Max Bothner
The Man Behind the Misfit
Southwest Christian School
mfelps@southwestchristian.org
The Man Behind the Misfit
Flannery O’Connor in her short story “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” uses dialogue to
reveal the corrupt personalities and convictions of two characters, the Grandmother and the
Misfit. The grandmother is described as self-righteous and judgmental through her interaction
with her family and the Misfit. The grandmother also has insecure convictions concerning what
defines a good person. The Misfit is described as a violent psychopath with a consistent personal
ideology and lack of decent morals. In their discussion, the grandmother helps the Misfit
evaluate life choices through a recollection of his childhood and upbringing. He reveals his
unhappy self-perception and life regret. The Misfit then ultimately shatters the grandmother’s
naive belief system while executing her family.
Throughout the story, the grandmother displays her insecure values. The grandmother
elevates herself above others by dressing “like a lady.” O’Connor writes, “Her collars and cuffs
were white organdy trimmed with lace and at her neckline she had pinned a purple spray of cloth
violets containing a sachet. In case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would
know at once that she was a lady” (O’Connor). This quote describes the grandmother’s selfrighteousness and her value of appearance. The grandmother believes that a good and
respectable woman should value appearance. The grandmother then judges the behavior of her
grandchildren, “In my time…children were more respectful of their native states and their
parents and everything else. People did right then” (O’Connor). This quote displays the
grandmother’s judgment of others and loose perception of what is right. The grandmother’s
values are influenced by her generation’s customs, not by her own experiences. This influence is
revealed in her inconsistent beliefs. For example, the grandmother has a skewed idea of what a
“good man” is. The author writes, “The grandmother said she would have done well to marry
Mr. Teagarden because he was a gentle man and had bought Coca-Cola stock when it first came
out and that he had died only a few years ago, a very wealthy man” (O’Connor). The
grandmother first believes that a good man is wealthy. This ideal reflects her value of social class
and reputation based on success rather than character. The grandmother then defends Red
Sammy by calling him a good man. Red Sammy in fact, was gullible and was taken advantage of
by some travelers. “ ‘Two fellers come in here last week,’ Red Sammy said, ‘driving a Chrysler.
It was a old beat-up car but it was a good one and these boys looked all right to me. Said they
worked at the mill and you know I let them fellers charge the gas they bought? Now why did I do
that?’ ‘Because you're a good man!’ the grandmother said at once. ‘Yes'm, I suppose so,’ Red
Sam said as if he were struck with this answer” (O’Connor). The grandmother defines a good
man as someone who easily mistrusts others. Her perception of a good man is not consistent or
backed by any moral standards, only the traditional stereotypes of her generation. In this case, is
Red Sammy truly a good man? The grandmother faces reality when she encounters the Misfit,
who by her stereotype meets the criteria for being a good man.
The Misfit has a solid perception of himself. The author describes the Misfit’s childhood
ideals with, “My daddy said I was a different breed of dog from my brothers and sisters. 'You
know,' Daddy said, 'it's some that can live their whole life out without asking about it and it's
others has to know why it is, and this boy is one of the latters. He's going to be into everything!"
(O’Connor). The Misfit formed his own values by questioning the beliefs of others. He did not
blindly apply the traditional religious or societal ideals to his own life. His experience supports
his firm ideology. The Misfit’s life is described with, "I been most everything. Been in the arm
service both land and sea, at home and abroad, been twice married, been an undertaker, been
with the railroads, plowed Mother Earth, been in a tornado, seen a man burnt alive once"
(O’Connor). The Misfit’s various occupations and encounters have molded his psychotic beliefs.
“I never was a bad boy that I remember of," The Misfit said in an almost dreamy voice, "but
somewheres along the line I done something wrong and got sent to the penitentiary. I was buried
alive" (O’Connor). The Misfit’s initial bad actions developed into a psychotic lifestyle. His
overall value is revealed with, “Then 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" (O’Connor). He has grown to find pleasure in evil
actions. This psychotic behavior inspires his decisions including the execution of the
grandmother and her family. The Misfit’s violent lifestyle may have evolved from his harsh
encounters. However, compared to the grandmother, the Misfit has a solid belief system based
on experience not tradition.
The Misfit brings about a change in the grandmother. The grandmother negotiates with
the Misfit by calling him a good man. Does the grandmother truly believe that the Misfit, a
bloodthirsty killer, is a good man? Or does the grandmother simply say this to persuade the
Misfit from killing her family? "Listen," she said, "you shouldn't call yourself The Misfit
because I know you're a good man at heart. I can just look at you and tell" (O’Connor). The
Misfit denies the claim that he is a good. "Nome, I ain't a good man…but I ain't the worst in the
world neither” (O’Connor). The grandmother continues with, "I know you're a good man. You
don't look a bit like you have common blood. I know you must come from nice people!"
(O’Connor). The grandmother believes that good people come from nice families, and attempts
to label the Misfit with this stereotype. The Misfit reciprocates with, "God never made a finer
woman than my mother and my daddy's heart was pure gold" (O’Connor). The Misfit fits the
societal stereotype of having good parents, but he is still a killer. This is the first example of the
grandmother’s failed belief about a good man. She then tries to label the Misfit with the
stereotype that good men are religious. She asks the Misfit if he prays to gauge his spiritualty.
The Misfit replies, “Nome"… "I was a gospel singer for a while" (O’Connor). The Misfit even
fits the grandmother’s religious stereotype of a good man. At this point, the Misfit shatters the
grandmother’s prior convictions concerning what defines a good man. The grandmother realizes
that the Misfit, who meets every traditional stereotype, cannot be good. She sees the fault in her
ideology and comes to terms with reality. The grandmother also affects the Misfit by evaluating
his spiritual convictions. The author depicts the Misfit’s revelation with, "Jesus was the only One
that ever raised the dead," The Misfit continued, "and He shouldn't have done it. He shown
everything off balance… if I had of been there I would of known and I wouldn't be like I am
now" (O’Connor). This glimpse of a good man behind the Misfit appears to regret his lifestyle
and possibly desire redemption from evil actions. Upon revealing the goodness in the Misfit, the
grandmother reaches out to comfort him, “ ‘Why you're one of my babies. You're one of my own
children!’ She reached out and touched him on the shoulder. The Misfit sprang back as if a snake
had bitten him and shot her three times through the chest. Then he put his gun down on the
ground and took off his glasses and began to clean them” (O’Connor). At the moment when the
grandmother thought of someone else other than herself, she was killed. The Misfit’s reaction to
the grandmother definitely does not reflect one of a good man.
Flannery O’Connor uses dialogue to reveal the convictions and personalities of the
grandmother and the Misfit. These characters bring about moral revelations in one another
through discussion. The self-righteous grandmother realizes her beliefs of others are based on the
former societal and religious traditions of her generation. The grandmother’s experience with the
Misfit shatters her prior convictions and allows her to form her own values. The grandmother
also reveals some goodness within the psychotic Misfit before her death.
Work Cited
O'Connor, Flannery, and Frederick Asals. A Good Man Is Hard to Find. New Brunswick:
Rutgers UP, 1993. Print