Question

The Misfit, in Flannery O'Connor's "A Good Man is Hard to Find" tells the grandmother, “I call myself the Misfit, because I can't make what all I done wrong fit what all I gone through in punishment." How does this provide insight into the Misfit as a character, and what does the Misfit represent?

Answer 1

Note: This response is in UK English, please paste the response to MS Word and you should be able to spot discrepancies easily. You may elaborate the answer based on personal views or your classwork if necessary.

(Answer) The “Misfit” in the short story “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” is quite mysterious with a sinful past. He has murdered several people throughout his life and is more of a rogue than anything else. However, he is viewed more as an unlikely hero in the story because of the perceptions he maintains and the way he might conduct himself.

In the story, the grandmother is more like a self-righteous person who hasn’t committed very grave sins and is also quite proud of her “clean-slate.” The Misfit, on the other hand, says the words, “I call myself the Misfit, because I can't make what all I done wrong fit what all I gone through in punishment.” Because he is the kind of person who genuinely acknowledges his flaws and sees himself for the bad things he has done. He also spends the time to introspect on his misdeeds in a way that makes him seem like someone who repents and exhibits a certain sense of humility in the acknowledgement of his crimes.

His sense of self-awareness has even caused him to rename himself the “Misfit” because he believes that his punishment does not fit his crime. The Misfit represents the repentant sinner who simply desires mercy and knows that he doesn’t truly deserve it.