After reading “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” by Flannery O’Connor, answer the following questions:
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Explain why is the family going to Florida.
What are some of the similarities and differences between the two “mothers?”
Explain what the Misfit means by, “Jesus thrown everything off balance?”
Does the grandmother experience a “death bed conversion?” If so, would it be valid to allow her to have salvation at the last minute when she has not apparently lived a “good life” until her last moments (e.g. her racism, her arrogance, etc.)? How late is too late when speaking of salvation?
So why does he shoot the grandmother?
What does the Misfit mean when he says “She would have been a good woman if someone had been there to shoot her every minute of her life.”?
Could the Misfit be seen metaphorically as an avenging angel sent by God to shake people up who think they are good, that they understand the purpose of life, with the threat of, and maybe even literally, losing their lives?