"A good man is hard to find"?

Question

I need help writing my paper but these to quotes get me. I read the article " A good man's hard to find" by flannery o' Connor.

I don't know the significance of the grandmother of saying "why you're one of my babies. You're one of my own children". Im stuck because i don't know whether she being genuine or is it her last pathetic attempt to save her own life?

Also when the Misfit says "she would of been a good woman if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life" whats its signif.

Please elaborate!

Answer 1

There are many ways to interpret the story, of course, but I think the grandmother is being sincere. She has this flash of recognition, of kinship, with the Misfit, who is a complete sociopath, but she feels a motherly compassion for him nonetheless. O'Connor, a devout Catholic, believed in the active presence of God's grace in human life - this is the grandmother's moment of grace. You will find many more of them throughout O'Connor's body of work.



It takes a deadly hostage situation for the grandmother to reach this moment of grace, which the Misfit notes. It compelled her to look outside herself (you'll note throughout the story that the grandmother is somewhat selfish - bringing the cat, not admitting she doesn't know where the farmhouse is, etc) and experience a moment of compassion and love - spiritual love - for someone else. Basically, he's saying that she was the kind of prosaic person who needed to be shocked into goodness.

Answer 2

You could think of the religious undertones of her statement, like Jesus and his flock. That's a good start.



Elaborating on the Misfit's quote, he thinks that under the threat of death she gains a certain amount of grace. So if someone had a gun pointed at her all the time, perhaps she would have been a better person.



Really think about the religious undertones though and the redemption that's possible in the scene. I studied this story in college so there's certainly a lot to push at here.

Answer 3

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RE:

"A good man is hard to find"?

I need help writing my paper but these to quotes get me. I read the article " A good man's hard to find" by flannery o' Connor.



I don't know the significance of the grandmother of saying "why you're one of my babies. You're one of my own children". Im...

Answer 4

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Answer 5

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