Student Question
Who is the protagonist in "A Good Man Is Hard to Find"?
Quick answer:
The protagonist of "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" is the unnamed grandmother. The grandmother undergoes a significant transformation over the course of the story, transitioning from a self-absorbed, proud woman to one who can extend love and acceptance to the Misfit at the end.
In Flannery O'Connor's celebrated short story "A Good Man Is Hard to Find," the unnamed grandmother is considered the protagonist and is the central figure of the story. The grandmother is the focus of the narrative, and O'Connor explores her dramatic transformation when she experiences an epiphany at the end of the story. Bailey's mother is depicted as a self-absorbed, manipulative woman who is rather superficial and judgmental. She lies several times and subscribes to the traditional values of the Old South, believing that she can properly identify good people from bad according to her standards. The grandmother also considers herself to be morally superior to others and believes that she will be able to sway the Misfit's feelings.
The Misfit is the story's antagonist , who does not abide by any morals and simply does as he pleases. He is a callous, complex individual who casually...
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murders Bailey's entire family and contemplates his humanity before shooting the grandmother. During theclimax of the story, the grandmother attempts to petition the Misfit to let her live by appealing to God and encouraging him to accept her rigid belief system. However, the grandmother experiences an epiphany during the tense life-and-death situation when she acknowledges the Misfit's humanity by reaching out to him as if he were her son. The grandmother finds redemption moments before dying by extending herself to a fellow human in a gesture of love and acceptance.
Who is the main character in "A Good Man Is Hard to Find"?
The main character in "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" is the grandmother. The story is told from her point of view, and it is her transformation that is important.
As the story opens, the grandmother seems an unlikely main character. She is annoying. She tries to manipulate her son Bailey into going on a different vacation than the one he planned. She sneaks her cat along on the trip without telling anyone. She complains about how much better things used to be in the good old days, puts on airs about being a "lady," and shows she is a racist. It is easy to understand why the rest of the family might seem unwilling to have her along on the road trip. Finally, she manipulates Bailey into driving the car down a rutty, deserted road in search of an old plantation. It is here that, due to the grandmother, Bailey flips the car, causing the family to be captured by the Misfit and his gang. Worse yet, the grandmother points out that she knows the man who captured them is the Misfit, sealing the family's fate.
O'Connor makes this supremely irritating, annoying, troublesome older woman, the person responsible for the death of her family, a recipient of God's grace. For despite all her flaws, the grandmother is able at the end of the story to see the Misfit as God does, as a beloved child of God. This moment of grace lasts only an instant before the grandmother is killed, but it is significant.
Who are the good characters in "A Good Man is Hard to Find"?
It is arguable that none of the characters in the story "A Good Man is Hard to Find" are actually able to be classified as good. The Misfit and his gang are not good for obvious reasons. The grandmother tries telling The Misfit that he is a good man. The Misfit responds "Nome, I ain't a good man, . . . but I ain't the worst in the world neither". The mother and father in the story are not evil, but it is arguable if they are good. We don't really see much of their personalities. The father looses his temper when the children start complaining about not being able to see the house. The mother doesn't seem to have enough of a personality to be good or bad. She goes along with her husband to the end. The children are rude brats, also reflecting on the parents. The grandmother keeps commenting on goodness, but she shows her contradictory nature when criticising the children's lack of respect saying, "in my time, . . . children were more respectful of their native states and their parents and everything else. People did right then. Oh look at the cute little pickaninny!"