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Grace In Flannery O Connor's A Good Man Is Hard To Find

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In her short story “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” Flannery O’Connor tackles the issue of grace, showing that no matter the person, everyone can attain and earn grace. The grandmother and the Misfit, though they appear to be quite different people, are both the same at the core: They are sinners in need of Christ. The Misfit and the grandmother are both capable of change and accepting God, but only the grandmother reaches this revelation before her death. Grace is one of the most important ideas in the Bible and Christianity. Grace is “the love of God shown to the unlovely; the peace of God given to the restless; the unmerited favor of God,” (Holcomb). It’s the belief that God grants humans salvation and the He can grant it to anyone, even the least likely candidates. Grace has innumerable definitions depending on who is asked. Some people define grace as the outward expression of the harmony of the soul. Others define grace as that which saves the worst of us. Chapter 2:8-9 of Ephesians in the New International Version Bible states that “it is by grace you have been saved, through faith- and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works, so that no one can boast,” (New International Version Bible, Ephesians 2.8.9). O’Connor has a specific way of defining and showing grace. She created tales of hypocrisy, sin, and forgiveness that are violent but honest. Often depicting grace as a decision just before death, she shows the harsh reality that one must

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