The Role Of The Misfit In A Good Man Is Hard To Find

In the story, “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, there’s a debate that the Grandmother showed grace to the Misfit in an attempt to save her own life. But, on the other side of this issue some critics state that the Grandmother’s grace is because of the Lord touching her due to Bible references being used through the short story The side of the argument that makes the most sense personally would be the Grandmother being touched by the Lord in order to show grace to the criminal. This novel is diverse, in terms of the logic behind the authors reasoning behind her writing. Critic Stanley Renner thinks that the grandmother touching the misfit made him feel uneasy since it the situation was so biblical. Also, stating that the “touch” was similar
Continuing on Bonney starts to get into how the Misfit is God in the story. He says this because of what the Grandmother says to the Misfit, ““Jesus!” the old lady cried” and “Jesus, you ought not to shoot a lady” (O’Connor 348). The name she calls him is most likely referenced to the Bible here as well further showing how God was present during the Misfit and the Grandmothers conversation (Bonney 347). When the grandmother is killed by the Misfit, Bonney thinks that this moment is similar to God determining someone’s fate. Fike, the next critic, has an opinion that is mostly based on the fact that the story, “A Good Man is Hard to Find” has more Biblical references that are deeper within the story then we, the reader, can see. An example, would be where Fike talks about how there is symbolism involved with the type of car the Misfit drove; about how dark and death like the vehicle was. Since the Misfit is a murdering people left and right without giving a second thought about it Fike is suggesting that he is doing the devils work, almost like he’s a soul collector (Fike