Flannery O'Connor says "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" could have only been written one way but perhaps could be read many different ways. In reading "A Good Man Is Hard to Find," I have found this to be true. To read this story you need to read between the lines to find what the real message is supposed to be. The grandmother seems to be a good woman but she possesses many bad qualities such as being selfish and judgmental. In order to figure out that the grandmother has these bad qualities you need to look past the obvious story.
             In the beginning of "A Good Man Is Hard to Find," the grandmother comes off as a "good man." However, she is the opposite of a good man in more ways than one. To begin, the grandmother is a very selfish old woman. At the start of the story the grandmother rants and raves about how she wants to go to Tennessee not Florida. She doesn't bother to think about what the rest of the family wants. As the family loads the car to leave for Florida the grandmother brings her cat in a basket even though she knows her son doesn't want her to take it along. She completely disregards what her son wants who owns the car and lets her stay in his home. When the accident occurs, mainly caused by the cat that wasn't supposed to be brought along, the grandmother moans "I believe I have an injured organ (O'Connor, "A Good Man Is Hard to Find," 125), not bothering to ask anyone else, including the children, how they are. As it becomes apparent that the man who approaches the family is the Misfit, the grandmother pleads and her selfish side emerges once again. Not once does she plead for the life of her son, the wife, the young boy, girl, or baby; she pleads only for her own life. She says to the Misfit, "You wouldn't shoot a lady, would you?" (127) proving that at that moment the only person she is concerned with is hersel...