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

"She would have been a good woman," The Misfit said, "if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life." (914)

The short story “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor is a very interesting one when analyzing it from a religious point of view. The above quote, stated by The Misfit, has great power and strength in its meaning. The Grandmother, a petty, cantankerous, and overbearing individual, is faced with death and suddenly she enlightens herself on the way she should have seen the world all along. She begged for her life, but was she begging because she saw change within herself or because she wanted to live? The Misfit recognized her phony cry and did not bare mercy on her.
Going back to religion, certain individuals simply do not qualify for God’s forgiveness, but it does not mean that God himself would think so. The feel that I receive from the story is that the many terrible acts some individuals had committed and the people they hurt and upset, added up to way too much over the forgiving point. But I must conquer with that understanding and say that I believe grace is for everyone, even those who seem loathsome. While reading the story, the reader hardly feels sorry for the Grandmother due to her behavior towards others. Whether or not she is a likeable person, The Misfit’s decision to kill her is undeserved.
Once faced with death, an individual becomes aware of the rude and hurtful things they have done but sometimes, that time had come too late, as for the Grandmother. In my opinion, the Grandmother would have never called The Misfit a good man or tried to be kind to someone for a change if she had not been told she will be killed. However, just because she was an overbearing woman, it did not mean that she deserved to be shot three times. Her reaction towards The Misfit is normal. We cannot blame her for trying to save her life. Although her ways of doing so were phony and easily picked up on, her initial reaction was absolutely natural.
It is said that the Grandmother reached a moment of epiphany. I am still convinced the only reason for her epiphany was to save her life and not because she all of a sudden underwent a spiritual change. Whether or not the Grandmother would change her actions after this incident took place, if she lived, we cannot say.