analyzes how the misfit accepts his misdeeds but doesn't believe that the punishment he receives fits with the wrong. he lives his life under the shade of knowing that salvation is out there but resents it
- Analyzes how 'the misfit' might have had a misfortune that changed his course of behaviors to one of doubt and resentment. he is aware of christ being the savior and the fact that he "raised the dead."
- Analyzes how both the misfit and grandmother lack spiritual bonds and don't understand what being saved actually means. the story concludes with the misfit's remark on how his source of happiness by performing violent acts brings "no real pleasure in life."
941 wordsRead More - Symbolism in A Good Man Is Hard to Find by Flannery O'Connoranalytical essayIn "A Good Man is Hard to Find" the Grandmother is a main character that symbolizes a savior. O' Connor describes the Grandmother as a savior with grace, who is saving the Misfit from evil. ." O’Connor determinues that the Grandmother shall be the Misfit’s savior, even though she may not seem so in the story” (Bandy, 151). She reaches out to the Misfit with a "touch of grace" because she is portrayed as the "good character" in the story. The Grandmothers purpose is trying to save the Misfit, or the "evil character." At the end of the story, when she was talking to the Misfit after she realized that he was going to kill her she murmurs, "'Why you're one of my own babies. You're one of my own children!' She reaches out and touches him on the shoulder. The Misfit sprang back as if a snake had bitten him and shot her three times through the chest" (O'Connor). Here the significance is that the Misfit was offered grace from the Grandmother, but denies it. “When the Misfit shoots the grandmother he is recoiling from whatever grace she offers. He is rejecting not just any warmth conveyed in the touch, but also th...
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how flannery o'connor uses symbolism to give more meaning to her short story, "a good man is hard to find."
- Analyzes how o'connor determinues that the grandmother shall be the misfit's savior, even though she may not seem so in the story.
- Analyzes how the symbolism with the grandmother is very important throughout the short story, as is her role, and her death.
- Analyzes how o'connor's descriptions of the sky, the woods, and the fields depict the theme of good versus evil.
- Explains that a hearse, in case you're not familiar with the word, is an automobile.
- Opines that “a good man is hard to find.” short stories for students. ed. kathleen wilson. vol.
- Opines that ochshorn, kathleen g., "a cloak of grace: contradictions in ‘a good man is hard to find’," studies in american fiction 18.1 (1990): 113-17.
- Analyzes the symbolism of the woods underneath the sky as a symbol of death.
- Analyzes how o'connor uses symbolism in "a good man is hard to find" to portray the constant battle between good and evil.
- Explains bandy, stephen c., "the function of signature in "a good man is hard to find."
- Cites prunty, wyatt, and raiger, michael. "large and startling figures: the grotesque and the sublime in the short stories of flannery o'connor."
1953 wordsRead More - The Theme Of Good And Evil In A Good Man Is Hard To Findanalytical essayIn Flannery O 'Connor 's short story, A Good Man is Hard to Find, the theme of good vs. evil unravels throughout the series of tragic events. The Grandmother’s epiphany introduces the idea of morality and the validity is left to the interpretation of the reader. By questioning the characteristics of right and wrong, morality and religion become subjective to personal reality and the idea of what makes individuals character good or bad becomes less defined.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how flannery o'connor's short story, a good man is hard to find, unravels the theme of good vs. evil throughout the series of tragic events.
- Analyzes how the grandmother in a good man is hard to find realizes that morality may not necessarily be black and white.
- Analyzes how flannery o 'connor utilizes multiple biblical references to create a foundation for what the grandmother and misfit believe in terms of morality.
- Analyzes how o'connor contrasts the idea of good and evil by accompanying biblical references with such morbid events and statements. these personal connections place the grandmother, misfit and jesus as morally equal.
- Analyzes how literature brings to light different experiences and allows the reader to see life from another point of view.
- Analyzes flannery o'connor's piece a good man is hard to find. the grandmothers epiphany allows her to realize that morality is not a clear or permanent as it is presented growing up.
1075 wordsRead More