‘’A Good Man Is Hard To Find’’ Or Is It?

In Flannery O’Connor’s ‘’A Good Man Is Hard To Find’’ the grandmother is portrayed to be the main character and the problem starter throughout the whole story. From the beginning of the short story she tends to make everything about her, even when it is a problem. Throughout the whole story the grandmother likes to make everything projected on her and always have the spotlight. The main reason the whole family ends up being murdered is all because of dear old Granny. The author O’Connor does nothing but to simply refer to her as the grandmother over and over. That tells the audience she is not as big as she portrays herself to be. The whole family is named excluding the mother, and we know the story is not told from the grandmother’s view because the author O’Connor is rather narrating. The grandmother had to constantly having the family looking up to her and thinking about her so she wants to have everything her way. In the process she uses her mouth to get her way, although at the last minute it does not help her at all. The author O’Conner lists at least five situations where the grandmother is selfish and begins to manipulate the whole situation. To begin with it is a family vacation so she should be willing to listen to the whole family’s opinion and be happy with whatever they decide and also what is best for the kids. Rather she starts grouching about her old connections in east Tennessee. She manipulates everything and used facts to her best advantage. "Here this fellow that calls himself The Misfit is aloose from the Federal Pen and headed toward Florida’’ (O’Conner257). Although most readers would say that the grandmother pointing this out to her son Bailey would be beneficial and helpful to planning the trip, she merely does it and points it out to get her way. The grandmother did not care about safety just on reaching Tennessee. For someone who truly cares she could have said ‘Bailey let’s not risk anything, even if we do not go to Tennessee possibly we could drive somewhere nearby’. Even though Bailey, the grandmother’s only son becomes annoyed at certain times, he still wants to please his mother. His wife is very soft spoken so she is never a problem in discussing what the grandmother wants. There are many situations where the grandmother twists and lies in stories to make things more interesting. She also associates herself with those who will supply her with what she wants. ‘’ The grandmother said she would have done well to marry Mr. Teagarden because he was a gentle man and had bought Coca-Cola stock when it first came out and that he had died only a few years ago, a very wealthy man.’’ (O’Conner257). To begin with the grandmother never wanted to make the trip in the first place so she blocked out in her mind that they were going to Florida without even realizing it. Once she awoke from her nap she brought the story about Toombsboro and the plantation as if she were in Tennessee. ‘’ She knew that Bailey would not be willing to lose any time looking at an old house, but the more she talked about it, the more she wanted to see it once