In a final attempt to save herself, the grandmother is even willing to concede that "Maybe He didn't raise the dead," but the Misfit has already reached his conclusion. This proverb refers to women who are looking for suitable alliances but aren't able to find them. A risqué comic play on words on a good man is hard to find. They have given only lip service to spiritual concepts and have concerned themselves with the gratification of their physical and material desires in this life. When June Star observes the child's lack of britches, the grandmother explains that "little niggers in the country don't have the things we do.". The phrase was the title of a famous song by Eddie Green in 1918. Learn about the different symbols such as Grandmother's Hat in A Good Man Is Hard to Find and how they contribute to the plot of the book. Their conduct toward the grandmother emphasizes the disrespect which is characteristic of the entire family. in "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" Flannery O' Connor uses symbolism to give more meaning to her short story. Thus, in story after story, these individuals are brought to a crisis point in their lives, and they see their self-confidence destroyed by events, or else they experience a moment of grace which causes them to reevaluate their past lives and to see the world in a new and spiritual light. "I wasn't there so I can't say He didn't . Who says that. Although "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" is an early work in the O'Connor canon, it contains many of the elements which come to characterize the majority of her short works of fiction. In an address to a group of writing students, O'Connor commented, "The kind of vision the fiction writer needs to have, or to develop, in order to increase the meaning of his story is called anagogical vision, and that is the kind of vision that is able to see different levels of reality in one image or situation.". The Misfit, lacking the side into which he might have thrust his hand (the "proof" offered to the biblical Doubting Thomas), has clearly decided against the Christian ethic. Are you sure you want to remove #bookConfirmation# It is also her identification of the Misfit which apparently causes him to decide that the family should be killed. Although Bailey does not answer her (thereby showing a complete lack of respect for her), the incident provides an ironic foreshadowing to the end of the story. She indulges in back-seat driving, acts as a tour guide, and attempts — by citing the conduct of children in her time — to chastise John Wesley and June Star for their rude remarks concerning "their native states and their parents and everything else." Most of her stories contain an individual who has a strong feeling of self-confidence or feels that he has lived in such a way that his conduct cannot be questioned. Briefly, the story depicts the destruction of an altogether too normal family by three escaped convicts. Shortly after leaving Atlanta, the family passes Stone Mountain, a gigantic outcropping upon which are carved, in bas-relief, images of the long-dead heroes of an equally dead Confederacy. She also noted that "the old lady is a hypocritical old soul; her wits are no match for the Misfit's nor is her capacity for grace equal to his"; and finally the grandmother realizes even in her limited way that she "is responsible for the man before her and joined to him by ties of mystery which have their roots deep in the mystery she has been prattling about so far.". As did the Greek tragedians, O'Connor appears to look upon these characters as being in a state of hubris (a condition characterized by overbearing pride and a sense of being beyond the rule of fate) and sees them as being ripe for catastrophe. About O'Connor's Short Stories, Next The grandmother takes the baby from its mother, and we see the contrast between the thin, leathery face of old age and the smooth bland face of the baby. As though to emphasize the changed condition of the grandmother, O'Connor provides a description of the dead body, which seems to have been designed to convey the impression that the grandmother has indeed "become as a little child," a biblical admonition given to those who would obtain salvation.