Moral Theme in A Good Man is Hard to Find - Book Report/Review Example

of the English of the Concerned 8 April A Good Man is Hard to Find- Moral Theme Many a times people do fail toconsider the fact that allegiance to morals is almost as important, as actually ascribing to certain morals in life. The short story A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O’Connor does emphatically delves on the notion of allegiance to morals (Giannone 46). The two salient characters in the story that are the grandmother and the Misfit act as ironic foils to each other, which evince as to how even people who are considered immoral can convey a moral consistency that is hard to find in so called upright folks. The grandmother in the story A Good Man is Hard to Find does convey moral depravity and wavering throughout the story, which emphatically comes out as an anathema to the Misfit, who irrespective of being a criminal, does depict much moral consistency and commitment. Right from the start of the story the Grandmother comes out as an individual, who doesn’t mind manipulating and cheating her family members, irrespective of claiming a so called moral uprightness. She time and again tries to manipulate her son Bailey into going to Tennessee, just because she does not want to go on a trip to Florida. She even tries to scare away Bailey by intimidating him with the Misfit on the loose as she says “I wouldn’t take my children in any direction with a criminal like that aloose in it. I couldn’t answer to my conscience if I did (O’Connor 1).” Even when she decides to join the family on their trip, she jilts them by hiding her cat in the car, just because she knew that Bailey would not allow the cat on the trip. No doubt this very cat becomes the cause of the fateful accident that eventually ended up in a bloody tragedy. For the grandmother, morality is a ploy for manipulating and moving people, rather than being something that one actually practices and cherishes in one’s life. She even goes to the extent of enticing the children with the idea of the hidden silver so as to make them force Bailey to turn on the dirt road that led to the mansion she so badly wanted to visit. The grandmother regards morality to be a matter of appearances and perceptions, instead of being a way of life. It is indeed true that the grandmother in the story A Good Man is Hard to Find is a moral chameleon who dons a moral persona to cheat others and to get people influenced by the perception of morality she creates. For instance one comes to know in the story that the grandmother while going on trip is immaculately dressed in impressive fineries just so that, “In case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a leady.” Ironically, the grandmother when actually meets an accident, she is unable to hold on to her lady like façade, when the Misfit is able to see right through her moral pretences, as he says “She would have been a good woman… if it had been somebody there to shoot every minute of her life (O’Connor 1).” Simply speaking, she is a moral pretender. The reality is that irrespective of her much discussed moral integrity, the grandmother actually happens to be a manipulative and uncouth person who totally lacked the emotional ability to empathize with the plight of her family members, or for that matter anybody else. When the criminals in the woods are busy shooting her son Bailey, his wife and children, the grandmother comes out as a hard hearted person who seems totally uninfluenced by the ordeal her family is going through and actually goes on prodding the conscience of the Misfit to save her own life. Used to manipulating people by presenting an upright and virtuous personas, she does not even shy away from practicing her ploys before a hard hearted and cunning person like the Misfit. She goes on imploring the misfit to pray so that the God could change his heart to not to kill her. Her guise of tenderness seems so repulsive to the Misfit that he ends up shooting her in cold blood, without evincing any sentiment or emotion. Eventually the grandmother sums up as a much baser character even when compared to a person like the Misfit, whom she begs by reminding that “I know you come from nice people (O’Connor1).’. Irrespective of the fact that the Misfit has a twisted morality, he holds on to it till the end, while the grandmother stoops to the level of renouncing her faith, when it comes to soliciting the convenience of saving her life by pandering to the moral arguments of a criminal. She time and again reminds the Misfit of Jesus and how He will save him if he just prays. Yet once she comes to realize that the Misfit had no sentiments or soft spot for religion or Jesus, she shamelessly blurts out that, “Maybe He didn’t raise the dead… not knowing what she was saying and feeling so dizzy that she sank down in the ditch with her legs twisted under her (O’Connor 1)”. This spiritual renunciation of the grandmother when correlated with the way she manipulates her family throughout the story and the utter emotional unconcern she shows towards the possible murdering of her family members, indeed bring her out in a very poor light as compared to a hard hearted person like the Misfit. Though the Misfit is a criminal who ascribes to no loft values, ethics and morality, yet he comes much superior to the grandmother in the sense that he did not pretend any moral probity and spiritual grace, to project oneself as a better person or a gentleman. Irrespective of his heartless characterization in the story, the moral consistency of the Misfit makes one stand out as a foil, against which the readers are able to comprehend the moral manipulation and emotional depravity of the grandmother. Actually speaking, the grandmother stands to be the representative of such people who though never had the ill luck of ending up being criminals, does still happens to be moral pretenders who could stoop to any level to get what they want. Thereby, true morality is something that is not merely confined to pretensions, but rather happens to be something that one inculcates in one’s actions and beliefs. Works Cited Giannone, Richard. Flannery O’Connor and the Mystery of Love. New York: Fordham University Press, 1999. Print. O’Connor, Flannery. A Good Man is Hard to Find. Pegasus, 2015. Web. 8 April 2015. Outline I. Introduction A. Allegiance to Morals is more important than having morals. Grandmother shows scarce allegiance to morals, though she talks so much about goodness and morality B. Grandmother immoral as compared to the Misfit. Though the misfit has twisted morals, still he stick to his morals and is not morally wavering as the grandmother C. Thesis Statement: The grandmother in the story A Good Man is Hard to Find does convey moral depravity and wavering throughout the story, which emphatically comes out as an anathema to the Misfit, who irrespective of being a criminal, does depict much moral consistency and commitment. II. A. Grandmother manipulates her family. She tries to scare her son into going to Tennessee. B. Intimidates Bailey- She tries to scare her son into going to Tennessee. C. She lies to the family and her son by hiding the cat in the car. Eventually the cat causes the accident that leads to a horrific tragedy. III. A. Grandmother- She is a moral chameleon who believes in appearing moral rather than actually being a moral person. B. Believes in pretences- The grandmother pretends to be moral instead of actually being a moral person. C. Misfit sees through it- The misfit is finally able to see the cunning and guise of the grandmother and kills her. IV. A. Grandmother- Emotionally hard hearted and only cares about her own life. B. Shows no concern for her family- She is scarcely concerned when the accomplices of misfit kill her son and his family. C. Tries to manipulate misfit- She even tries to manipulate the Misfit by reminding him of religion and morality. Her objective is to save her life. V. A. Renounces her faith- She finally gives up on Jesus when she finds that the misfit has no taste for religion or goodness. B. Morally wavering- Rather than sticking to her faith, the grandmother chooses to be immorally practical. C. Misfit- Morally consistent- Irrespective of being a criminal, misfit remains true to his twisted morality and does not pretend to be somebody else. VI. Conclusion- Being moral is more important than seeming moral. Read More