Irony and Characterization in O'Connor's Term Paper

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" The primary characters in this story are the grandmother and the Misfit and the fact that they encounter one another is another blend of the comical and the ironic. However, the dramatic contrast between the two characters is the center of attention. Both characters are grotesque. The grandmother is grotesque because she is a good person only on the surface. We know that she is annoying and overbearing. Because she had to have her way, bring the cat, and show the children the house with the secret panel, the family pays the ultimate price. We can see the grotesque nature of the Misfit because he is a cold-blooded criminal, but it is important to recognize how his character acts as a foil to the grandmother. It is interesting that these two seemingly different individuals almost make a connection by the end of the story. However, it is because of their personalities that they do not connect - she being the domineering type that only wants to talk and he being the psychotic refusing to listen.

Another contrast with their personalities is the grandmother's sense of false hope and the Misfit's hopelessness. She tells him to pray to Jesus and he tells her:

Jesus thrown everything off balance. If He did what He said, then it's nothing for you to do but throw away everything and follow Him, and it He didn't then it's nothing for you to do but enjoy the few minutes you got left the best way you can -- by killing somebody of burning down his house or doing some other meanness to him. No pleasure but meanness (362).

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Here we see the depth of the Misfit's psychosis. He does not express emotion and absolutely no regret for his actions. In one breath, he indicates that he is messed up and needs help but when the grandmother reaches out to him, he says, "I don't want no hep... I'm doing all right by myself" (361). Here we know that the man is beyond any help but we cannot help but admire the grandmother for trying until her last breath.

Flannery O'Connor utilizes irony and characterization in "A Good Man is Hard to Find" to illustrate the frailty of the human condition. By introducing us to two difficult characters, O'Connor shows us a part of ourselves. We all know someone like the overbearing grandmother and we have all heard of people like the Misfit. By allowing them to interact with each other in this story, we see a little bit of ourselves and we realize the fragile state of our existence.

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