Skip to content

Central Character in “A Good Man is Hard to Find”

Student’s Name

Professor’s Name

Course

Date

                                             Central Character in “A Good Man is Hard to Find”

       O’Connor’s short story ‘A Good Man is Hard to Find’ revolves around a family planning for a vacation and the day of the vacation. The family is made up of a man a wife and two children as well as the mother. The essay will discuss the lessons learnt by the characters within the story.

        The widest lesson learnt is a good man is hard to find, and it is a lesson learned by Misfit, who is a murderer. The Grandmother pretends to be a charming lady who also prays even at the point of her death. However, when she realizes that she is not to be spared, she reveals that the killer was her son. She is responsible for the deaths of the entire family as she insists on the visit of an old farm. She also carries the cat that makes them have an accident on their way to the farm hence meeting the killers. It is due to her character that Misfit tells her that she would be a nice lady if someone wanted to shoot her every day of her life. She reveals the truth at gunpoint.

         The children learn that one cannot judge someone by the beginning. The grandmother had left a suitor since he brought her watermelons every Saturday. However, the man had bought the Coca-Cola Company and had died very richly. The man who was destitute eventually becomes rich. The grandmother learns that the confession does not always obtain grace and redemption. She thought that her revelation that Misfit was her son would make him save her life. However, even after the revelation Misfit goes ahead and shoots her just like any other of the family members.

    In conclusion, several characters learn different lessons during their little adventure and in the face of death. It is observable that things do not turn out as the character expected and each event leads to the other.