In the beginning of the quote it states that, “The Misfit’s eyes were red-rimmed and pale and defenseless-looking”. This can suggest that the grandmother‘s words beforehand may have triggered a small change towards the Misfit. He had previously stated that he enjoyed being mean because that was who he was and he embraced it. In his life he decided what was right or wrong. After encountering the grandma and hearing the words she pleaded to him, he noticed that she did not live such a life as him.
This meaning that instead, she lived a life in terms of the situation she was placed in Atheme this short story can portray is how people don‘t appreciate their life as much as they should.
For instance, in the last sentence of this quote, the Misfit says, “She would have been a good woman if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life”. This particular sentence can be seen as the woman “becoming” a good person but only when facing death.
She began to tell the Misfit that he was a good person and tried to play the “you’re better than this” card by telling him that he still has the opportunity to be “saved”, Out of fear, she tried to find any way possible to save herself by bringing up the fact that she was a woman or mentioning how Jesus can forgive him for the sins he had committed. In terms of putting this into a wider perspective, people tend to only change themselves when facing a tragedy or some eye-opening event.
If they don‘t encounter such experiences they would remain the same and hold off on change. Instead of changing themselves they shrug it off until necessary. That’s why this particular quote is unique and relatable to the human life. It was only when the grandma herself face death that she “changed” how she previously was in order to save her own life. So, basically, the Misfit implies that if someone were to be held at gunpoint their whole life, they might not do certain things they would do before because they are trying to appreciate every last second they have up until the trigger goes off.
Appreciating Life in A Good Man. (2023, Apr 06). Retrieved from https://paperap.com/the-appreciation-of-life-in-a-good-man-is-hard-to-find-a-short-story-by-flannery-o-connor/