A Good Man is Hard to Find Researched Analysis

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Write an essay which compares how "A Good Man is Hard to Find" and "Greenleaf" deal with sin, grace, and redemption by analyzing their themes, settings, and characterizations.
The stories "A Good Man is Hard to Find" and "Greenleaf" are quite fascinating in their approach to sin, grace, and redemption. In "A Good Man is Hard to Find," O'Connor writes about two characters who present antagonistic views to life and are guided by different beliefs. The grandmother believes that she is a Christian who is without blemish and thus is in a position to judge and call out what she considers wrong and sinful in other people. On the other hand, the Misfit is a character who has lived a selfish life that does not have any of the rules that the grandmother subscribes to. Both of these characters have lived different lives but end up realizing that they have a deeper connection. In "Greenleaf," O'Connor writes a story that is mainly centered on the life of Mrs. May. Mrs. May is a person who sees herself as the victim in all situations and circumstances. Like the grandmother in "A Good Man is Hard to Find," she never sees herself as wrong but quickly points at the flaws in other people. In both books, O'Connor offers a rare or unusual approach to the elements of sin, grace, and redemption. This essay will thus assess how these elements are employed in the books while trying to outline the similarities and differences in both through the characters, settings, and themes presented.
Sin
In both books, the themes of sin and salvation are quite evident. The main characters in the two books, Mrs. May, the grandmother, and Misfit, are presented as people who lead lives that are blind to their sinful nature. All of them were self-righteous and self-centered but did not want to face themselves or have to look in the mirror and face their real selves.
The grandmother was the kind of person that saw other people's flaws but her own. In the story "A Good Man is Hard to Find," she is presented as a lady, and rightfully so because she did dress and presented herself as a lady. "In case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at one that she was a lady" (2). Her outward appearance did fit everything that was considered good and respectable. However, what she said, how she relates to people showed that she was indeed prideful, self-righteous, and a self-centered person. In one instance, she directs her criticism at the mother of the children asking that she takes the children to "see different parts of the world and be broad. They never have been to east Tennessee" (1). Here, she is subtly critiquing the children's mother while turning around and presenting herself as someone who is not only broad but one that has travelled and seen the world. However, this type of sin is not the usual kind that involves simply doing what is right or wrong but one that involves the inside man or person and their approach to life.
The other approach to sin that involves doing wrong things or what is considered wrong as per Christianity is well captured through the life of the Misfit. The Misfit was not the kind that lived in pretense like the grandmother. He lived his life in a way that did not hide ...