Societal Values Gone Astray

Societal Values Gone Astray

Values generate behavior. They answer the question, “Why do people do what they do?” A quote by Frank Outlaw applies directly to this idea, “Watch your thoughts: They become your words. Watch your words: They become your actions. Watch your actions: They become your habits. Watch your habits: They become your character. Watch your character: It becomes your destiny.” Values tell people what is good, beneficial, and desirable, and they help solve common problems. In her short story “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” Flannery O’Connor uses violent and humorous characters to demonstrate the breakdown of family values, ethical values, and religious values.

O’Connor uses the two main characters as her foundation to represent the different changes in values. The first character is the grandmother. The traditional imagery of a grandmother is that of a sweet, loving, and nurturing person. The grandmother in O’Connor’s story is the polar opposite. She is fearful, obnoxious, and judgmental. She considers herself morally superior to others by stating that she is a “lady,” a “good woman.” She wears polka dot dresses and frilly hats, a humorous sight. She criticizes her daughter-in-law for not allowing the children to “see different parts of the world and be broad.” [F100, pg 1048] She whines and complains to her son every time she does not get her way. She “rattle[s] the newspaper at his bald head,” [F100, pg 1048] in order to convince him to not go to Florida. She constantly criticizes the world around her, without turning an eye on herself. She is a hypocrite. She sneaks the cat into the car, lies to the children about the secret panel, and chooses to remain silent about the wrong location of the house. In the beginning of the story she does not want to go to Florida, so in order to hopefully get her way, she insists that it is not safe to travel, “I couldn’t answer to my conscious if I did.” [F100, pg 1048] She pretends to be selfless, but in actuality she is extremely selfish. She has a childish attitude, which is comical considering the nature of her character.

The misfit on the other hand, with his violent, murderous past, is completely opposite of the grandmother. He has a deep conviction that no other character possess. When he talks with the family, he is polite, and he apologies for Bailey’s rude comment saying “I don’t reckon he mean to talk to you thataway.” [F100, pg 1055] He even apologizes for not having “a shirt on for [the] ladies.” [F100, pg 1056] He struggles to find a purpose in his life, unlike the grandmother who assumes she is morally superior. While the misfit does not think of himself as a good man, he does realize that there are worse men out there. His philosophies include those of “no pleasure in life but meanness,” [F100, pg 1058] and “the crime don’t matter.” [F100, pg 1057] The