A Good Man Is Hard to Find: Grandmother Is the Central Character

The leading lady in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” is the bossy grandmother of a traditional, southern family. It is the grandmother’s “final encounter with the Misfit that changes her relations to the world” (Link, "Means, Meaning, and Mediated Space in ‘A Good Man Is Hard to Find’"). Before her unexpected meeting with the Misfit, the grandmother feels above everyone else. She feels like she can talk

In “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” the Grandmother is the protagonist. She is the focus of the narrative and the character whose reactions we encounter the most. More importantly, the third person narrative focuses strongly on the grandmother’s point of view, which establishes her in the reader’s mind much more than any other character. Nevertheless, the grandmother views herself as a rather dignified and traditional woman who appears to judge everyone, but manages to constantly overlook her own flaws. This appears various times such as when she conveys her ideas about the upcoming vacation and June Star states “She has to go everywhere we go” (O’Connor 567), in which merely displays the Grandmother as unwanted by the family. This can be compared to that of the Misfit in the story who also appears to be unwanted by his family. Despite this, the Grandmother continuously positions herself in the family’s everyday activities while imposing her judgment every chance she gets. Moreover, she is censorious of her son and daughter in law for not allowing their children to “see different parts of the world and be broad” (O’Connor 567). She is also critical of her grandchildren for not being like children “In my time” (O’Connor 569) who “were more respectful” (O’Connor 569). By doing this, O’Connor presents a strong characterization of the woman and her virtually unbreakable mindset. However, this story reflects on how through any conflict you can find the good in others, but sometimes it is too late for them to realize their own mistakes. Eventually, the Grandmother confronts evil in the form of The Misfit and seems to show a completely different side of

The grandmother, the main character of the story, is manipulative. Her definition of a ‘good man’ refers to the characteristics that a ‘good man’ should possess.

The grandmother from a Good Man is Hard to Find handles a revelation in her own way. The grandmother happens to be very judgmental throughout the story of people that are in a lower class than her and African Americans. Toward the end of the story she is trapped on the side of the road with her family after they have just experienced a car accident and the misfit along with his crew pulls over to help them. The grandmother eventually realizes who he is. When she realizes that she has nothing left to live for, she connects with another human being and considers the misfit as an equal. She does this by saying to the misfit, “Why you’re one of my babies. You’re one of my own children!” (377). The grandmother finally

The Grandmother in “A Good Man is Hard To Find” is the one of the most prominent characters in the story. Moreover, her personality is quite interesting and greater than most, for she casts an ascendancy over the other characters in the story. Great in the sense that her personality was quite faceted.; though not a particularly admirable mixed bag of personality elements. Evidence of her complexity is sprinkled throughout the story: The Grandmother enticing her grandchildren to get their father to go to a particular area; her interest and enthusiasm for being regarded as a “lady” (357), which is a euphemism for a term you would use when referring to a woman in the upper class; not to mention, a proclivity for doing whatever she deems necessary to get what she wants. The aforementioned examples are proof that The Grandmother in "A Good Man is Hard To Find" is massively status conscious, manipulative, and juvenile.

The grandmother in the beginning seems to be a very curious, kind, and old fashioned woman. As the story progresses she turns into this self-centered selfish woman. She appears like this in times like when she tells story’s (old fashioned) about her past experiences and the excited way she points out things (innocence and kindness.). I dislike that her curiosity is what lead the family to their death. Overall she remained the only character I liked so when she was killed I was left disappointed.

Flannery O’Connor’s A Good Man is Hard to Find tells the story of a family from Atlanta, Georgia as it makes it way to Florida for a vacation. The five members of the family include the grandmother, her son Bailey and his wife. Among the passengers are three children, one of whom is still a baby. There fatal deaths in the end illustrate the belief that everybody has their own unique flaws. The grandmother plays a pivotal role in the story considering the fact that she selfishly convinces the family to divert momentarily from the expected route. In From ‘One of My Babies’: The Misfit and the Grandmother, Stephens Bandy points out that the grandmother was extremely evil. John Desmond, on the other hand suggests that the grandmother is not necessarily a strictly evil person. With reference to the short story, this paper explores Bandy’s and Desmond’s critique’s of A Good Man is Hard to Find. The paper argues that the grandmother is absolutely to do anything for her selfish gains. Furthermore, the paper argues that people are not entirely good or evil, but respond to different events in unique ways.

