The Misfit In A Good Man Is Hard To Find

Our society today has an unspoken rule that nobody can be trusted. Different views cause people to drift further and further apart, therefore becoming “strangers”. Flannery O’Connor addresses this logic in her story “A Good Man is Hard to Find”. The Misfit is at first considered to be a stranger by the characters and the readers, however it is then made clear that both know him all to well. The Misfit symbolizes the modern man that is vulnerable and indecisive. The Misfit’s physical characteristics, motivation to be a criminal, and lasting impact he leaves on the grandmother all illustrate the modern man.
The Misfit’s physical characteristics make him seem vulnerable and pitiful, which is actually his manipulated innocence shining through his tough demeanor. In the beginning of the story the

grandmother is reading about The Misfit in the newspaper. She specifically mentions that he calls himself The Misfit. The definition of mischievous is causing trouble in a playful way, therefore it is ironic that the criminal chose this name because it is undermining his villainous. The name also creates an idea that he is young and, ironically he is not young but fairly old. The Misfit’s hair was “just beginning to grey” and he wore “silver-rimmed spectacles that gave him a scholarly look”. The spectacles introduce that idea that he is scholarly and philosophical. In the end of the story he presents his views on God and questions why he has been punished.

This reinforces the idea that he is philosophical because it is evidence that he has pondered over the topic before. However, this causes the reader to wonder is he was intentionally wearing the glasses to make his victims see him as friendly, or if he actually requires them to see. The Misfit also had a long creased face with no shirt or socks on, minimizing his fallacious criminal nature and maximizing his vulnerability. The reason he does not have either of these items is because all of the clothing he is wearing have been stolen and he had to bury his other clothes so he wouldn’t be recognized. The reader knows this because O’Connor also mentions that his pants are too tight, reinforcing the fact that he stole them from someone and they didn’t quite fit him. The Misfit’s long creased face hints that he is broken on the inside. Each crease represents a time of struggle and his past troubles have caused him to look older than he really is. The Misfit’s appearance reflect his vulnerability and conniving nature to make him the perfect criminal in “A Good Man if Hard to Find”. At first we believe he is here to help the family, but as soon as a gun if paired with

him the ominous tone of the situation starts to creep into the story. After the Misfit has killed the entire family, O’Connor mentions that his “eyes were red-rimmed and pale and defenseless-looking”. This explains the Misfit’s feelings about killing the grandmother; it shows regret and sorrow. His eyes are red-rimmed because he is trying to stop himself from crying. The grandmother has completely exposed him, making him feel vulnerable, so he felt killing her was the only way to deal with the problem. His physical characteristics contradict his criminal nature to make his victims believe he is a “Good Man”.
The Misfit’s motives to kill are unclear, however they still propose an important philosophy that the reader needs to fully comprehend the identity of a modern man. The Misfit’s views of God are fickle; at first he tells the grandmother that if Jesus is the Son of God then it is our duty to follow him. However this is ironic because The Misfit does not follow his own philosophy because he is a serial killer, deliberately disobeying the word of God. Next, he tells the grandmother that if God does not exist then he will do meanness to others to gain pleasure form it. Again, he is not following his own philosophy. After killing the family The Misfit feels regret, not pleasure. Even before he killed them he said the children made him nervous. The reason they make him nervous is because he knows they are innocent and he will be taking an innocent life. The Misfit also does not follow God because he believes it is unfair that God punished the innocent instead of the guilty. This connotation was created at the roots of his childhood. He was accused of killing his dad and sent to prison, however he knew without a doubt his dad died because of the epidemic flu. The Misfit knew himself that he was innocent, however he was still being punished. Naturally was humans look for a scapegoat to blame our troubles on, here The Misfit turned to God. He does not believe in religion, but in fairness. He concludes that even if he lives a fair life, he would still be punished because innocence is not protected. He may kill people because he deems they deserve it or he just may not see a point in life. O’Connor leaves this judgment up to the readers. There is evidence that The Misfit wants to believe in God, due to the elaborate description of how he was a good person in his past. The ultimate motive for the Misfit is to identify the connection between crime and punishment. He believes that is he commits enough crimes then God will ultimately punish him. This would offer him some type of closure in which he will know innocence is protected. This deep and twisted philosophy of the Misfit surprisingly offers salvation, as we see in the grandmother.
The grandmother makes The Misfit seem vulnerable at the end of the novel, a characteristic that the modern man has yet to learn to accept. When the grandmother insults The Misfit’s sense of self-awareness, he feels so exposed that he immediately kills her. The Misfit’s religious views play a large part in the end of the novel. He has carefully examined his life from the beginning to the end and formed somewhat of a moral code that he lives by. The difference between the grandmother and The Misfit is that The Misfit holds true to his beliefs even when they are questioned. When the Misfit is explaining his own beliefs the grandmother succumbs to him, abandoning her beliefs to save herself. The Misfit has accepted his flaws and is now following a path the he believes will lead to redemption. However, the grandmother thinks she is superior to everyone else in the world and has not yet accepted her flaws. In the end of the story the grandmother “laid in a puddle of her own blood with her legs crossed under her like a child’s”. This depiction is gruesome, but it also portrays a sense of innocence. The blood represents her perfection leaking out of her to where only her flaws and her broken body remain. She is saved, completely exposed and innocent. The Misfit has done her a favor in making her see, in her dying moments, that she is flawed like everyone else. He even says that, “she could have been a good woman if there had been someone to shoot her every minute of her life”. She was redeemed of her superior nature in the few moments before her death. If the grandmother had realized this earlier in life then she would have lived a better life in general. The Misfit acts as a teacher in a way, pointing out what is wrong with her lifestyle in a subtle way. However this is a contradictory comparison because The Misfit still does not believe this is enough to spare her. The Misfit thinks he is right about everything, a common characteristic of a modern man, however he is wrong about one thing. The Misfit believes there is not a God, but the grandmother can love him even moments before her death. This is evidence that God is real. The Misfit has saved the grandmother from a lifetime of lying to herself. This does not give him comfort though; he says that killing her “is no real pleasure in life”. Therefore, like the modern man, he is sympathetic and wanted to offer moral guidance.
The Misfit’s physical demeanor, spiritual philosophy, and moral guidance make him a perfect copy of the modern man. The modern man is stubborn and fickle with his beliefs, unwilling to be influenced by others. The modern man also has plans, as the Misfit has planned his whole life. Ultimately, he is sympathetic towards the quality of life and this drives him to become the criminal he is today. This proposes a motive for modern criminals today. Are they performing violent actions because they are desperately seeking a source of redemption or do they just enjoy them?