A good man is hard to find

Meaning in a “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”
Mary Flannery O'Connor short story "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" represents O'Connor's concern for the priorities and values of her time. She also focuses onChristianity comparing good and evil, faith and lack of faith. On the day of her family’s trip, the grandmother tells her family she had read about The Misfit, who is a demented murderer well knownfor his crimes in Florida. The family ignores her and they go on their trip. The parents and the children do not pay any attention to the grandmother and if they do, they are rude. The disobedientchildren are an example of bad discipline and disrespect for elders.
In this short story, Arbona says: “the reader will see definite signs that foretell the grotesque outcome of the grandmother's familyby The Misfits hands. This story brings to the reader through characterization and theme that modern society is drastically changing for the worse. The characters support this in realistic andbelievable ways.”
In the middle of the trip the grandmother realizes there are going in the wrong way; she reacts making the cat get scared and jump into Bailey’s arm. The grandmother’s son cannot controlthe car and they get accident. Here, appears the Misfit, who changes the family’s destiny.
The Misfit symbolizes evil. At one point, the Misfit associates himself to Christ, based in the fact thatthey were punished for crimes they did not commit. Christ accepted death for the sins of all humanity. In contrast, the Misfit did not accept warning and killed many innocent people instead. “It wasthe same case with Him as with me except he hadn’t committed any crime and they could prove I had committed one because they had papers on me” the misfit emphasizes (Bienvenido). When the misfitarrives on the scene the mother of the children is hurt and is in need of medical attention, he doesn’t show any pity for her; neither does he take the time to listen to Bailey’s pleas for sensitivity...