A Good Man Is Hard to Find

"She [the Grandmother] reached out and touched him on the shoulder. The Misfit sprang back as if a snake had bitten him" (913).

There was much debate over whether or not the Grandmother was a good or bad character. Whether she was selfish, caring only for herself, or if she cared about everyone. Along with this is the question of who is at fault for all of them dying. The Grandmother, through numerous events, seems to be on many levels responsible for the death of all. One could go as far as to say she killed everyone, or is responsible for killing everyone. In the end, O'Connor chooses to characterize her as "a snake" which implies evil, even demonic connotations.

First she brings her cat after being told not to. Then embellishes and makes up a story about hidden silver in a house because she wants to visit it and knows the kids will make a big fuss about it if there's treasure to be found, and if the kids want to go the father will say okay to it (908). Soon after she remember the house isn't even in Florida, it's in Tennessee (909). Her realization of this makes her kick the cat (which should not be in the car) which then jumps onto Bailey and makes him crash the car. A man comes down in a car and The Grandmother, unable to keep her mouth shut, once again makes a situation worse by identifying the man as the Misfit. The Misfit admits, "it would have been better for all of you...if you hadn't of reckernized me" (910). The Grandmother is responsible for all of these things. If she hadn't done just one of these things they may have still survived, but she was relentless in her mistakes. For the most part she really does only think about herself. Even in the end after all of her family is dead she still just thinks about her own life. She goes on about religion trying to change the Misfit's mind, and even renounces her own religion saying, "Maybe He [Jesus] didn't raise the dead" (913). In the end, The Grandmother is likened to "a snake" and dies as the ultimate sinner, a sacrilegious one.