Talking Morality and Actually Being Moral - Book Report/Review Example

 Talking Morality and Actually Being Moral Many a time people do like to talk about morality and ethics. While doing so they do forget that there is a difference between talking about morality and actually being moral. The short story “A Good Man is hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor is related to the idea of morality and morals (Giannone 46). The two important characters in the story that are the grandmother and the Misfit actually act as a contrast to each other. They show the difference between a person who keeps on talking about morality and the one who actually sticks to one’s morals. The character of grandmother in the story “A Good Man is hard to Find” does come out as being a fake moralist, who stands to be a total contrast to the character of Misfit, who despite being a criminal, stands by his morality till the end. Right from the beginning the grandmother claims herself to be a moral person. Yet, actually speaking she does not mind cheating and lying to her family when it comes to getting what she wants. Irrespective of claiming to be a moral person, the grandmother is actually a cheat and a liar. She does not want to go on a trip to Florida. So she time and again tries to manipulate her son Bailey, so as to convince him to go to Tennessee. She even does not hesitate from scaring Bailey by talking about a criminal being 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 the trip, she does not mind hiding things from them. She cheats them by hiding her cat in the car, because she knew that Bailey would not allow the cat in the car. Eventually it is her cat that causes the fatal accident that leads to the serious encounter with the criminals. For the grandmother, morality is a convenient excuse for cheating and manipulating others. She merely talks about morals. In actual life she does not practice the morality that she claims to be really passionate about. When it comes to morality, she does not even mind lying to the children in the family. She gets the children interested in the old mansion by talking to them about the hidden treasure. Actually speaking she intended to use children to convince Bailey into driving to the mansion she so badly wanted to visit. For the grandmother, morality is something to be talked about, rather than being a way of life. She is a fake moralist who does not mind cheating and manipulating others. It is indeed true that the grandmother in the story “A Good Man is hard to Find” is a moral manipulator. She pretends to be a moral person so as to cheat others. She knew how to manipulate other people by talking about morals and pretending to be a moral person. For instance in the story grandmother dresses up in fine clothes while going on the trip so that “In case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady (O’Connor 1).” However, it is indeed shocking that when grandmother actually meets an accident on the way, she is unable to present herself in a lady like manner. The irony is that the Misfit is able to see right through her fake sense of morality 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).” Actually speaking, the grandmother is not moral, but she merely pretends to be a moral lady. The reality is the irrespective of claiming to be a moral person, the grandmother lacks in character and kindness. When the criminals shoot her family members, she comes out to be an apathetic person who fails to sympathize with them. She is simply not concerned about her family. All that she worries about is saving her own life. When the criminals in the story start shooting Bailey and his family, grandmother comes out as being totally unconcerned about him and his family members. Rather, all the time she is shown to be busy pleading to the moral conscience of the Misfit, so as to save her own life. She is a person who is used to cheating and duping people. The surprising thing is that she does not hesitate from trying to manipulate a hard hearted person like the Misfit. She goes on requesting the Misfit to pray so that God may change is heart and prevent him from killing her. Her fake personality so irritates the Misfit that he ends up shooting her in cold blood. The Misfit shows no emotion while shooting her because he understood that she is a manipulative and fake person. Finally, in the story, the grandmother comes out as a person more immoral as compared to the Misfit as she tries to convince him that “I know you come from nice people (O’Connor 1)”. Despite being a rogue and criminal person, the misfit stays true to his morals till the end. He never even once claims to be a moral person as the grandmother does. In contrast, the grandmother does not mind renouncing her faith to please and appeal to the moral conscience of a criminal. She repeatedly reminds to the Misfit of Jesus and how He will save him if he only prays. However, when she realizes that Misfit does not care about Jesus or religion, she immediately changes her moral position as she says, “Maybe He didn’t raise the dead… now 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 immorality of grandmother when considered with the way she shows no feelings for her son and his family brings her out in a very bad light as compared to a rogue and criminal person like the Misfit. It is true that the Misfit is a criminal person who does not talk much about morality and ethics, and least cares about them. Yet, he is much better than the grandmother because he never pretends to be a moral and upright person. He stays the way he is and does not cheat and manipulate others. Irrespective of his criminal background, the Misfit stands to be a foil to the character of the grandmother. It is by seeing the moral truthfulness of the Misfit that the readers are able to grasp the manipulative nature and fake morality the grandmother. It is a fact that like the Misfit, the grandmother is not a hardcore and heartless criminal. But, in her own way she is a manipulative, fake and immoral person. She is a moral pretender who could go to any extent to seek what she wants. Grandmother merely talks about morals and ethics. She shows scarce morality in her 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. Read More