Humility
Humility
Renée Fisher
The grandmother, in Mary Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man Is Hard To Find” was controlling and manipulative she considered herself a sophisticated lady, prim and proper. She is taught a lesson in humility but learns it way too late. “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less” (Lewis, C.S. 2013). Bailey knows his mother’s tricks to manipulate him to do what she wants so he purposely ignores her ramping and raving about not wanting to go to Florida. She makes one more appeal to Bailey by trying to make him feel like a bad father if he takes them to Florida where a criminal has escaped and has headed there. “I wouldn’t take my children in any direction with a criminal like that aloose in it. I could’t answer to my conscience” (O’Connor, M. 1955, p.258). However, her appeal is not sincere she has an alternative motive to manipulate Bailey into taking the family to Tennessee. Finally when her appeal to Bailey does not work she uses the children to convince the mother to change Bailey’s mind; stating the children needed to go someplace where they could be “broad” (O’Connor, M. 1955, p. 258), expand their knowledge to experience, see and explore another state. The grandmother becomes very dramatic with her actions, with the hopes the mother heard her conversation with Bailey and would react insisting he listen to his mother and change their plans accordingly. After all a mother who loves her children would not put them consciously in harm’s way. The grandmother’s motive is self centered with no regards to the feelings of others. Clearly the Grandmother had no respect for her son or his wife and she with her proud and pompous attitude looked down on the children for being disrespectful. The children perhaps saw through her craftiness and spoke to her with the reality of knowing she was a hypocrite. “She wouldn’t stay at home to be queen for a day” (O’Connor, M. (1955), p.258). June
Renée Fisher
The grandmother, in Mary Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man Is Hard To Find” was controlling and manipulative she considered herself a sophisticated lady, prim and proper. She is taught a lesson in humility but learns it way too late. “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less” (Lewis, C.S. 2013). Bailey knows his mother’s tricks to manipulate him to do what she wants so he purposely ignores her ramping and raving about not wanting to go to Florida. She makes one more appeal to Bailey by trying to make him feel like a bad father if he takes them to Florida where a criminal has escaped and has headed there. “I wouldn’t take my children in any direction with a criminal like that aloose in it. I could’t answer to my conscience” (O’Connor, M. 1955, p.258). However, her appeal is not sincere she has an alternative motive to manipulate Bailey into taking the family to Tennessee. Finally when her appeal to Bailey does not work she uses the children to convince the mother to change Bailey’s mind; stating the children needed to go someplace where they could be “broad” (O’Connor, M. 1955, p. 258), expand their knowledge to experience, see and explore another state. The grandmother becomes very dramatic with her actions, with the hopes the mother heard her conversation with Bailey and would react insisting he listen to his mother and change their plans accordingly. After all a mother who loves her children would not put them consciously in harm’s way. The grandmother’s motive is self centered with no regards to the feelings of others. Clearly the Grandmother had no respect for her son or his wife and she with her proud and pompous attitude looked down on the children for being disrespectful. The children perhaps saw through her craftiness and spoke to her with the reality of knowing she was a hypocrite. “She wouldn’t stay at home to be queen for a day” (O’Connor, M. (1955), p.258). June
References: O’Connor, M. (2011) A good man is hard to find. In D.L. and A.M. Acosta (Eds.) Literatture: A world of writing stories, poems, and essays [VitalSource Digital Version] (p. 258). Boston, MA: Pearson Learning Solutions. Lewis, C.S. (n.d.). BrainyQuote.com Retrieved January 19, 2013, from BrainyQuote.com Web Site: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/c/c/_s_lewis_3.html Assisi, F. (n.d.). BrainyQuote.com Retrieved January 19, 2013, from BrainyQuote.com Web Site: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/f/francis_of_assisi.html Augustine, S. (n.d.). BrainyQuote.com Retrieved January 19, 2013, from BrainyQuote.com Web Site: www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/s/s/saint_augustine_3.html Tauler, J. (n.d.). BrainyQuote.com Retrieved January 19, 2013, from BrainyQuote.com Web Site: www.brainquote.com/quotes/authors/j/johannes_tauler.html