     In the short story, 'A Good Man is Hard to Find', the main character is the grandmother. Flannery O'Connor, the author, lets the reader find out who the grandmother is by her conversations and reactions to the other characters in the story. The grandmother is the most important character in the story because she has a main role in the stories principal action. This little old lady is the protagonist in this piece. We learn more about her from her direct conversation with the son, Bailey, her grandchildren, June Star and John Wesley, and the Misfit killer. Through these conversations, we know that she is a lady raised from a traditional background. In the story, her attitude changes

In a Good Man is Hard to Find, this grandmother is very selfish, talkative and manipulative. Throughout this story the grandmother portrayed all of these different personality traits. She is like no grandmother that you have ever seen.

The “gentleman” decided to pay her back in a way I never would have thought he would: taking her to seduce the man he was trying to pawn so he can give her the money she needs. I mean she was almost raped! If it wasn’t for her scars she would have never gotten out of the place she was later dragged into, something her father allowed. I almost ripped my book apart really; I could literally feel my blood boiling at that animal. My frustration due to the injustice of Jeannette getting underpaid at Becker’s Jewelry Box was nothing compared to this. It was especially nothing to what I felt when I saw Jeannette stand up to her nightmare of a mother for not working and getting hit by her father for it. I know she was furious, that was the moment Jeannette did start saving up to escape Welch before graduation, but in my opinion that is not enough. I couldn’t and can’t believe her. She should have been out for blood, not for escape. I know what it’s like, to suffer in embarrassment after an event like that, but if I was ever in a situation worse than I have been I wouldn’t even be stuck in a situation like hers. I don’t think I would have even tried to tough it out with the savages she’s lived with for so many years. I would have left as soon as I could think for myself, I would have never

The grandmother in “A good man is hard to find” is very similar to Mrs. Turpin as well. The grandmother claims to be a lady, but she is really a manipulator, she wants everything to go her way. For example when she brings the cat along for the vacation trip despite Bailey not wanting to bring it along. Also when the grandmother manipulates the kids into wanting to go see a plantation by saying that it has a secret panel. “There was a secret panel in this house”, she said craftily, not telling the truth but wishing that she were.” (408) “The horrible thought she had had before the accident was that the house she had remembered so vividly was not in Georgia but in Tennessee.” (409). The grandmother remembers that the house was somewhere else however; she “decided that she would not mention it” (410).

The Grandmother is one of the main characters in “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor. As the family is heading toward Florida for vacation, the Grandmother manipulates her son to turn around to visit an old plantation. The family has an accident and comes face-to-face with an escaped convict and his henchmen. After the Grandmother recognized the criminal as the Misfit, the rest of the family is lead into the woods by the henchmen and murdered. Even after pleading for her life, the Grandmother is shot and killed by the Misfit. The Grandmother, who longs for the “good old days,” attempts to manipulate others with her dishonesty. I chose the Grandmother because she reminds me of my father. I dislike the Grandmother, and I would not want to have anyone like her in my life.

The grandmother in “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by O’Conner is the central character that changes towards the end of the story as she comes into contact with the antagonist, The Misfit. Unlike a typical grandmother, the unnamed grandmother in this story was a hypocrite and self-absorbed person who based her life on the past. This is evident in the very beginning of the story. The grandmother didn’t want to go to the place that her family picked for vacation, “She wanted to visit some of her connections in east Tennessee and she was seizing at every chance to change Bailey's mind.” The word seizing in this sentence is very important because it implies that the grandma really trying to manipulate the situation to get her way.

Looking at “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, the reader is introduced to a family very early on in the story. With a particular character standing out, the grandmother. Her

One of the many self-righteous characters portrayed in “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, is the grandmother. She truly believed that she had the absolute best of values. Via the quote, “navy straw hat and collars and cuffs, so that if there was an accident, people would know she was a lady”, we can immediately tell that she thinks quite highly of herself since she completely overdresses. Her inflated ego leads her to look down upon others as she believed that she was superior to them. One such passage in the story, she critiqued the parenting of another mother because the mother was “not taking the children to different parts of the world and being more broad”. She even told John Weasley to show more respect to his native state and of course to