The Grandmother in Flannery's 'A Good Man is Hard to Find'

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English and Literature: A Good man is hard to find
Summary
In this book by Flannery O’Connor, an old lady referred to as a grandmother makes a trip to Florida from Atlanta, the lady travels with her son, three grandchildren, one infant, and others. The story opens with an argument between the “old lady” or rather the grandmother and her son concerning the venue for their holiday trip. The grandmother has the report of the Misfit who has escaped from the federal penitentiary and his destination is Florida. However, the actions of the misfit to the society is left vague and without any further explanation. The only instance with details is the newspapers where we are told anyone who reads about him from the newspaper would not desire an encounter with him. The grandmother loses the argument, however, through a series of existing accidents ends the story in suspense, where she meets the so dreaded criminal at the side of a dirt road in Georgia. The most recurrent themes in the entire argument revolve around death, mortality as well as complete loss. In this case, the theme of death takes the primary place in the entire argument.
The grandmother is presented as a veteran manipulator whereby she refuses to travel to Florida owing to the fact that she does get relatives to visit in Tennessee. The grandmother tries to seize every chance trying to manipulate and change Bailey’s mind (O'Connor 2). She tries to have things go her way whenever odds rise against her, however, she does not directly confront these situations. She adopts the art and the approach of being more subtle. She tries to scare Bailey away from his suggestion with reports of a criminal on the loose alongside guilt.
"Just you read it. I wouldn't take my children in any direction with a criminal like that a loose in it. I couldn't answer to my conscience if I did." (O'Connor 1)
The entire story reveals different forms of argument that tend to persuade readers towards the grandmother’s point of view. For instance, Bailey is against carrying along with the cat with them, however, she hides the cat in a basket and secretly carry’s it along. There is evidence of selfishness and the effort to satisfy such high level of selfishness through deception and manipulative tactics. The major issue is the level at which manipulative tactics work for her upon encountering The Misfit.
On the other hand, despite being subtle, there’s recognition of the gender of the deceiver. Such characteristics prove v...