"A Good Man is hard to find" Response Journal

Society and its morals.

 

"I know you are a good man. You don't look a bit like you have common blood. I know you must come from nice people....You shouldn't call yourself The Misfit because I know you're good at heart. I can just look at you and tell you" (O'Conner, 15)

 

The quote repetitively uses the word 'you' and in this instance, the grandmother tries to persuade the Misfit that he can be a good man if he wants to be. Also, when she says she can 'just look at [him] and tell' emphasizes the experience and the old age of grandmother. Her judgment is based off of experience and she likes to believe it is the truth. This is the idea that the story revolves around.

 

Grandmother is an important figure in this article. She is the main person who holds the ties between the past and the present as well as the future. According to her, times have changed and they keep changing. It is evident that the grandmother tries to have a strong bond with the family however each individual seems to have an individual life having no connection with family members. The dicition of the article is brutally honest based on the terms such as 'nigger, negro, and fat boy'. These terms further reflect the mindset of society which has dramatically changed in so many ways but is still the same in other ways.

 

The article highlights the themes of hope, trust, importance of relationship and one's morals. Once the family experience the accident, the grandmother did not give up. She hoped that she would be set free by The Misfit. In addition to that, the lack of trust is mainly highlight between the family members. The family seems to trust the The Misfit and others rather than eachother which accelerated towards the accident and to such event. The climax of the story on page 12 is when the grandmother realizes the house was not in Georgia. The reaction to this thought was parallel to the accident as well as the foreshadowing of following events. The use of imagery explicitly paints the picture and the readers can almost see it play.

 

The question being asked in the story is the definition of a goodman. On one hand, Bailey is disrespectful to his mom and ignores what she says. On the other hand, The Misfit's punishment exceeded his crime which crafted his life being the way it was. Thus, the story strives to highlight the morals of the society today. People expect morals and ethics in others' every aspect of life but it is usually the opposite. The title of the story is very straight forward as it is implied in the story since no matter what the era is, a good man is indeed hard to find. However, with the correct mindset, one can craft the lives of many.