Discussion Topic
O'Connor's exploration of human nature, society, criminals, and the penal system in "A Good Man Is Hard to Find."
Summary:
In "A Good Man Is Hard to Find," O'Connor explores human nature by depicting the grandmother's flawed morality and selfishness. She critiques society's superficial values, highlights the arbitrary nature of the penal system, and presents criminals like The Misfit as complex individuals, questioning the conventional dichotomy between good and evil.
What does O'Connor convey about human nature in "A Good Man Is Hard to Find"?
As in most of her stories, O'Connor shows the sinful side of human nature in her grotesque characters and violent plots. The unregenerated human soul is evil and that is the nature of man. Only God can redeem a human being from his sin nature. The grandmother is petty, annoying, and bigoted, but even she is offered grace by a loving God at the moment of death. O'Connor's characters often do not wake up until right before she kills them off, as with the grandmother, but in doing this, O'Connor shows that it is never too late for God to redeem a person, no matter how odious that person is. In contrast to the grandmother, the Misfit rejects redemption. He tells the grandmother that he is doing "just fine" on his own, which is really not true. He is not doing fine, and by rejecting Jesus by telling the grandmother...
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that "Jesus turned everything around", he is not redeemed at the end, like the grandmother is. By making her characters obnoxious and often hateful, O'Connor attempts to show that even though human nature is evil, God loves humans anyway and is willing to offer them grace. They have to accept it, however, and not all of her characters do so -- as this story illustrates.
Read about the themes here on eNotes.
What does O'Connor convey about society, criminals, and the penal system in "A Good Man Is Hard to Find"?
The quote that pops into my mind is "bad things happen to good people." With the exception of the grandmother who is a selfish and completely self-absorbed individual (not known for lofty thoughts), this quote adequately describes the plot. Unfortunately for the family, the grandmother recognizes the Misfit and says so. This recognition leads to the extermination of the entire family.
Perhaps there is no comment about criminals and the penal system. Perhaps she is hinting that the system is not foolproof and that individuals as dangerous as The Misfit escape and create havoc among the general population. Perhaps she is saying that nosey and selfish people deserve what they get--whatever YOU decide the author's purpose is and what she is saying about society and community, you should be able to point to something in the text to support your premise.