Suffering and violence

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Suffering and violence that eventually gives way to redemption and grace of God is a common element in many of Flannery O’Connor’s short stories. The use of these themes is inspired by the religious belief and background of Flannery O’Connor. Violence in her stories which is usually characterized by the suffering of great physical and emotion pain is used as a way of revealing the inner self of the main characters. The work of Flannery O’Connor appears to be typified by unbelievable and horrific harshness and violence. Her short stories markedly conclude with appalling fatalities and emotional ruin of the characters. In all her three short stories “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, “Revelation”, and “Good Country People” the main characters go through some form of violence which leads to a learned emotion lesson.
In each of the stories, instructions of pride through lessons of pride are the means through which the souls of the characters are prepared for their essential illumination by God’s spirit. Both the grandmother in “A Good Man is Hard to Find” and Rudy Turpin in “Revelation” are convinced in their respective stories that they are ladies of elevated status. We see their self imposing facades falling whenever they are threaded by supernatural beings (Pascaris). Intrinsic human weakness is unaccepted and the faulty soul is violently returned to reality or damned. In the final scene of “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” between the Misfit and the grandmother is one literal wicket truth of O’Connor. The grandmother is deeply bound by a condescending, hypocritical self world where she feels is safe for her. The world suddenly crumbles at the moment just before she gets shot, “His voice seemed about to crack and the grandmother’s head cleared for an instance. She saw the man’s face twisted close to her own as if he was going to cry and she murmured, ‘why you’re one of my babies. You are one of my children!’”
And this is the point of grandmother’s redemption. We are told that her head clears, and even though she feel disenchanted, she more than ever now understands the situation. At that point all her narrow frame of mind disappears, and she sees the Misfit for who he truly is. It is through the interaction of the grandmother with the Misfit that we realize the redemption element of the story, with the grace of God that is given to the grandmother in the end. (Dowel)
The family undergoes great suffering, from the accident that was caused by the grandmother’s cat and they end up in the most unlikely of places, in a ditch at a road side. Unfortunately the grandmother recognizes one of their rescuers as Misfit thereby sealing the family’s fate. As her family is being killed, she begs for mercy by appealing to Misfits, religious, moral and family values. The grandmother finally releases her pride and becomes compassionate exclaiming: “Why you’re one of my babies. You’ll one of my children!” This sudden manifestation of selfishness on the side of the grandmother demonstrates that indeed the grandmother has been admitted to grace, at last.
All the elements of “A good Man is Hard to Find” bears the ultimate question and answer of whether God’s grace available for everyone and what it takes for one to tap in it. As you read the last texts from the story, it is only then that you realize that it is from that sincere human connection that the grandmother receives serenity and grace. Ultimately the grandmother died in a pool of blood, legs closed under her like a chi...