Melancholy and Mystery of a Street - A Good Man is hard to...

A Good Man is hard to find
1. The family in essence represents a completely “natural” family. This is supported in their
being compared to plants or animals, with the mother resembling a cabbage and the
grandmother a hippopotamus. This is counteracted by the Misfit, who is a product of
society and its wrongs. The Misfit’s strangled conception of the world overpowers the
family’s will to live. This supports the theme of a corrupt society destroying the natural
peace of the Earth.
2. Like Dislike
~makes her intelligence widely known ~won’t shut up
~always has a solution to a problem ~gives too much input
~remembers fascinating old stories ~bad with details (which state and such)
~keeps telling Misfit to pray ~very very repetitive
~dead ~used to be alive
3. I was extremely ecstatic when the grandmother was killed. As a character, she was
obnoxious and repetitive. The Misfit was also quite clear that he did not like the
grandmother, essentially sealing her fate. Grandma’s wild scrambling at the end is very
naïve, especially in how she only repeats the word Jesus. The events of the plot all
designated that the grandmother would die, and it was only fitting.
4. The grandmother does not truly have any belief or philosophy about “good men”. She
simply is trying either to keep people motivated or to butter them up in exchange for
something. For example, when the owner of the restaurant they stop at talks with
grandma, she tells him he is a good man. This is simply to keep him happy. She has just
met this man and she has already judged his character. This is far too quickly for her to
know whether he is a good man or not.