The main character in the story, ‘A Good Man Is Hard to Find’ by Flannery O’Connor is the unnamed grandmother. She is an Irk woman who lives with Bailey and his family (Flannery, 176). In the story titled ‘Revelation’, the main protagonist is Mrs. Ruby Turpin. The grandmother is manipulative. First she manipulates her son Bailey in going to Florida instead of Tennessee which she does successfully. Her manipulation in clued threatening her son that he cannot take the children on the way of the run free prisoner called the Misfit. She once again tries to manipulate the Misfit when he wants to kill her after he kills her entire family, which she does not succeed. She tries convincing him of his kindness and chivalry and how he cannot kill a lady. However, the Misfit responds by shouting her on the chest.
The grandmother is a deceptive woman who would say anything that would swing things her way. In manipulating the family to go to Florida, she deceives the children of a plantation with treasures in order to convince their father accept her preferred destination. She crops in the issue of the Misfit deceptively to make the family fear the repercussion of not going by her words. She tries to deceive the killer in a similar deceptive manner but she does not succeed. After failing to convince him that he is her child and he cannot kill a lady, the grandmother opts for begging the killer to spare her dear life which the killer respond by shooting her through the chest (O'Connor 64). The writer who was a devoted catholic uses these styles of presenting her work so that we can reflect our lives with the teachings of Christianity. The use of the Misfit in the story represents the society, in which the author lived where a serial killer was called, Red Sammy Butts. She successfully draws our attention to what happens in our society.
O’Connor uses the doctor’s waiting room to reflect her ailing life. The writer was constant into hospital due to a systemic lupus which would later claim her life. The vision and lesson from Mrs. Ruby is meant to teach us that we are saved by the grace of God and not our deeds. O'Connor was a devoted catholic who incorporated her Christian teaching in her work in order to teach the society how to live a Christian life.
Religion is a pervasive theme in many of Flannery’s works. Two of her works that the theme becomes so dominant are Revelation and A Good Man is Hard to Find. Both stories give an outrageous view and unambiguous vision of the clash between the ever mutable society of the 20th century and the traditional Christian values that were so much practiced at the time Flannery lived (Alix, 67). She states that the church is the only thing that will make the horrible world that humanity is heading towards to be tolerable.
Christian signs-of-the-times can be seen be seen in both of the two stories. This outstanding similarity further illustrates how religion and moral ethics shaped the works of Flannery. For instance, in Revelation, a woman is not only assaulted at the doctor’s office but her faith is also brought into question. The lady, who can be identified as Mrs. Turpin, wonders if it was God who was trying to send her a message and intercede her life. In Revelation, Mrs. Turpin comes into contact with the powers of God. Her entire relationship with God is re-evaluated. She initially respected God due to the simple fact that He placed her in the group that had most of the things and did not make her a "white trash”. Finally, Mrs. Turpin realizes that God is superior to her self-centered interests (Alix, 87). In A Good Man is Hard to Find, the misfit murders the Georgian family. Flannery used the misfit to represent destruction because of his immovable denial of Christ. The Misfit engages in many symbolic conversations with the grandmother: conversations that seem to transform him to the better. The religious insinuations of the two stories may have endless meaning.
Prejudice is another imperative theme that is prevalent in the two stories. Flannery uses variant situations to elucidate her arguments. In A Good Man is Hard to Find, the mother remains unidentified and cannot assert control upon her children who act rudely since she knew the children would not hear her. She was conscious of the various actions of her children but she could not deter them since she was powerless (Flannery, 32). It represents the highest degree of sexism where even children treat their mothers as an inferior sex. The author leaves many characters unidentified but assigns the name ‘Bailey’ to the father who is apparently the head of the family. In Revelation, through Mrs. Turpin judges her female peers by their outward appearances while there is no mention of men being scrutinized (Flannery, 112). Mrs. Turpin symbolizes the respect that society holds for men while at the same time belittling women.
Works cited
"Flannery O'Connor's Stories Study Guide: Summary and Analysis of "Revelation" | GradeSaver." Study Guides & Essay Editing | GradeSaver. 9 Nov. 2013. Retrieved from http://www.gradesaver.com/flannery-oconnors-stories/study-guide/section11/
AlixDufresne. "1950s Sexism in Flannery O'Connor's A Good Man is Hard to Find and Revelations. 2010. Web. 9 Nov. 2013. Retrieved from http://voices.yahoo.com/1950s-sexism-flannery-oconnors-good-man-hard-6876732.html?cat=4
Flannery O'Connor:"A Good Man is Hard to Find". (1954). Retrieved November 9, 2013, from http://xroads.virginia.edu/~drbr/goodman.html
Flannery, O'Connor. Revelation from Everything That Rises Must Converge. Philosophy of Human Experience. Retrieved from http://producer.csi.edu/cdraney/archive-courses/summer06/engl278/e-texts/oconner_revelation.pdf
O'Connor, F., Pinchot, B., White, K., Bramhall, M., & Raver, L. Everything that rises must converge. (2010).
