A good man is hard to find- Religeous symbolism
...still unclear if the grandmother meant to call the Misfit her child in a literal way or in a symbolic way. The grandmother in many ways is being symbolized as God, she is also symbolized as Jesus. Right after she told the Misfit that he is one of her own children, “The Misfit sprang back as if a snake had bitten him and shot her three times through the chest”(O’Connor 338). Before the Misfit shot the grandmother in the chest, she was trying to do everything in her power to “save” him and herself. She said many times to pray and to ask Jesus for help, however in the end she ends up dead. This is very much so like the story of Jesus and how he was killed by the very people he was trying to save. Also the number of times the grandmother was shot is contains religious symbolism. The Misfit shot the grandmother three times in the chest. The number three in Christian theology represents what is known as the Holy Trinity, or “The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit”. The character of the Misfit is truly a puzzling one. This is a man who is a killer yet very polite in the way he talks. Clearly he represents the evil side in this story and someone who is the opposite of the grandmother. He is an escaped convict who has taken the family hostage and eventually executes them all in cold blood. While he is a murderer, he is very soft spoken and ironically very polite in the way he speaks to the grandmother. While it is easy to label the Misfit as evil, there are several instances in the text where he can be compared to as Jesus. Jesus in the bible is the Son of God and the Son of the Virgin Mary. The Misfit makes a statement about his parents and the similarities between him and Jesus are profound. The grandmother first tells the Misfit that: “I know you’re a good man. You don’t look like you got a bit of common blood. I know you must come from nice people!” “Yes mam,” he said, “finest people in the world.” When he smiled he showed a row of strong white teeth. “God never made a finer woman than my mother and my daddy’s heart was pure gold.”(335) In Catholicism, the Virgin Mary is the highest proclaimed woman and is revered by many practicing Catholics. The Misfit saying that God has never made a better woman is like calling her the Virgin Mary. In Christian theology, the only being who is pure and without any imperfections is God himself. Therefore when he describes his parents this way, it is very much like Jesus himself describing his parents. The Misfit claimed to be wrongfully jailed for a crime that he did not commit, this is very much like the story of Jesus. Jesus was a person who was wrongfully accused of the crimes of blasphemy and eventually executed by crucifixion. The Misfit states that “it was a head-doctor at the penitentiary said what I had done was kill my daddy but I know that for a lie. My daddy died in nineteen ought nineteen of the epidemic flu…”(337). He was put in jail for the first time for a crime he did not commit and for a crime no person had evidence of. He was wrongfully accused and punished for something he was not guilty for. It is strange and difficult to see a good side in the character of the Misfit and to see a hopeful future for this character. It is obvious that he has no conflict within himself when the members of the family are killed one at a time. When he shoots the grandmother in the chest, he simply wipes his glasses and carries on like it was a trivial event. However, it is as though he realizes that he is an evil person and realizes that he could have turned out better if certain events in his life never happened and if he was present for a specific event. “I wisht I had of been there,” he said, hitting the ground with his fist. “It ain’t right I wasn’t there because if I had been there I would have known. Listen lady,” he said in a high voice, “if I had been there I would have known and I wouldn’t be like I am now.”(338). He is implying that if he actually saw Jesus with his very own eyes and if he had seen the things that Jesus has done, he would have been a believer and live a good life. This is something that affects many people today. Many do not believe in Jesus because they did not personally witness his life and see firsthand weather or not he did all those things that are told in the bible. It is human nature not to believe in something that we did not see or something that cannot be proved w...