A Good Man Is Hard to Find

Flannery O'Connor's personal views on the justification of religion and the resulting world or corruption and depravity are apparent in her short story "A Good Man is Hard to Find". She analyzes the basic plight of human existence and its conflict with religious conviction. The first two-thirds of the narrative set the stage for the grandmother, representing traditional Christian beliefs, to collide with The Misfit, representing modern scientific beliefs. The core of symbolism and the magnet for interpretation is at the end, the conversation between the grandmother and The Misfit. The conversation represents the examination of the clash between animal and metaphysical human nature and the Misfit is the literary depiction of the outcome of that clash.

The grandmother is based on conventional Southern women. She dresses in her Sunday best so that no one

would be mistaken as to her status as a lady, an issue at the heart of every true Southern woman. She related stories of old mansions and of the little 'pickaninny' by a door. This was not a racial comment because for it to be there would have to be an intent to insult an African American and there was not. This was written to further convey the notion of her embodying all the true characteristics of Southern women, including their adherence to devout Christianity.

The Misfit exemplifies the cold, contemporary world. In the conversation The Misfit's declares about Jesus, "I wasn't there so I can't say He didn't..." and "It ain't right I wasn't there because if I had of been there I would of known...if I had of been there I would of known and I wouldn't be like I am now...". This is the central dilemma of human consciousness. We are mindful of ourselves but we are also basically animals with violent tendencies and primitive drives. Everyday, these two selves collide. The understanding or awareness of each person demands that we rise above our primeval instincts, and with this demand comes a need for meaning, a purpose beyond the material restrictions of our bodies and the world we see around us. Otherwise all that is left, as The Misfit comments, "'...it's nothing for you to do but 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,' he said and his voice had become almost a snarl."

Yet, any belief beyond what we see and what we can touch or hear or smell or feel is just that, a belief. Consequently, any religious or spiritual or anti-religious and anti-spiritual ideology one wishes to take is a leap of blind faith. Eventually, as The Misfit perceives and in due course the grandmother perceives, the world of religious dogma and sacred creed are no match for the systematic observation based and amoral context of the modern world. Thus, we are left with no answer as to the existence of a Supreme Being and with no means to answer that question. Accordingly his frustration is not with Jesus and whether or not He personified the metaphysical, it was with the deep sense of loss and abandonment that this new age leaves us with. "I wasn't there so I can't say He didn't,' The Misfit said. 'I wisht I had of been there,' he said, hitting the ground with his fist. 'It ain't right I wasn't there because if I had of been there I would of known. Listen lady,' he said in a high voice, 'if I had