Grandmother And The Misfit example essay topic

O Connor's work is that of very dark humor, irony and grotesque characters and situations. Her themes are of a religious nature, with characters who experience horrible, soul wrenching moments that lead them to an epiphany. For O Connor the merging of good and evil does not necessarily mean that good prevails; happy endings aren t an ingredient of her tales. O Connor was raised as a Southern Catholic and was devoted to her faith. She recognized the paradox of the Southern personality and culture regarding etiquette and religion. She was quoted as saying the South "may not be Christ – centered but was most certainly Christ haunted.

' We see that the grandmother and the Misfit are haunted by Christ in "A Good Man. ' Neither are Christ – centered and yet the grandmother is portrayed as the more qualified of the two to accept Christ's salvation. The question is is she more qualified? She would certainly say so. Her moment of redemption comes at the hands of a character who is evil beyond belief. However, the grandmother is quite evil herself.

Her evilness has been disguised as that of an innocent grandmother which makes the reader uncomfortable in judging her harshly. The grandmother does indeed have her moment of redemption but not until exhausting every means possible to avoid it. She invokes the name of Jesus in an attempt to save the Misfit and herself. O Connor's judgmental attitude comes through in the story by means of her narrative strategy. We are privy to grandmother's thoughts on a couple occasions and these tend to show her high opinion of herself and selfishness " anyone seeing her would know she was a lady. ' " Bailey would not be willing to lose any time she wanted to see it.

' This would appear to be a limited omniscient narration and yet for the most part the narration is third person. The narrator isn t completely detached and seems to delight in showing us the bad side of the family, particularly the grandmother. O Connor gives us what she wants us to see in order for us to make a judgment that she may or may not have already made. Although she is judgmental she does not place herself above God. She gives her characters free will, which, ironically is the key to the the grandmother's grace and redemption. We hope, and to a degree expect, that the grandmother will save the Misfit.

In an unimaginable twist of irony it is this exertion of free will that places the grandmother's redemption in the hands of the Misfit. O Connor's story can easily be seen as a trial. Can we compare the grandmother and the Misfit? Are her sins minor, as she probably sees them, or are they serious enough to warrant the death penalty? " the grandmother called, "Bailey Boy, Bailey Boy!' as if her heart would break.

' "Maybe He didn t raise the dead,' the old lady mumbled feeling so dizzy that she sank down in the ditch with her legs twisted under her. ' Cut. Flash to courtroom scene. Grandmother's defense attorney: "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, what I am going to do in this courtroom today is prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the grandmother does not deserve to die at the hands of this evil Misfit. Why, look at her sitting there, so prim and proper. She is the epitome of a Southern lady.

How many ladies do you know who would don white gloves and a hat before going on a trip? She is a true patriot; remember when she admonished that disrespectful grandson of hers not to talk badly about his native state? Grandmother grew up in a time when children had more respect for everything. We shouldn t judge her harshly, it's clear she means well and really has everyone's best interest at heart.

She was only trying to protect her loved ones when she suggested the family go to Tennessee instead of Florida. And poor Pitty Sing, could you have left kitty home alone for three days? Do you remember when she wouldn t let the children throw their trash out the window? That clearly shows her respect for the landscape and for other travelers who she knew wouldn t want to have to look at such a mess. ' I think we can be certain that Red Sammy found her to be most gracious and polite. They carried on wonderfully together.

Red Sammy could relate to the grandmother's nostalgia for "better times. ' Bless her heart, when she invented that story about the secret panel in the old plantation house, it was merely a gesture to educate her grandchildren in the local history. After the accident it was the grandmother who flagged down the car in an effort to be rescued. It wasn t her fault the Misfit happened to be in it.

When she impulsively announced who he was it was she herself who then tried to appeal to his good side in order to save herself and her family. She can t be blamed for him not having a good side. In closing ladies and gentlemen I want to make my intentions clear once again. Please have mercy on this sweet little old Christian lady and don t sentence her to death. (The grandmother puts forth her most convincing pity me face and innocently wipes a tear with one gloved hand.) Prosecuting attorney: Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I will prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the grandmother, more than any other member of the family deserves the death penalty. Yes, I know she's well dressed, with her hat and white gloves; she appears to be a respectable Southern lady – part of a dying breed and all that.

But I will show you who the real grandmother is. Underneath all of that pretentiousness of Southern respectability and benevolence lies a cold heart, as evil as the Misfit's. Let me give you some questions to ponder. If the grandmother was so concerned about traveling to Florida why was she the first one into the car? Where was all her concern about the murdering Misfit then?

