Morality of a Good Man

In Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” morality is at the center of the. Morality is what we use to determine what is good and what is bad. It is a big part of life, acting as the lens through which we interpret the events of each day. Each persons’ morality is not black and white but falls on a spectrum that is as unique to each individual as a set of fingerprints. Much as we are unable to change our fingerprints we are unable to alter our morality. In “A Good Man is Hard to Find” O’Connor shows that an individual has no control over their own morality; this is evident from both Grandma and The Misfit’s actions. O’Connor also makes it clear that morality can only change under extreme circumstances.

It can be seen that Grandma’s morality does not change throughout the story except when faced with death. Her morality dictates that it is ok for her to be selfish. At various points Grandma acts selfishly and shows no remorse or signs of apology. Starting from the very beginning of the story O’Connor writes, “The grandmother didn’t want to go to Florida. She wanted to visit some of her connections in east Tennessee and she was seizing at every chance to change bailey’s mind.”(O’Connor 422) Grandma wants to see her connections in Tennessee and she is not afraid to pester her son into agreeing. When Grandma Red Sammy wonder aloud why he would ever allow two young man buy gas on credit the grandma responds, “because you’re a good man.” Red Sammy seems disconcerted; O’Connor writes “‘Yes’m, I suppose so,’ Red Sam said as if he were struck with this answer.”(426) So then the question becomes why would the Grandma say this? Is she simply a nice person? No, Grandma is selfish she is saying these things just to look good. O’Connor makes it clear that Grandma is lying with Red Sammy’s seems confused by he. Not once does Grandma show any remorse or hint at an apology as she watches her family die. While this behavior could be due to shock it is clear that Grandma is not in shock enough to be unable to beg for her own safety. Choosing to stay silent. In this way she is very selfish as she cares more about saving face. Grandma’s calls seem like calls for help not class out of concern for her son. It is clear that Grandma repeatedly acts selfishly. Not once does she offer any sort of apology. Until the very end when she is faced with certain death. Only then is she truly genuine when O’Connor write about the grandma, “Why you are 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 it is clear that this genuine as it is the only motion that’s get a genuine reaction from The Misfit. He then goes on to say about Grandma, “ she would have been a good woman… if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life.”(433) The Misfit really believes that the grandma could have been a good person but her morality did not change until the very end.

As with Grandma The Misfit does not change his morality. He says that his morality was shaped greatly by his life of crime and his father. The Misfit is much more self aware that his morality does not align with society’s. He says that he knows what he does is considered bad by others but he simply does not care. He tells the Grandmother that he is not a good man and that the only thing that could change his morality is witnessing the resurrection of Jesus. He can either let the family go or kill them. He decides to kill them seeming because he wants to save himself but upon further reading we say that The Misfits morality is not based on self-preservation like the Grandma but is more out of a want to cause destruction. The misfits inability to change his moral compass I as problem he says that “ It ain’t right I wasn’t there because if I had of been there I would of known. Listen Lady… if I had of been there I would of known and I wouldn’t be like I am now.” The Misfit understands that his morality is wrong but he does not care because he does not subscribe to societies morality and he is ok with that.

O’Connor shows that our inability to change our morality is a bad thing. This flaw is the reason for all of the horrible things that happen in the story. It is clear that Grandma is punished for this by O’Connor. Morality drives people to take certain actions over others. The Misfit chooses to kill the family because “ by killing somebody or burning down his house or doing some other meanness to him. No pleasure but meanness. When The Misfit says he does not enjoy harming others but feels obligated to do these things because his morality dictates it to be just or even a good deed. In this way The Misfit is an extremely flawed human but because he can not change his morality he can only continue being the way he is. He says that the only thing that could change him. Grandma is similarly flawed her morality dictates that she lie in order to keep up appearance. The Misfit says about Grandma, “ she would have been a good woman if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life.”.It is clear that this is a punishment of the grandmother. The Misfit is also being punished but not with death. O’Connor writes

O’Connor’s message about morality is important because our code of ethics does not change we must be aware of the possibly negative effect it could have on our lives. O’Connor gives clear warning for not assessing our own morality through the horrible things that happen to Grandma and The Misfit though out his life. Through Grandma and The Misfit O’Connor shows us how easily our ethics can lead us to make bad decisions that hurt ourselves others. Perhaps it is necessary that we take a step back and assess our morals and determine if they are positively. We learn from the Misfit that societies or your cultures morals should not always be followed. Either way morality is a great gift to creatures who have so much control in shaping our environments. Clearly we cherish and respect the lens we view the world through.

Works Cited

O’Connor, Flannery. “A Good Man Is Hard to Find.” The Norton Introduction to Literature. Ed. Kelly J. Mays. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. 422-438. Print.

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