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Flannery O’Connor’s 1955 short tale, A Good Man is Hard to Find, highlights the seemingly random events with far-reaching implications that people encounter. The story, though narrated in the third person, takes the perspective of the character simply referred to as “The Grandmother.” From this angle, O’Connor presents the topic of the inevitability of fate and the ever-constant tug-of-war between good and evil through the lens of Christianity. From this essay’s perspective, seemingly mundane and haphazard events all serve the greater good that is bringing humans to their redemption arch.
In the story, the author attempts to define the boundary that demarcates sin and its associated salvation. Importantly, the Grandmother’s actions lead to her death and possibly, her salvation. They also lead to the annihilation of her son’s family. Notably, the grandmother is openly racist. She is also dictatorial to Bailey as evidenced by her insistence that they go to Tennessee as opposed to Florida as planned. In her attempts to evade the Misfit, they encounter him after a random turn of events that results in her salvation at her point of death. This occurs when the Misfit tries to identify with Jesus by asserting that he had upset the order of things through his criminal actions (O’Conner, 1955). Additionally, the Misfit appears to offer The Grandmother salvation as she calls the Misfit her child before he kills her. Her actions appear as both offering forgiveness and thus earning her salvation as well as an extension of her manipulative ways.
In conclusion, the reader understands that salvation is unexpected and may come in the form of one as flawed as the Misfit. Additionally, it leaves the reader pondering the fate of Bailey and his family, who appear as pawns in the anarchy that characterizes the redemption of The Grandmother. The Misfit is also an object of lasting curiosity as one wonders if the role he plays in the Grandmother’s salvation is linked to his salvation or is simply an extension of his damnable acts.
Reference
O’Connor, F. (1955). A good man is hard to find: And other stories. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
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