Provide a character analysis of the grandmother in “A good man is hard to find” The author, Flannery O’Connor created the unnamed grandmother as a very interesting type of person. She is different by having complicated ideas, conflicts, and thoughts to form the grandmother. The grandmother has a hypocritical personality and is old-fashioned “old south” to be different than being a normal old lady. The grandma seems like she is more superior to the others and is selfish. Throughout the book, she blames it on the children.
For example, the grandmother wanted to go to Tennessee, but Bailey, the son, insisted that they go to Florida. “Just you read it. I wouldn’t take my children in any direction with a criminal like that a loose in it. I couldn’t answer to my conscience if I did. ” (1) In this quote, the grandma is saying how she wouldn’t go to Florida with the Misfits on the loose. After she says this, it wasn’t acknowledged, so the next thing the grandmother says is that the children had already gone to Florida. She is trying to make it not about her, but about the children.
In this example, it shows how the grandmother is always trying to get what she wants. The grandmother makes fun of the mother’s face, criticizes the children, and judges everything. The grandmother is afraid of being wrong, really selfish and loves to have everything her way. In the beginning when they are in the car to go to Florida. She sneaks in Pitty Sing, her cat into the car. However, Bailey did not want a cat travelling with them. She did not want to reveal that she made a mistake when she got the wrong location of the house with the secret panel.
At one point, the grandma is focused on herself and only tried to satisfy herself. When the Misfits murder the family, the grandmother doesn’t try to save their lives, but begs him to spare her own life. She thinks that, because she is old-fashioned and can’t imagine that they would kill a lady. The grandmother tries to talk good to him and saying he’s a good man and she says “I know you’re a good man. You don’t look a bit like you have common blood. I know you must come from nice people! ” While talking to the Misfit, she brings in god and asks him if he ever prays.
This shows that the grandmother believes in god and is religious. Before the grandmother dies, a moment of redemption hits her. She realizes that she was not a nice person just like the Misfit. Therefore, in the end, the grandma says ‘”Why you’re one of my babies. You’re one of my own children! ”’ “She reached out and touched him on the shoulder”. She sees that the Misfit is just like herself and that he could even be known as one of her child. Although the grandmother is old fashioned and is different from the others. In the end, when she is facing death with the Misfit, she realizes what she has done wrong. .
