LITERARY ANALYSIS: THE GRANDMOTHER
The Grandmother is the main character in the short story titled “A good man is hard to find” by Flannery O’Connor. Bailey, her only son, is married with three children. John Wesley is Bailey’s firstborn, followed by her sister June Star, and the last born is a small child. The grandmother makes a string of poor and selfish decisions in the story that ultimately leads her family to their deaths.
Various factors influence the decisions that the grandmother makes. She perceives herself as being of higher moral standing than others, just because she is a lady. She dresses in high-end clothing to reveal her social status to the public. She despises those of her lower social standing, such as the Blacks. According to the grandmother, being a lady means that she is a good and respectable person (Hani 345). The grandmother is fast to pass judgments on other people but turns a blind eye to her ills and imperfections. At the beginning of the story, she castigates Bailey’s wife for not taking her children to places that would expose them more to the world. She also doesn’t shy from criticizing John for failing to show proper respect for his native state of Georgia. She asserts that children are less respectful to their seniors and that people are not as nice as they used to be. The grandmother also blames Europe for the problems in her country.
Selfishness is one factor that motivates the choices of the grandmother. She is used to getting what she wants on every occasion. At the beginning of the story, she is against going to Florida because she wants to meet some of her relatives in Tennessee. She always comes up with persuasive reasons to convince others to do her bidding (Gresham). In this instance, she raises the story of The Misfit, a dangerous criminal on the loose, to persuade Bailey to abandon the trip to Florida because it would be risky. She asserts that her conscience would not allow her to take the children for the trip. John Wesley asked the grandmother to remain behind but June Star responded, saying that she would not be willing to remain behind because she does not want to miss a thing. Despite being against the trip to Florida, the Grandmother was the first in the car on the day of the trip.
The Grandmother’s self-centeredness is also revealed by her choice to bring along her cat for the trip. She brought along the cat because she did not want it to be lonely. The grandmother knew she would miss it during the trip and also did not want the cat to cause itself harm. Despite the good reasons for bringing the cat along, she was aware that Bailey did not like having cats during a trip. It was selfish of her to ignore Bailey’s concerns and carry the cat. Another instance where her selfishness influences her choices is when she brings up the idea of visiting the Old Plantation. Bailey was against the idea but she kept talking about it. She even went to the extent of lying about a hidden treasure to get the kids excited about visiting the place. The kids got agitated and eventually managed to convince their father to go see the house. However, the journey to the plantation ended tragically after the cat scared Bailey, resulting in an accident that led them to their killers.
The grandmother is very manipulative and this influences the decisions she makes. She manipulates different people in the story to attain her selfish objectives. She manipulates the kids to convince their father to drive to the Old Plantation. Along the way, they get an accident. The Misfit and his two accomplices find them at the scene of the accident. The grandmother tries to manipulate the Misfit by labeling him as a good man, after identifying him and sealing the fate of her family. She keeps nicely talking to the Misfit, trying to convince her to spare her life. She is not concerned about the fate of the rest of her family members. However, the manipulative tactics she tries on the Misfit are not fruitful, and he eventually finishes her off. The Misfit does not subscribe to a moral code, which explains the failure of her manipulative efforts. According to The Misfit, the grandmother would have been a good woman if she was under the threat of violence throughout her life (O’Connor 13).
The grandmother is very selfish and manipulative. She is willing to lie and put her family in dangerous situations to achieve her desires. She deems herself to be morally correct than others and is never hesitant to pass judgments. Despite her hypocrisy, dishonesty, and self-centeredness, she does not reveal to her family that she was wrong about the location of the Old Plantation. She convinced the rest of her family to go there, leading them to their tragic deaths at the hands of The Misfit and his accomplices.
Work Cited
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Gresham, Stephen. “Things Darkly Buried: In Praise of A Good Man Is Hard to Find.” Shenandoah 60.1 (2010): 17. Web.
Hani, Mohamad. “ANALYSIS OF SOCIAL PROBLEM IN A GOOD MAN IS HARD TO FIND BY FLANNERY O’CONNOR.” English Community Journal 3.1 (2019): 342-49. Web.
O’Connor, Flannery. A Good Man Is Hard to Find. , 2019. Print.
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