The short story ‘A good man is hard to find’, was written by Flannery O’Connor in 1953. The book has grown to be among the highest observed works of short fiction, especially since the book depicts characters in a straightforward manner that has helped improve the audience’s perception of the work. Further, O'Connor can integrate humor, carefully drawn characters as well as philosophy in the depiction of violence. O’ Connor describes the events of a family on a journey to Florida when they wreck their car. At that moment, three strange looking men approach the vehicle in an ambulance, and they are equipped with guns. The Grandmother correctly identified one of the men, as Misfit. He was a serial killer who has escaped from jail. The family members are taken one by one to the woods, where they are shot. After all family members are dead, the author depicts the Grandmother begging for her dear life. She tries to touch Misfit on the shoulder in a move to calm him down but instead she gets shot. This work analyzes the criticisms developed by Stephen Brandy and Flannery O’Connor. Both authors have different approached to the themes present in the short story.
O’Connor argues that his work revolves around grace and redemption especially at the end. As the author criticizes his work, she supports that religious analyses should be conducted on the piece of work. She identifies that before the Grandmother gets killed, she acknowledges that she is not a good person and that she could be responsible for the misfortunes that befell Misfit. The author establishes that the Grandmother sought grace and redemption by identifying that the Misfit was one of her babies. She even asks Misfit; “You wouldn’t shoot a lady, would you?” (O’Connor 1320). The move was intended to convince the serial killer to spare her life, especially since killing a woman would be a sign of weakness for Misfit. Besides, the Grandmother tries to convince Misfit that he is a good man, and that it is not late for him to rectify his past. In ‘Mystery and Manners,’ O’Connor writes that a story will work if it “has to do with the Divine life and out participation in it.” (O’Connor 1317). O’Connor insists that humans are quick to seek redemption at those moments where they feel most insecure. O’Connor also argues that “like a mustard seed, will grow to be a great crow filled tree in the Misfit’s heart and will be enough of pain to him there to turn him into the prophet he was meant to become” (O’Connor 1318). Religion is one of the ways in which we try to make peace with those that we have wronged.
My perception towards the work by O’Connor closely related to the analysis provided by Stephen Brandy. Brandy describes that O’Connor’s argument of his work being a story of grace and redemption is wrong. The author criticized the work by identifying that the gestures made by the Grandmother’s towards the Misfit depends on an individual’s perception and understanding of the Grandmother, and therefore O’Connor should not decide what her audience ought to believe. ‘One’s interpretation depends on one’s opinion of the Grandmother” (Brandy 3). Further, Brandy argues that O’Connor was not comprehensive in her analysis of the Grandmother especially since her main interest was on the character’s behavior. Brandy (14) is convinced that the old lady is selfish and deserves punishment. Further, due to the poor character of the Grandmother, she is even unable to complete a pray. “Finally she found herself saying, 'Jesus, Jesus,' meaning, Jesus will help you, but the way she was saying it, it sounded as if she might be cursing” (O’Connor 409). Besides, the story does not fully depict the religious themes that O’Connor intended to reveal to his audience. Instead, the author only developed a book that depicts the moral lesson of avoiding to focus on past events in life. Brandy continues to emphasize that even after reading the material, it is difficult to identify the themes of inspiration of hope for redemption amongst the characters, as O’Connor emphasized of their dominance in the short story. The message developed in the short story is pessimistic to the theories of grace and charity. It is through the main characters; the Grandmother and the Misfit that Brandy bases his argument. Even though the Misfit only appears in the last scenes of the story, it is evident that his presence and development occurs early within the play. Bailey’s mother warns him of the deadly criminal that is “aloose from the Federal Pen’; while referring to the Misfit (O'Connor 117). His presence in the story depicts evil, and the fact that he managed to kill the Grandmother, O’Connor’s theme of redemption and grace is overpowered.
Besides, Stephen Brandy explains how religious gestures and sayings, and feelings of selfishness relate to the Grandmother and Misfit. Brandy argues that O’Connor fails to mention that these vices were among the leading factors that led to the death of the Grandmother as well as her family. He argues that O’Connor, in the criticism of her work, she should have primarily focused on explaining the moral lessons behind the book, rather than her influence on the manner in which religion intersects with redemption and grace. Further, Brandy argues against the idea that the book is intended to deliver Christianity based teachings through the identification that even after the Grandmother trying to convince the Misfit through religious words and themes, the killer does not change his mind. She identifies that “You’re one of my own children!” in an attempt to change his mind (O’Connor 293). The Misfit believed that the Grandmother is too talkative, or otherwise, she should have been an influential woman. "She would have been a good woman if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life. (O' Connor 318)." I agree with Brandy when he argues that evil, rather than righteousness is more evident from the short story, through the identification that the Grandmother could be even eviler than the Misfit. The Grandmother is heavily convinced that the Misfit is eviler. However, the serial killer does not oppose, but he identifies that he "ain't the worst in the world neither"(O’Connor 364). However, more research needs to be conducted on the material, so that more analyses and discoveries on the intention of O’Connor for her audience are identified.
In conclusion, humans tend to seek redemption and grace more than ever before when they are facing their darkest times. Religion has been used to provide humans with the solace that we need in such times. It is common to find individuals quoting specific parts of the Holy book so that they can at least fight for their lives. However, all evils end up being punished, and therefore we should focus on living lives that are based on integrity, and exhibit compassion for others.
References
O'Connor, Flannery. A good man is hard to find. New English Library, 1962.
O’Connor, Flannery. Mystery and manners: occasional prose (FSG Classics). New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1970.
Bandy, Stephen C. "" One of my babies": the misfit and the Grandmother." Studies in Short Fiction 33.1 (1996): 107.
