Direction Of The Misfit example essay topic

A Good Man is Hard to Find Flannery O Connor's A Good Man is Hard to Find is as full of religious theme as O Connor's life was full of spiritualism. O Connor's biography is useful to fully understand her work. Having been a Catholic raised in the south, O Connor was of the religious minority, allowing her to view the south and southern ways differently than a typical Baptist southerner. We are first introduced to the story's protagonist and the family's matriarch as she is trying to enact a last minute change to the family's travel plans.

Here this fellow that calls himself The Misfit is aloose from the Federal Pen and headed toward Florida and you read here what it says he did to these people. Just you read it. I wouldn't take my children in any direction with a criminal like that aloose in it. I couldn't answer to my conscience if I did (para. 1). The grandmother is trying to use The Misfit's escape as a reason to alter the family's plans, by changing a trip to Florida into a trip to Tennessee, so she can visit some if her connections.

Although the grandmother makes the comment I wouldn't take my children in any direction with a criminal like that aloose in it. I couldn't answer to my conscience if I did, however, it is ironic that in paragraph 10 we see that the grandmother is the first person loading her luggage, and waiting in the car anticipating the trip to Florida. The grandmother's selfishness portrays her character as a mother and grandmother that doesn t completely love her son or his family, as a mother should, since she wasn t truly concerned with the escaped convict and was only being selfish to her own desires. Perhaps, by foreshadowing we are able to see that the grandmother will have to answer to her own conscience, since she does not try hard enough, to stop her son from traveling to Florida with his family, but, leads him in the direction of the Misfit. The lack of response from Bailey and his wife and the rudeness of the bratty grandchildren are representative of the breakdown of respect and discipline pertaining to their younger generations and the way they treat the grandmother, although, she may deserve such treatment with her selfish ways. Symbols throughout the story foreshadow what is yet to come.

When the family passed the five or six graves we are given insight to the five or six graves that will be needed at the end of the story. It is ironic that the grandmother is the one to mention all of the symbols of death. And that she is the one who will lead the family to its end. The grandmother is very concerned with outward appearances, a very common concern of women in the south during that era. She is very meticulous when it comes to picking out her clothes to wear for her trip to Florida. Her collars and cuffs were white organdy trimmed with lace and at her neckline she had pinned a purple spray of cloth violets containing a sachet.

In case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady (para. 12). The only reason she dressed so fancy, was so that if she were found dead on the side of the highway one would know that she was a lady. Another point of irony is that in the end, the grandmother is dead on the side of the road; however, when she died she was not as concerned with her appearance as she was for her love of others.

The grandmother becomes a dynamic character when she shows real love for someone other than herself. When the grandmother may have finally broken thru to the Misfit, she sees the Misfit as one of her own children, she reaches out to him and accepts him as one of her children and he shoots her. She is laying on the ground facing the sky and smiling because she finally has come to peace with her life after realizing that she has touched another person's soul using love, something she wasn t able to do for her family while they were alive. It is unfortunate it took death to make the grandmother a good woman Thru O Connor's tone, the Misfit is portrayed as evil, but as an evil that was made, not born. We can see that the Misfit is more in touch and has the ability to be a more devout believer than the grandmother claims to be. The Misfit blames Jesus for all that has happened to him in his life.

Jesus was the only One that ever raised the dead, He shouldn't have done it. He town everything off balance. the misfit believes that if Jesus hadn t risen from the dead, no one would have followed him and the religious movement might have ended, allowing the Misfit to be absolved of his guilt. The Misfit finds it easier to not believe in Jesus, since he was unable to see him perform miracles and with his non-belief, the Misfit has convinced himself it is alright to be without morals, this is evident when the Misfit says enjoy the few minutes you got left the best way you can-by killing somebody or burning down his house or doing some other meanness to him. No pleasure but meanness. The Misfit is trying to convey to us that he realizes that a life with Jesus in it would be better for him and he wishes he could accept Jesus into his life. "I wasn't there so I can't say He didn't, I wish I had of been there, It ain't right I wasn't there because if I had of been there I would of known.

The misfit is showing us that he is unsure of religion and is not sure if there is a Jesus or there isn t, "if I had of been there I would of known and I wouldn't be like I am now. ' The misfit wants to believe and this is O Connor's way of showing us that even the most evil want to be saved. I believe O Connor was trying to convince people to accept Jesus and religion before it is too late.