Southern Grotesque

In "A Good Man is Hard to Find," Flannery O'Connor makes use of the southern gothic or sothern grotesque style. One component of this particular style is that it points out some unpleasent aspects or truths of southern culture. These aspects include racism, poverty, violence, and corruption, among others. "A Good Man is Hard to Find" contains a small sampling of racism, when the family drives by the young black child who is not wearing any pants, which at the same time is an example of poverty. The grandmother goes on to say that the kid probably didn't have any, and that most black people in the country don't have things like they do. I left this part out of quotes because of the racist word the grandmother uses. Flannery also includes a couple of examples of moral corruption, the big one being the main story of the Misfit killing every member of this family. The other example that she uses is in the family's conversation with Red Sam, when he tells about the two young men who didn't pay for they gas that they got.
Another component of southern grotesque is that the plot relies on disturbing or ironic events, but at the same time, are realistic. This is the case in "A Good Man is Hard to Find." The disturbing events are the obvious ones of the killing of the family for no good reason. The ironic event in this story is the fact that the grandmother was trying to keep the family away from Florida because of the Misfit, but then finds a way to lead them right to the man. In reading the story for a second time, this event would be almost impossible to reenact, with the cat jumping on the driver, and the Misfit less than a mile away watching the event.
The last component of southern grotesque are the grotesque characters. There can be physical grotesques, or sectular grotesques. Physical grotesques are characters that have some sort of physical ailment or deformity. I could not find any physical grotesques in this story. Sectular grotesques, on the other hand, are characters who have rejected God's will and will do just about anything to save the body. I believe that the Misfit is an example of this. He does not follow God and is basically living for himself. He tells the grandmother that he doesn't want any help because he believes he is doing alright by himself. He also says that "If he didn't (raise the dead), then it's nothing for you to do but enjoy the few minutes you got left the best you can by killing somebody or burning down his house or doing some other meanness to him. No pleasure but meanness."