Short Story Literature

Short Story Literature

Do good men still exist? In the story “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” written by Flannery O’Connor, we understand that there are no good people. The writer explores the hypocrisy of the grandmother. This was to signify the idea that good men are hard to find as he claims that the grandmother only wanted to save her life in the event of violence. Flannery O’Connor intends to make it clear that people’s characters are controlled by various conditions they encounter. He also elaborates that insincerity and immorality tend to be attached to good people.  There might be good people in our modern world, but finding one is hard as people’s characters are controlled by the condition they encounter.Goodness categorizes people into two different types; those who do not see their badness and believe they are right. Likewise, some accept their badness.

In the story “A good man is hard to find,” we can see the grandmother believing that she was a good woman but was controlled by various conditions. The grandmother is against Bailey’s idea to take the family to Florida for a vacation. She argues that Florida was not a safer place to go to because Misfit, a criminal who run-away from prison, was last seen in Florida. Also, she claims that Bailey’s children have never visited East Tennessee(O’Connor, 2016). She convinces Bailey to go to East Tennessee only because she wanted to satisfy her desires. This is because the grandmother had a lot of friends in East Tennessee, like in Florida. This proves her badness because she only considers her desires.

As Bailey’s family packs their belonging in preparation to leave for the vacation, the grandmother is seen to hide her cat in Bailey’s car in the boot. The grandmother claims that the cat might suffer and die while they are gone for a couple of days. She does help the children in packing their clothes but only carries her cat in a basket. This shows her hypocrisy because she pretends to have cared for the cat, but she intended to distract Bailey and convince him to change the destination. After the grandmother wins in convincing Bailey not to go to Florida, the cat springs out from the basket on their way to East Tennessee. The grandmother was the one who made the cat jump out of the basket by her reaction in kicking her feet. The cat lands on Bailey’s shoulder, making him lose control, hence, causing an accident. Bringing the cat to the vehicle was not a good idea. The grandmother’s reaction was initiated by seeing Misfit and recognizes him. This incident proves the grandmother’s badness by her character in pretending to have cared for the cat, yet she only wanted to convince Bailey and force him to change the vacation’s destination(Gartner, 2019). If the grandmother could have been a good woman as she believes, then she could not have hidden the cat at the back of the car. Instead, she has just carried it or put it in the front so that everyone recognizes its presence to reduce any distraction.

The grandmother is controlled by pride and recognition, and this reveals itself when Bailey finds her dressed in one of her finest clothes. The grandmother also puts on a designer hat, claiming that people will easily recognize her as a refined woman should she encounter an accident and happen to die. This incidence reflects on her religious character as it proves her hypocrisy, unlike what Christianity expects from her. In Christianity, the Bible affirms that “the love of money is the source of all evil.” It discourages believers from the pleasure of the earth, but the grandmother does abide by this even with her perceiving herself as a firm believer. Her badness is seen when she pretends to be a Christian, yet she does not act like one. Instead, she uses Christianity to hide her bad behavior, such as pride and wanting to earn self-recognition.

Hypocrisy is also seen when the grandmother engages in a conversation with Bailey’s children by making jokes and funny comments. She says that “in my time, things were much better as children respected the elderly and did the right thing”(O’Connor, 2016). The grandmother is trying to say that the current world has no such respectful children. Her badness reveals itself when she only considers herself reasonable and respectful, arguing out the era where good people existed ended. Also, hypocrisy reveals itself when Bailey’s family stops at a restaurant in Georgia to have dinner. The grandmother exchanges views regarding goodness by arguing that finding a good man in the present world is challenging, yet she considers herself reasonable.

After taking the dinner, the family continues with the journey, and the grandmother starts to tell a story of her experience to Bailey’s children. She tells them a dreadful tale of a mysterious building that had a secret basement. This insight Bailey’s children want to visit the place. The children harass their father and convince him to take them to see the site. The mother’s badness is seen because the grandmother only wants to go to East Tennessee, where she has many friends. She only cares about her desires, proving that it is hard to find good people in our society.

Bailey’s family happen to get into an accident on their way to Florida, and this was caused by the grandmother who kicked the cat, causing to jump out of the basket. The cat lands on Bailey’s shoulder, hence, making him lose control. The car lands in a ditch, with only Bailey’s wife injured. The family gets out of the vehicle and start to look for assistance. The grandmother spots a black hearse driving towards them and raises her hand till it stopped. Three armed criminals came out of the hearse and started talking to the grandmother. She confirms that she knew their gang leader, thus leading to an eruption of violence. The gang leader says,” I would have spared your lives if the grandmother had not identified me”(Gartner,2019). The theme of grace reveals itself as Bailey’s family beg for mercy. The grandmother repeatedly calls on Jesus’s name. This confirms her hypocrisy because she only recognizes Jesus when in trouble.

The gang leader kills each member of Bailey’s family one by one, and the grandmother does not seem to plead for their lives. She only begged for hers, confirming that she was selfish, proving her badness even though she considered herself useful. The grandmother takes advantage of religion to convince Misfit to let her leave. She uses tries to confuse the gang lead by calling her son, but the gang leader retrieves. The fact that the grandmother denies the notion that there is life after death proves her hypocrisy. The gang leader expresses his anger and says, “it would have been better if somebody was there to shoot you every minute.”

In summary, the notion that to find good men is problematic appears to be true because in Flannery O’Connor’s story, the grandmother believed that she was a good woman, yet there are many vices she portrays. The grandmother using religion to hide her flawed characters shows hypocrisy. She thought that the era where good people existed ended but still considers herself a good woman. The grandmother only recognizes her Christianity when she is in trouble. The story ends with the gang leader not killing the cat and by punishing one of his assistants. This incidence verified that it was proper to say that finding a good person is so difficult. In the modern world, there might be good people but to find one is so tricky.