A Good Man Is Hard to Find

The grandmother is one of the grotesque characters. The grandmother seems like a polite church-going woman at first, but she’s really just racist, self-centered, and believes her beliefs are superior to others. Evidence of her racism includes her use of the N word. She believes that whether or not a person is good is based on their native state, their parents, and their status, not from their actions. She said “In my time, children were more respectful of their native state and their parents and everything else.” The grandmother does not think before she acts and she takes pleasure in other people’s suffering. When the grandmother shrieked, she scrambled to her feet and stood staring. She said “You’re The Misfit! I recognized you at once.”  The misfit is also a grotesque character. He is looking for the truth, but has a damaged soul, and is insensitive towards others.

John Wesley said “Tennessee is just a hillbilly dumping ground” and “Georgia is a lousy state” which is adds to the southern negatives/weaknesses. There’s also the grandmothers racism, including her story about the watermelon involving a stereotype that a black boy would eat a watermelon that was left out and hat E.A.T. written on it.

           Factors leading this story to be classified in the Grotesque genre include the setting -Grotesque settings are often rural, and the grandmother was killed in the woods. Grotesques also have ironic situations but are realistic – I found one of the last quotes in the short story to be ironic. To me, the quote “she would of been a good woman, if” plays off the title “A good man is hard to find.”