A Good Man Is Hard to Find

A sudden appearance of the heart or meaning of something is what it took for the grandmother from Flannery O'Connor's short story "A Good Man is hard to find" to realize the moment of Grace that she receives before she is killed by the Misfit. O'Connor in her short story uses a lot of symbolism, including the characters. The misfit in this story and the grandmother share a special kind of relationship that neither of them knows they have. As the grandmother at the end realizes that she is no different than the misfit is that in fact she is a misfit herself.

As the misfit is explained in this short story he doesn't fit in with the world. He "the misfit" is a fallen sinner that does not want to be saved by Christ. In the beginning in of the story the misfit is quickly introduced by the grandmother. He is a serial killer that is lurking around Florida, where the grandmother and her son and his family are going to take a vacation. As O'Connor uses foreshowing as one of the techniques in her story, it is easily to tell that the family will soon come in encountering of the misfit. According to Gary Sloan "He acknowledges the miraculous efficacy of prayer while disavowing any desire for it." (Sloan) The misfit can be symbolized as the evil that resides in world. At the end of the story when the misfit meets the grandmother he is left with something to think about, as she calls out at tells him he is one of her own. Also according to Gary Sloan "The misfit wants to believe "Jesus is a liar", but cannot.

Another symbolic Character that is in this story is the grandmother. She is an older lady that tries to live a life of Christianity, but struggles to follow through with it. According to Jesscia Hooten "The grandmother in "A good man is hard to find" exemplifies this self-focus and self-righteousness; she initiates every problem from the first sentence."(Hooten). The grandmother pin points every problem that occurs, such as going to Florida where the misfit is loose. As in the beginning of the story she did not want to go on vacation to Florida because she heard about the misfit on the loose. As she decides to go on this trip with her son and his family she takes them on to a path that she thought she remembered, but shortly realizes she doesn't know where they are. This realization leads to her cat jumping onto her son and causing them to get into an accident. As the son gets out to check if everyone is okay, his children stand on the side of the street trying to flag down help. Shortly an old looking hearse shows up and three men get out and kill the grandmother's son, his wife, and children. As the grandmother is left on the floor the man comes up to her, as she got a close look at him she comprehends that it is the misfit. As she calls him out saying that she knows who he is she tries to convince him not to kill her. At this moment she has an awareness that she is no different than the misfit is, and that she can die happy because she knows and believes in Christ. According to