Page 16 - Middle Georgia State University - Knighted 2019

undoubtedly demonstrate qualities that are, in fact, quite the contrary. Conversely, The Misfit,
the evil character, who should elicit fear, apprehension, and suspicion, will behave at times like a
gentleman and evoke compassion. It is through these dualistic natures that the characters become
catalysts for each other’s spiritual awakenings.

A close examination of the grandmother reveals that she is manipulative. From the
beginning, she tries to coerce Bailey, her son, into taking the family to Tennessee instead of
Florida for their family vacation. She tells him of an escaped convict who is heading toward
Florida, and in claiming to be concerned for her family she states, “I wouldn’t take my children
in any direction with a criminal like that aloose in it. I couldn’t answer to my conscience if I did”
(O’Connor, “Good Man” 249). Her true motive, however, is to manipulate Bailey to get her way.
Later in the story, she will again manipulate Bailey, and this time there is an added element of
deception. Despite Bailey’s insistence that she not bring Pitty Sing, the cat, the grandmother has
sneakily hidden him in the car. At another point in the story, the grandmother decides that she
wants to revisit a plantation she remembers from childhood. Knowing that Bailey will not want
to take a detour, she conjures up a lie about “a secret panel in [the] house,” inciting the kids into
a frenzy of delight and excitement to find the panel (O’Connor, “Good Man” 253). The children
become unruly, screaming, and kicking the backs of the seats until Bailey gives in, proving that
the grandmother can undermine her son’s authority and again illuminating the manipulative
nature that contradicts the archetypal model.

Not only is the grandmother manipulative, but also she is overly concerned with
appearances and believes they define a person’s character, whether or not her assessment is
accurate. For this reason, she is dressed to perfection for the family’s road trip “in case of an
accident [so that] anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a

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