The Task Was On Book Analysis: A Goodman Is Hard To Find (Essay Sample)

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“A Goodman is hard to find”
“A Goodman is hard to find” by Oconner is a historical short story. It was published in 1953 together with other stories. It marks the proactive nature of the author. It is held that the story aligns with the religious symbols that are manifested through the human nature and the tragic events. The book primarily features the grandmother and misfit, and each of them reveals the controversial understanding of a good man. In line with this, the paper will discuss how the story critically proves that it is elusive to find a good man supported by the misjudgments and self-righteousness aspects mainly manifested by the grandmother.
It is right to state that the story is constructed under the contribution of the main characters who are a grandmother, Misfit, Bailey and Edgar. The characters portray savagery, truth, and compassion that reveal the controversial understanding of who is a good man. The story begins with Bailey preparing to take his family Florida for a summer vacation. It is a case that the grandmother opposes finding every chance in trying to convince Bailey that they go to Tennessee. The grandmother perceives herself as a good man and believes that she acts in the right way. However, it is evident that she employs an aspect of manipulation to win the support of the other people that they go to Tennessee instead of Florida. Her controversial character is properly denoted whereby at one point she refers to a case of a dangerous fugitive by the name Misfit who was at loose (O'Connor 17). At this point, the audience could see aspects of selfishness in the grandmother’s character.
Moreover, the grandmother woke up early and went to the car and hid the cat. The act may seem justifiable that she feared for the cat to be left alone in the house. However, it would be right to argue that her actions are driven more by her selfish nature than the cat’s wellbeing. Along the way, the family engages in various discussions with the grandmother steering most of the conversation. In the debate where she tries to prove that, Tennessee is a good state and admirable. There rises and due of the good behavior where she states that “it was wrong for a little boy to talk about her native state in an ill way” (O'Connor 139). It is an event the grandmother tries to justify her being a good person by pointing out that in her time children were respectful. To signify this, she points at a black child standing in the door of a shark. In this context, the author manifests the way people think the best in their self.
Additionally, the manner in which people judges the aspect of being well presented in the grandmother's story. The story is about how Mr. Edgar used to bring her watermelon every Saturday; she thought of him as a gentleman because she would bring her watermelon every Saturday. When asked whether she would have married him she says when would have done so because he was a gentleman and owned coca-cola stock hence dying a rich man. In this case, the grandmother argues that Mr. Edgar was a good man. However, the author manages to contradict this opinion through June Stars a grandchild to the grandmother who claims that she would not marry the man because he just brought her watermelon. Another case arose at the Red Sam place where they make a stop at Red Sam explains a case where he allowed two men to charge gas but ended up stealing from him. When Red Sam questions why he let them charge the gas they bought the grandmother tells him it is “because you are a good man” (O'Connor 141). The case manifest that the definition of been good is having blind faith, poor judgment and being gullible while taking them to see the hint for a fact such aspect are not “good.”
The worst cases happen when they encounter an accident. An accident that the story presents that could be blamed to the g...