F Bell:
Two common themes in many of Flannery O’Conner’s short stories are morals derived from the Catholic religion along with over exaggerated flaws in her characters. In A Good Man is Hard to Find, O’Conner emphasizes both of these themes through the grandmother. When she is about to be killed by The Misfit, the grandmother says, “Jesus! You’ve got good blood! I know you wouldn’t shoot a lady! I know you come from nice people! Pray! Jesus, you ought not to shoot a lady. I’ll give you all the money I’ve got!” (454). Analyze this quote and how it captures the themes that O’Conner is trying to portray.
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When the Grandmother begins pleading for her own life, she first reminds the Misfit that she is an old woman and therefore unworthy of death, and then tries to save herself by flattering him. When the Misfit ignores her pleas, she becomes speechless for the first time in the story. Panicked, she attempts to witness to the Misfit about Jesus. The Misfit becomes visibly angry and outlines his philosophy on life, that being he is angry with Christ for having given no lingering, physical evidence for His existence, therefore casting doubt about the legitimacy of Christianity. This quote from her plead to live, shows clues that the grandmother's final act was not an act of charity and that she is yet again trying to save herself from being murdered. By using such religious overtones and exaggerating the grandmother's selfishness, O’Connor demonstrates each of these themes quite well.
I completely agree with Channing, the Grandmother is not truly acting religious in this quote, she is trying to bargain with her life. She uses religion as a fallback because of the situation she is in. Never before in the story does the Grandmother portray herself as a devout religious woman, but more as a respectable older woman of a higher class. Using religion as a last resort, the Grandmother proves herself as a selfish character by trying to convince her way out of being murdered. The Misfit, however, is not affected with the Grandmothers cry's to 'Jesus', in fact, it only infuriates him even further. The themes of selfishness are highlighted in this quote, especially since the Grandmother does not seem to care at all about what will happen to the rest of her family.
During this final scene in which the she pleas for her life, the grandmother's selfishness becomes evident to the reader. Instead of trying to save her family members from the Misfit, she is only concerned with her personal well-being; this is what solidifies the grandmother as a flawed character. Throughout the whole story, she has displayed her selfishness by bringing her cat on the road trip despite her son's unwillingness to do so and insisting that the family stop at a mansion which is actually in Tennessee. However, this final act of selfishness is what defines the grandmother as grotesque. She attempts to use religion as a bargaining tool, but ultimately fails because she does not truly believe what she is preaching. Instead, she annoys the Misfit with her religious rants which leads to her eventual death. By saying, 'You've got good blood', she is also trying to flatter the Misfit in the hopes that it will lead him to spare her life. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately for the audience, he kills her because he sees past her selfish facade and realizes her flawed character.
Good Job girls!! You hit the nail on the head! The Grandma's selfish character uses religon as a last resort to save herself. What else can you guys get out of this quote?
Religion, or the appearance of religion, is a major component in Flannery O'Connor's short story "A Good Man is Hard to Find." O'Connor, pulling from both her Southern and Catholic background, characterizes the grandmother as a seemingly religious individual. The grandmother is adamant about distinguishing herself as a "lady." She dresses up for the car ride so that if the family wrecks on the way, the person that finds her will think that she is a woman of quality and class. Religion is an important part of old southern culture. Sundays used to be characterized by church and Sunday dinners. The grandmother, feeling the need to assert the fact that she is a fine southern woman, over-exaggerates her religious devotion. She pleads with the Misfit on religious grounds because she feels that she should as an example of feminine southern class. In conjunction with calling upon Jesus and asking the Misfit to pray, she tells him that she knows he is from "nice people" and has "good blood." Because of this, he couldn't possibly kill a lady of her caliber. She associates religious devotion with socioeconomic class. Class distinction is actually far more important to her than religion, although she pretends otherwise.
The grandmother, who had barely mentioned religion until she was threatened by The Misfit, suddenly turns to Jesus when she realizes that her life is in danger. Convinced that her cries of "Jesus!" will persuade The Misfit to spare her life, she screams at him desperately. When she realizes that her pretense of devotion is not working (in fact, it has only reminded The Misfit of his anger at God), she resorts to flattery, begging, and bribery. However, The Misfit, realizing that the grandmother cares only for herself and does not deserve to be saved, ignores her pleas. The grandmother's selfishness and conceit are obvious at this point, as she abandons her family and her morals in a frantic attempt to stay alive. The grandmother's false displays of religion and exaggerated flaws mark this as a quintessential O'Connor story.
In my opinion, this quote is demonstrative of the grotesque nature of the grandmother. She does nothing but appeal to the "better nature" of the man responsible for the deaths of her entire family. All her actions and pleas are made in the idea of self-preservation. Even when the mother has been killed, the grandmother insists that the Misfit, "ought not to shoot a lady." It is also ironic that although she appeals to religious ideals, and insists he is a good Christian, she continuously takes the Lord's name in vain.
Religion is te grandmother's moral crutch in her character; she employs it whenever she feels like her conscience is being threatened. Death would be such a situation, and given the plot of the story, we can assume that the grandmother would react in a similar manner to something as minor as a negative comment or reference said about her. It is no surprise that she doesn't dwell on the death of her family, because she is too concerned with herself.Thus, O'Conner effectively shows us the components of sin and redemption, which are integral to the Christian faith.
While the killings are taking place, the grandmother brings up Christianity to try to persuade the Misfit into sparing her life. She is a grotesque character because she is truly the opposite of a pious being. The grandmother only uses religion to try to save her own life. She could care less about the fate of her own child and his family. When she senses that her death is near, she pleads with the Misfit. She appeases him by telling him that he was put in jail by mistake and that he should have prayed to the Lord. She tells him that he is a nice person that would, “…ought not to shoot a lady” (454). Sensing her insincerity, the Misfit shoots the grandmother. This mockery of religion is a prevalent theme in O’Connor’s work.
This quote exemplifies the Grandmother's strongest flaw, selfishness. She portrays herself as a perfect Christian, but her actions are anything but that. It is ironic that she dresses in one of her best outfits for the trip to Florida, for the purpose of looking like a proper lady in case she dies in an automobile accident, but is murdered mainly for her annoying, selfish pleas. One of her reasons for not wanting to travel to Florida was her concern for the family's safety in such close proximity to the Misfit. When the family is finally caught by the murderer the grandmother's concern for her loved-ones seems to vanish as she begs only for her self preservation. While being concerned for her life may have been merely human, it shows that she is selfish and not a perfect Christian.
Exaggeration of the grotesque personalities of the people in this story is something that is very characteristic of O'Connor and her writing. The theme that O'Connor is trying to portray is one of selfishness and overconfidence. The grandmother feels that she is a woman who should be held in high esteem because of her upright Christian virtues and character, yet she only speaks of religion when she is trapped in a desperate situation and trying to convince The Misfit that he is truly a "good man." However, the title itself suggests that things will end badly; ironically, The Misfit is probably the character with the most redeeming personality in the story despite his many flaws. The prevalent theme that O'Connor tries to portray concerns the lack of morals seen in society and the measures taken to cover these flaws of character.
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