A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O'Connor

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Flannery O'Connor's validation of the unreasonable in "A Good Man Is Hard to Find"
The author, Flannery O`Conner, had implied throughout the short story that the "good man" being referred to is the character of ‘the misfit`. This had caused debate and speculation to critics, who argue that the claim is implausible. Instead, they suggest that the other characters of the story; Bailey, and Sammy, are more deserving of the title of ‘good man`. Another interpretation promotes the idea that there is no actual good man in the story, as goodness is non-existent in the modern world. This creates an irrational paradox for which many interpretations about the good man`s identity come to surface.
The final scene of the story has three distinct segments clouded with mystery. In the first phase, we see the Misfit swallowed in a sense of self pity, which obscures his ability to see himself. Thus, his own self identity remains a mystery to him. The second phase is darker and more terrifying. The grandmother tries to reason with the misfit in this scene, only to realize that she doesn`t actually mean what she is saying. The Misfit too, picks up in her lack of sincerity, noting how she is willing to say anything for the sake of her own life. This only increases his contempt; and the grandmother, knowing that he had seen through her ruse, and is unable to speak further. In the final scene, the grandmother acknowledges that she too, is a sinner. But at that point, there is no hope for her, as the misfit shoots her anyway. In death, she was said to have been smiling to a cloudless sky, apparently having found peace by removing her condescending attitude to reveal her true self. The misfit on the other hand, remained prideful and arrogant. However, a hint of his vulnerable nature can be glimpsed by the way he had taken off his glasses after killing the grandmother. His glasses hold a metaphorical meaning which had prohibited him from looking past the surface to the deeper meaning of things. After the killing, further signs of weakness are evident when he makes the statement that there is no real pleasure in life. It is a revelation that he is beginning to look inward towards trying to find out the mystery of himself.
By labeling the short story as a paradoxical parable, it is implied that there is a moral lesson behind the st...