Finding Mercy in a Good Man is Hard to FindIn "A Good Man is Hard to Find", Flannery O'Connor represents her style of writing with great precision. She includes his “themes and methods – comedy, violence, theological concern – and thus makes them available quickly and unequivocally” (Asals 177). At the beginning of the story, O'Connor represents the theme of comedy by portraying the typical grandmother. Next, O'Connor includes the violent aspect by bringing the Misfit into the story. By the end of the story, the theme shifts to a theological concern as attention is directed to the grandmother's testimony. As the themes change throughout the story, so does the reader's perception of the grandmother. At the beginning of the story, the grandmother's negative characteristics are revealed. She is described as a very self-centered person. The grandmother is very insistent on getting what she wants. She seems very insensitive to the feelings of other family members. She constantly tries to persuade the family to go to Tennessee instead of Florida. Additionally, she rebelliously took the cat with her on the trip even though she knew the others would object. Due to her selfishness, the family had to take a detour to stop and see the house they insisted on visiting. Not only is the grandmother portrayed as being selfish, but she is also very annoying. She talks from the moment they leave the house until they have the accident. She is constantly talking about the landscape or telling an unnecessary story. She seemingly has good intentions to break the tension between the family members, but her intentions definitely fail. Instead of breaking the tension, she makes everyone agitated... middle of paper... maybe he'll have a conscience this time. In agreement with O'Connor, the reader understands that the story is "something more than an account of a family murdered on the way to Florida" (Asals 178). Instead, the story is an account of a woman who shows mercy to a man who does not deserve her mercy. Works Cited Asals, Frederick. "On 'A Good Man is Hard to Find.' Rep. in literature: reading fiction, poetry, theater and essays. 4th ed. Ed. Robert DiYanni. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 1998. 177-78. O'Connor, Flannery. “A good man is hard to find.” 1955. Literature: reading fiction, poetry, theater and essays. 4th ed. Ed. Robert DiYanni. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 1998. 193-203.---. "On 'A Good Man is Hard to Find.' Rep. in literature: reading fiction, poetry, theater and essays. 4th ed. Ed. Robert DiYanni. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 1998. 175-76