dotted outline of a black cat sitting within a basket in front of an older woman wearing a sundress

A Good Man Is Hard to Find

by Flannery O’Connor

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Student Question

What is your analysis of the grandmother in "A Good Man is Hard to Find"? Is she sympathetic or unsympathetic, and does she deserve her fate?

Quick answer:

The grandmother in "A Good Man is Hard to Find" is depicted as a selfish and self-deceptive character whose actions lead to her family's demise. Her insistence on visiting an old house and causing a car accident places them in the path of the Misfit. While her behavior makes her unsympathetic, her ignorance and flawed beliefs might evoke some sympathy. Ultimately, her fate results from her choices, although the Misfit's actions are the direct cause of her death.

Expert Answers

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At the beginning of the story, the grandmother is portrayed as a selfish and ignorant character who puts her personal gain and pleasure before others convenience. Her insisting on visiting an insignificant house was the actual cause that got the whole family killed. When the criminals murder her grandchildren and other family members, she seems to be more focused on begging for her life rather than trying to protect other people. On the surface, she doesn't come across as a sympathetic character as her greed and selfishness result in other people being harmed but if looked deeper, one can see that she lacks the important qualities in life of appreciating those around you and other faith. Her religious belief is greatly prejudiced and contradicted and such lacking qualities in life may portray her as a sympathetic character.

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What is the grandmother's role in her family's death in "A Good Man is Hard to Find"?

If you want to pin things on her, she is the reason that...

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the family went off-route to go to find an old haunt of hers; she is the one that upsets the basket with the cat, which sends the cat launching, and causes the car crash. All of this puts them in the pathway of the Misfit and his gang. After that, I don't think that anything that she could have said or done would have saved her family; the Misfit was merciless in his killings, and even she did not escape that fate. But, she definitely was the reason that the family was in that area in the first place. So that is the role that she led in the unfortunate demise of her entire family. It is a very haunting, disturbing, and violent story that has as its main character an unlikeable old lady that we have a really hard time not being really angry towards. So, it is easy to get mad at her for her family's death, even though technically, it was the Misfit and his gang that pulled the trigger. I provided some links below to more critical analyses of the story, and that should hopefully help you out some also. Good luck!
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How do I write a causal analysis of the grandmother in "A Good Man is Hard to Find"?

You could also approach this as an analysis of how the grandmother's decisions and/or actions cause certain events to take place in the story.  For example, the grandmother has instructed her son to take a road that she believes a place she wants to see is on.  Unfortunately, she is wrong...it is the wrong road they go down.  If she had not done this, they would not have met the Misfit, for example.  This is one simple example of cause/effect.  Another example is how the grandmother treats the Misfit at the end of the story.  She may not have died had she not said some of the things she said, for example (but we will never know if this could have been the case).

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You might wish to focus on one story element relative to this grandmother in "A Good Man Is Hard to Find."  For example, she is certainly self-deceptive and this self-deception leads to the development of two of the themes of the short story:  God and Religion and Prejudice and Tolerance.

You could write on the ways that the character of the grandmother is elemental to the development of one of these themes.  Check out the sites listed below for help.

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