A Good Man Is Hard to Find - Book Report/Review Example

A good man is hard to Find Flannery O’Connor is the of A Good Man is Hard to Find. The book opens with grandmother trying to talk her son into taking his family to Tennessee for vacation instead of Florida. The grandmother has word there is a murderous convict on the loose who is moving towards Florida. She fears that something bad might happen to her son’s family. The family decides to go for the vacation against her warning, and she comes along with them. They get to a place called The Tower where they stop for a barbecue (Hardy 47). While there, they meet Red Sammy Butts, the owner of The Tower. After leaving Red Sammy’s place, Grandmother throws a tantrum in order to be taken to a plantation nearby that she had known long ago. Bailey agrees to divert into the way in which his mother shows him. The grandmother realizes she has lost all recollection of the plantation. They drive back when they fail to trace the plantation. Grandmother’s cat jumps out of its box and lands on Bailey’s shoulder. Bailey loses control of the car and off the road. The car flips and plunges into a ditch. Just then, another car approaches them, and three men climb out. These men are The Misfit, Hiram, and Bobby Lee. The grandmother recognizes the Misfit, and he is unhappy with the fact that somebody recognizes him (Kilcourse 73). Grandmother tries to flatter the Misfit, but as it turns out, he is the hard-to-please kind. He orders Bobby Lee and Hiram to take John Wesley and Bailey into the forest. A moment later, Bobby Lee and Hiram shoots and kills them in cold blood. Grandmother fears for her life and she resorts to her Christian faith for the hope to live through the moment. The Misfit puts on Bailey’s shirt that Bobby Lee and Hiram have brought to him after killing Wesley and Bailey. Grandmother pleads with the Misfit not to kill her and advises him to pray to Jesus. In a matter of seconds, the Misfit shoots the grandmother thrice in the chest. Hiram and Bobby Lee come back from killing The Mother, June Star and the baby. The Misfit remarks that there is no pleasure in life (Kirk 39). Analysis of A Good Man is Hard to Find The title of the book, A Good Man is Hard to Find, points to Red Sammy Butts in the moment he conversed with grandmother while at The Tower. Mistrust of others is a theme that is consistently evident in O’connor’s book. In their conversation, Red Sammy Butts and grandmother confirm this. They reckon that it is hard to trust anybody in the world. Red Sammy recounts how he allowed two men to take gas on credit, and he laments ever having to be good to people (Robillard 52). Grandmother believes that there is not even a single soul on earth that can be trusted. This contradicts the Christian faith to which the grandmother is a strong believer. In this book, O’connor presents the reader with two clashing moral codes. Both grandmother and the Misfit have beliefs and perceptions that guide their conduct. A moral code is a collectivity of people’s behaviors, and beliefs thought of as reasonable and acceptable. The rightness of a person’s moral code is subjective. At a glance though, one would not help but notice how the Misfit’s code is erroneous. Grandmother’s code is also contradictory and unconvincing (Hardy 48). It is clear that grandmother’s moral code derives from what she thinks is good. For example, she emphasizes the importance of looking like a lady, depicting that she is more interested in appearance than in substance. She subtly deceives Bailey and the whole family without remorse. Despite her claim of Christian piety, she cannot even remember to pray when in a crisis. She even dares to question the divinity and power of Jesus. On the other hand, the misfit is consistent and apt in following his moral code. The Misfit believes that punishment is always bigger than the wrong done, and in the end, the wrong done does not receive the emphasis it deserves. It is clear that religion baffles the Misfit. Whilst the grandmother took faith blindly and without questioning, the Misfit challenges religious beliefs and reasons deeply about how much he can follow and how much he cannot follow. He believes that religion is meaningless (Kilcourse 74). He argues that meanness characterizes life and not pleasure. His moral code is violent, and he triumphs in the end. Flannery O’connor’s story has an element of religion. There is a strong voice that tells the reader O’connor’s perception of the mysteries of faith and divinity. She makes her characters face difficult situations that push them into a crisis that tries their faith. Grace is a prevalent element in most of her writing. Religion is a strong motivation in O’connor’s writing. In fact, in a lecture on A Good Man is Hard to Find, in 1943, she remarked that she believed that faith is what drives one’s perception (Kirk 40). She attributes her desire to write on to her Catholic faith. She once having wrote that were it not for her being Catholic, she would not have had a reason to write, see, be horrified or enjoy things in life. Themes in A Good Man is Hard to Find Subtlety of goodness Grandmother uses the label of goodness indiscriminately making its meaning vague. When Red Sammy expresses his annoyance with how people are untrustworthy, grandmother refers to him as good. Red Sammy asks grandmother why she thinks he allowed two strangers take gas on credit. She says it is because she is a good man. This definition of goodness carries with it elements of gullibility, blind faith and unsound judgment, all of which are not inherently good. When trying to flatter the Misfit, she calls him good. She believes as a good man he would not shoot a lady (Robillard 53). The Misfit’s answer, however, shows that he does not believe what grandmother was saying. Grandmother’s implication of good here brings the element of common good. The way in which grandmother uses the word good shows that it does not imply kindness or morality. It implies that a man is good if his values agree with her values. She refers to Red Sammy as good because he has underwent a situation similar to her own experience at some point in life. When she flatters the Misfit as good, she implies that if he shot a lady, then he would obviously not be a good man. It, therefore, follows that because the Misfit shot the grandmother, he is a bad man (Hardy 49). One thing that cannot be denied of the Misfit as good is his consistency in fulfilling his belief that there is no pleasure in life but meanness. Improbable recipients of grace Despite their flawed, weak and sinful ways of life, both the Misfit and grandmother receive grace. The grandmother lies to her grandchildren, manipulates Bailey, and persistently complains about the meagerness of the present and praises the pre-eminence of the future. She appears to be oblivious of the people in her environment and as having no self-awareness (Kilcourse 75). She thinks of herself as rightful to judge the goodness of the people that live in her environment. Grandmother also thinks of herself as capable of instructing others on how to live. She advises Misfit to pray. On the other hand, the Misfit is unrepentant. In the end, grace appears to both of them suggesting that both can be saved by God. When the Misfit inquires what Jesus did, the grandmother experiences a moment of grace and her head clears. She exclaims that the misfit is one of his babies and children. Grandmother said this because she realized that even the Misfit had the human curiosity to get to know of the mystery of the supernatural. This is quite clearly grandmother’s most cogent moment in the book. For an instance, she is clear and compassionate. God grants her grace before her death. At this moment, the Misfit is also open to grace. He comes to see how much there is no pleasure in killing. Killing is clearly ceasing to give him pleasure and this point to the fact that he stands a chance of changing from his way of life (Kirk 41). Works Cited Hardy, Donald. Narrating Knowledge in Flannery O'connor's Fiction. Columbia, S.C: University of South Carolina Press, 2002. Print. Kilcourse, George. Flannery O'connor's Religious Imagination: A World with Everything Off Balance. New York [u.a.: Paulist Press, 2001. Print. Kirk, Connie. Critical Companion to Flannery O'connor. New York: Facts on File, 2008. Print. Robillard, Douglas. The Critical Response to Flannery O'connor. Westport (Conn.: Praeger, 2004. Print. Read More