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How Did The Grandmother Call The Misfit

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How Did The Grandmother Call The Misfit
After reading Flannery O'Connor's "A Good Man is Hard to Find" for the first time, I was left with one question that perplexed me, why did the Grandmother call the Misfit one of her own children? It's a question that many believe they have the answer to, they research and analyze coming up with theories and ideas. Like many others I will now be putting my theory on the Grandmother's final words, what they meant and why she said them. Opinions on her final word vary, with authors like Brandy saying the Grandmother's final act as a selfish attempt to save her own skin. I however begun to see the Grandmother's sudden compassion for the Misfit not as an act of selfishness but an act of mercy brought upon by a form of grace, drawn O'Connor on faith. …show more content…
We know she's a vain creature, as she dresses nicely for the trip to Florida so in the event of a fatal car accident, "anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady." (O'Connor 33). She also lies quite frequently as we see on page 39 when she lies about there being a secret panel in an old plantation home. But the Grandmother's worst quality is her inability to see her own faults. In the diner the she has a conversation with Red Sammy, they talk about how "People are certainly not nice like they used to be" (O'Connor 37). The two of them blame talk on and on about how people today lack manners and you can't trust anyone these days. While the Grandmother doesn't stop to consider how she isn't that nice of a person and Red Sammy doesn't think about how he's been rude to wife multiple times, telling her to quit lounging around and sending her away when she tries to join in the conversation. The two of them only see the faults of others and see themselves as perfect people. This self righteousness the Grandmother instantly seemed familiar to me. The traits revealed held similar qualities to those of a biblical sinner like the Pharisees or a tax collector. In the New Testament, Pharisees are seen as self righteous hypocrites, who like the Grandmother, see the faults of everyone but themselves. The similarities between the Grandmother and a biblical sinner aren't that far fetched when you considered that as a devout Catholic like O'Connor would definitely have heard liturgy mentioning a biblical sinner. Other authors have drawn upon biblical connections in O'Connor's story with author Hallam B. Bryant's theory in "Reading the Map In 'A Good Man is Hard to Find'". He believes that O'Connor tied the book to her Catholic faith. Saying that the family represent heretics who lack practices and/or qualities
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