Characterization of The Grandmother and the Misfit in A Good Man is Hard to Find

The Characterization of the Grandmother and the Misfit In the first paragraph of Flannery O’Connor’s short story, “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”, the grandmother is introduced trying to change a planned family trip to Florida with her son, Bailey and his family. It is the night before the trip, and grandmother is “seizing at every chance to change Bailey’s mind.” (p.465). The grandmother is the central character of the story, …

…as an emptiness, even a death. The Misfit, in all his self justified evilness, was a more spiritual person than the grandmother, who lived in the rigid tradition of the south. The characterization of these two characters reminds me of quote (author unknown) that I know, and have used to justify my own search for spirituality. “Religion is for those who are afraid of going to Hell, Spirituality is for those who have been there.”