I ll tell you why – because she had quickly forgotten her attempted manipulation of her only son, Bailey. If she cared so much for Bailey why would she sneak Pitty Sing along in the car? I say it's because she is as deceitful as can be, from head to toe and doesn t give a hoot about anyone but herself. She is completely self absorbed and manipulative and reveals her true self to us time and again. She proves this when she makes up that story about the hidden treasure and manipulates her own grandchildren to assist her in getting what she wants.

And that wasn t the first time the grandmother used them. Don t let her fool you. Look at her sitting there, she looks like any sweet grandmother. We all have a grandmother or an aunt like her. She's hoping that will work to her advantage. Don t let that sway you.

She is as guilty of the death of her family as if she had pulled the trigger herself. If she hadn t made up that story, gotten the kids to throwing temper tantrums, upset the valise that uncovered the basket with Pitty Sing etc., etc. You all know the rest. Make no mistake – the burden of this crime lies squarely on the shoulders of that selfish, vindictive old bitty.

We ve seen what a hypocrite she is all along but now she's really outdoing herself. After watching her family taken away for execution, which was ordered by the Misfit, she has the audacity to embrace him in a despicable charade of leading him to salvation? Who needs the redemption here ladies and gentlemen? Did any of her family members have the opportunity? We can t know for sure, maybe they did and maybe they didn t.

How arrogant that this wicked creature could consider herself capable of guiding another's soul along the path to Jesus. Are we to believe that she has led a Christian life? She invokes the name of Jesus for no other reason than to save her own life. We see that, the Misfit sees that, the only one blind to these manipulations is grandmother herself. I leave you with this – do not be tricked by her disguise – she is nothing more than the Misfit in a dress. You cannot let her get away with this simply because she's ignorant and incapable of comprehending results of her own actions.

There must be a consequence. (The grandmother rocks quietly, her hands folded in prayer.) Judge (God) turns to speak to the jury: "Since there are only two of you may I address you by name?' (They both nod) "Ms. O Connor and Mr. Misfit, have you reached a decision?' Ms. O Connor: "Your honor, just as you have given mankind the benefit of free will, I have given all of my characters the same. What they do with that freedom is their own choice. Misfit: "What will she do if I don t shoot her? How will the story end? I know it's mean, but I m going to have to kill her.

She's got a nerve tryin to push Jesus on me when she ain t no more a Christian than I am. Remember what I said? ... "Jesus thrown everything off balance. then it's nothing for you to do but how away everything and follow him I wasn t there so I can t say he didn t if I had of been there I would of known and I wouldn t be like I am now. ' See I ain t got no faith in nothin,' but granny claims this tight relationship with Jesus. If that's true why should she care whether I shoot her or let her go?

Ms. O Connor: "It is my belief that "all human nature vigorously resists grace because grace changes us and the change is painful. ' That's why the grandmother begs so ferociously. My thoughts on God are that ' God is not separate from and above the material world God acts in and through the things of the world. Human beings have little control over the things of the world. ' Mr. Misfit, I have this feeling that God might be working through you to bring the grandmother to Him. Pretty ironic concept, eh?' Misfit: "H mph, you think God might be working through someone as evil as me?

If that's the case then how can you say your characters have free will? Ms. O Connor: You had the chance for redemption and you rejected it. You have a choice to kill the grandmother or let her live. What are you going to do? " the grandmother's head cleared for an instant she murmured, "Why you re one of my babies. You re one of my own children!' touched him on the shoulder. ' "The Misfit shot her three times through the chest.

' Misfit: "What did she mean when she said I might be one of her babies? Why did she have to go and touch me? That gave me the willies, ya know?' Ms. O Connor: "Of course it did. For an instant you saw the humanity in her, you saw that she had found grace, she had been redeemed.

She finally saw the light because she saw herself in you. Some readers believe that you are a more fully evolved version of the grandmother and she was acting as an agent of God in trying to save you. Someone who was not possessed of true faith could not be the agent of grace for another, could they? In those final moments she realized she was more like you than she could ever have believed.

I believe the grandmother might have understood the consequences of a life without faith. You were that consequence. ' Misfit: "So if I hadn t brought her to that point, if I had let her live, she wouldn t have had her epiphany? I m just glad I could be of assistance in her epiphany, Lord knows I ll never have one. So for once in my sorry life I done something good?' Ms. O Connor: "That's a stretch. But your evilness was instrumental in saving this soul.

' A verdict of guilty and the grandmother's death sentence may not only seem cruel but extremely impolite. O Connor's combination of perceptiveness regarding Southern culture and harsh theology shine in "A Good Man is Hard to Find. ' Her reputation remains sound; however her style make us wonder about her mind.