A Good Man is Hard to Find: Question 2 & 3

I believe that the grotesque elements in “A Good Man is Hard to Find” fully bring out the humanity in the main characters presented. Throughout one’s lifetime it is easy to identify a good, bad, and ugly side to a person’s character or situation he/she must face. Humanity is on full display through people and circumstances that are imperfect. Therefore “A Good Man is Hard to Find” enables others to relate to the imperfect nature of people and situations. The Grandmother and the Misfit both display this reality in different ways. The Grandmother who professes to be a religious individual shows inconsistencies in her behavior. She believes she is moral and holds others to this expectation of morality. The ironic thing is, she is fraudulent in her behavior as well. She lies to her grandchildren, she is manipulative with her son, and hypocritically expects others to uphold pure moral behavior when she herself does not. Additionally, she tells the Misfit to confess to Jesus when she herself cannot fully do so. The contradictory, inconsistent behavior and expectations of this woman at face value may not be seen as a positive, until people understand that they are all broken and imperfect just like this woman. This means any person that has lied, any person that has been a hypocrite should be able to relate to this particular woman. If one is honest with him/herself he/she would be able to understand that life is far from perfect and often times the antithesis of a fairy tale. For this reason humanity is on full display through the depiction of the Grandmother. The Misfit on the other hand, although he commits crimes and ends up taking the life of the Grandmother, also shows humanity through his grotesque nature. By nature it seems as if he is a pariah of society and a monster, however upon further analysis one can see that he is consistent in his nature. The Misfit never strays from the type of man he presents himself to be, he doesn’t necessarily prevaricate by saying he is a criminal and then acts in any other way that contradicts this nature. Rather he stays true to the man he is, although questionable and controversial, allowing others to relate. People are often times so convicted in something that their behavior does not easily meander despite the circumstances. Here people can relate to the humanity of the Misfit, who is so convicted to be a criminal figure that nothing will deter him from this. Although this is controversial, people can relate or appreciate the idea of being devoted to a cause that nothing will take them off this course. Devotion is a humanistic quality that people can relate to and although it is at the expense of a something controversial, humanity still shines brightly through this example. Both the Grandmother and the Misfit shows glimpses of humanity through their respective grotesque natures.

“A Good Man is Hard to Find” stays true to its title. The title of this story implies that the term “good man” is relative in nature and is ultimately elusive because of its subjectivity. The Grandmother calls two men “good.” However the fact of the matter is, both men are different in temperament and nature that it is unlikely that both men can be “good.” On one hand there is an owner of the Tower Restaurant, Red Sammy Butts who gets the ”compliment” that he is a good man after he allows a few men take gasoline. Here one can imply that the Grandmother’s definition of good entails somebody that is naïve and shows poor judgment. This person who has been taken advantage of is called “good” by the grandmother because he has allowed such things to pass. On the other hand is the Misfit who is called “good” by the grandmother herself. He is living a life of crime and “meanness” which by many peoples’ view would not entail any goodness, yet when the grandmother is threatened, she calls him “good.” In the end, the fact of the matter is, both men cannot be “good” to an equal degree and it is possible that both men can’t genuinely be seen by the Grandmother as “good” people at all. The point of the title is that a good man is hard to find because the definition of good is subjective in nature. The Grandmother shows through her personality that she is easily influenced by the situations and circumstances that work to change the meaning of her definition of “good.” A good man is hard to find because the Grandmother shows that she does not firmly establish or know what a good man is. Both the Misfit and Red Sammy Butts can’t be good in the same capacity to the Grandmother. Considering that the grandmother does not know what a good man is, in essence the title, “A Good Man is Hard to Find” is fitting. If she were consistent in her definition of a “good man,” the title would be different.