A good man is hard to find by O’Conner

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A Good Man is hard to find by O’Connor
Many are the time one thinks he/she has friends only to come to learn that they are the worst enemies. In many cases, people assume the actions of their friends due to the deeds they see each day and hence forcing someone to make an assumption that all people are good depending on what they do each day or even how they relate to others. However, most people fail to understand that the good deeds of someone may be a way of enticing them to the worst experiences of their lives. Research shows that most people have been killed or harmed by people they know well and trust. They turn abruptly and without knowing they become heartless to an extent of harming their friends or even their family members. It is shocking how people are increasingly becoming inhuman; people commit crimes each day without minding the welfare of their fellow friends. However, the world has changed and hence becoming a place of worry and misfortunes. People are living with fear as they do not know who to trust. It is thus important to understand the issues O’Connor tried to analyze in his book “A Good Man is hard to find” on the basis of gender and class in historical, political, social or cultural context.
O’Connor shows how a whole family is murdered by someone they all know. Before the story ends, the grandmother who is the mother to Bailey tries to convince the family not to go to Florida; the city had many cases of insecurity as well as murder.

At the same time, the grandmother tries to convince them by telling the about how Misfit, a well-known criminal has escaped from prison; rumors say that he headed in the same direction. Therefore, she says it is rather they go to Tennessee City where there are no such cases. On the contrary, everybody wants to go to Florida. The cases of murder show how people have changed the town; some few groups of individuals are making others live miserably. Since the city has turned to be a field of death, people cannot move and carry out their daily chores. Therefore, one can end up concluding that finding someone to trust is hard. The fact that O’Connor uses the name ‘man’ does not mean that only men are involved in some weird activities; it is a term that refers to all genders.
After the whole family insists on going to Florida, the grandmother had no otherwise rather than following them. While on the way, she is giving stories of how the world has changed and how people mind their welfare. He talks of Misfit and how he has escaped from the prison; no one listens to her as they all find her old to give directions. O’Connor shows how people have become stubborn and thus making it hard to find a good man. No one would listen to an old woman who tells stories that seem meaningless. It Bailey is a good man; he would have listened to her mother. However, finding someone who is patient and attentive is hard. On the way, the whole family does not take the time to analyze what the grandmother was trying to say. They all think she likes talking and that nothing constructive she can afford to say.
Within a couple of hours, the family comes to meet Misfit; a criminal who has the potential of doing everything. He first shoots the entire family as they try to escape into the woods. When the grandmother sees what has happened, she tries now to convince him not to kill her. However, Misfit is filled with spirits of inhumanity, and thus she never listens to the stories of the grandmother. The incidence reveals the real human being and how the blood of killing has entered to people veins. She is calling Jesus, but Misfit responds by saying, “Jesus threw everything off balance” (Connor 129). Misfit talks of issues relating to God but it is like he is mocking a poor woman who is doing nothing rather than begging for her life. He says, “Jesus should have raised the death” (Connor 134). The grandmother tries to beg with all forms; she thought by talking about Jesus the criminal would feel pity and spare her life. However, it is like the word Jesus is giving him the motivation to commit more crimes. If Misfit were a good man, he would have spared the family due to Jesus Christ, who died for the sin of all humankind. On the contrary, that does not change anything. Still he is the same person who feels by doing wrong he will be able to recover all the punishment he got due to wrong deeds.
In the modern society, people are living in groups. Classes of people are organized depending on various approaches. For instance, the rich and the poor have a very large gap between them and hence preventing smooth interaction. In most areas, poor people are suffering while other are dying as the rich people continue to prosper and grow each day. Due to the suffering and cruelty, it is very hard to understand who is to help the other. As a result, those people who suffer most have decided to become criminals to find means of surviving (Benjamin 25). On the other hand, the rich have decided to utilize all the resources that they have to protect their property even if it calls for killing someone. Thus, the world has turned and has become a place of survival for the fittest. It is very hard to find a good man. The poor have decided to use cruel ways to sustain themselves since no one cares for them. On the other hand, the rich do not want to help the poor, and more so they are ready to eliminate each object that comes close to their properties.
Also, gender grouping has come up with serious problems that are affecting the lives of people and thus making the world the worst place to live in. Today each male and females are struggling to survive; genders roles have been diversified and hence making females see themselves as males and vice versa (Eisler 10). Also, females are supposed to be subordinate; they should listen to the decisions of men whether they think they are good or bad. The same incidence applies to the story “A good man is hard to find” by O’Connor. The grandmother’s choice of going to East Tennessee was disregarded by being a woman. Women’s decisions are referred to as ineffective. The outcome of filling to honor the choice of the grandmother is dead; the whole family was killed by Misfit.
Thus, it is clear that the failure of a man costs even a woman. Bailey fails to respect the decision of her mother; however, the consequences befall even her who was insisting on not going to Florida. In real life, many incidences are seen where men fail to honor the decisions of their women and in return end up indulging the whole family in the problems (Eisler 33). As a result, males and females have decided to be carrying out their tasks with the concert of the other. The gap has led to laying severe quarrels as each gender blames the other for their mistakes. Therefore, it is hard to understand which group fails in doing their tasks and hence making it hard to get a good man to trust.
In conclusion, finding a good man is hard. O’Connor has tried to reveal the real happenings of the world we are living today and how people have turned to become animals. For instance, he addresses a family that is killed by Misfit, a criminal who has escaped from prison and ended towards Florida. Before Misfit kills the grandmother, she tries to begin the name of Jesus but he never changed from killing her. Misfit resembles the real situation where people are making others suffer and even die. For instance, the rich find it hard to help the poor and hence forcing them to become criminals. Also, men and women are living under different terms and conditions in the society. Each group has its ways of responding to the upcoming issues. Therefore, it is very hard to know which group is on the right track as they all have the differences that they cling to.
Works cited
Connor, Flannery. A Good Man is Hard to Find, and Other Stories. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1955. Print.
Benjamin, Thomas. A rich land, a poor people: politics and society in modern Chiapas. Rev. Albuqueque. University of New Mexico Press. 2002. Print.
Eisler, Richard. Handbook of gender, culture, and health. Mahwah, N.J. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. 2000. Print.