Flannery O'Connor begins her story "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" by introducing the grandmother. The character of the grandmother is a very domineering and manipulating one who attempts to engineer her family's vacation to Florida according to her need for attention. This cheery vacation takes a morbid turn for the worst when the family encounters an ex-con, The Misfit, who brutally murders them in cold blood, sparing no one. This short story was set during the 1950's in the South of the United States. O' Connor uses dialogue, description of movement, and a distinct literary format to illustrate how the grandmother manipulates others.
             O' Connor uses dialogue to illustrate the grandmother's ability to manipulate others to further her own needs. As her family is driving down to Florida, her obstinacy about going to Tennessee blinds her sense of direction, and causes her to convince herself and her family that the Tennessee plantation she recalls from her childhood is nearby. Feeley describes the grandmother as a self centered romantic...arranges reality to suit herself when she can and indulges in fantasy when she can not". Although the grandmother sincerely thought that, " 'It's [the plantation] not far from here, I know,' " in reality the family is driving through the Georgia countryside, which is nowhere near her hometown (O'Connor). She persuades her son to take a quick detour, which she honestly believes will lead them there. She convinces him by strategically voicing her opinion that she thinks, "it would be very educational for them." She is quite aware that any father in the presence of his children is not going to reject something labeled "educational." So her son reluctantly obeys, which only further reinforces the grandmother's behavior and her willfulness to overpower others.
             In the end of the story, the grandmother&apos...