A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O'Connor (American Short Story) Presentation

"A Good Man Is Hard to Find” is a short story with opening comic episodes that belie and foreshadow a tragic ending. The
story contains elements of southern Gothic, a fictional genre that vests its stories with foreboding and grotesquerie and
replaces the romanticism of nineteenth century Gothic works with realism. However, southern Gothic retains the disturbing
elements of earlier Gothic works, whether in the form of a deranged character, a forbidding forest, or a sense of impending
doom. A southern-Gothic story may call up ghosts of the past, as Bailey’s mother does when she apparels herself in the
finery of an Old South grande dame and when she persuades her family to visit a Civil War-era plantation with a secret
panel.
The story first appeared in 1953 in Avon Book of Modern Writing, edited by William Phillips and Philip Rahv. It was
published again in 1955 in a collection entitled A Good Man Is Hard to Find, and Other Stories.

1. The American Short Story Case Study: Flannery O'Connor's A Good Man is Hard to Find Presentation by BADJI El Wafi & ZEROULOU Amal 10 Jan 2019

2. The American Short Story: An Overview The American Short story rose to prominence when Americans needed it most; especially during the 19th century . The earliest versions of the American short story can be tracked to Germany where writers like Heinrich Von Kleist and Hoffman were popularising a hybrid narrative form combining “ Sketch ” and “ Tale ”(The 1 st is performed and simple in structure, while the 2 nd is long and complicated). This hybrid narrative began to appear in newspapers across Germany and hence it was an easily accessible form of entertainment . Reaching America by the end of 19 th century , there was no major changes: the short story grew out of necessity rather than luxury. At that time Americans were digging for the American Dream and travelling west in quest of that treasure. People did not live in one town for more than few months and the novel witnessed a low profit. That is why early Americans short story writers such as Washington Irving and Herman Melville adopted the narrative form of a short story from Germans and made the reader able to finish the short narrative in one sitting which also gave newspapers a space to print. 10 Jan 2019

3. The result was a National Phenomenon that was beneficial to everyone (writers, readers, and publishers). Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorn helped create 2 types of short story during the 1960’s and 1970’s : The Art Short Story by Poe and the Entertainment Short Story by Hawthorne. The short story was published in newspapers or magazines and writers made comfortable livings by selling short fiction on a weekly or a monthly basis. During the 1980’s and 1990’s short story began to fall out of favour, it became less published and its audience grew less. For the last 10 to 15 years in America, Short Story has seen resurgence with writings discussed in 20 pages rather than 250 pages novels (easier to read and publish). But still there are only few National publications such as “The New Yorker”. To conclude, the American Short Story is like any form of art that flourished by the emergence of internet . Many online publications are becoming famous and spread globally to reach larger audience, becoming a successful hit the same way printed newspapers used to be nearly two centuries ago. 10 Jan 2019

4. Case Study: A Good Man is Hard to Find 10 Jan 2019 By Flannery O’Connor

5. Who is Flannery O’Connor? American novelist and short-story writer whose works, usually set in the rural American South and often treating of alienation, concern the relationship between the individual and God . 10 Jan 2019

6. About the Work A Good Man Is Hard to Find” is a short story with opening comic episodes that belie and foreshadow a tragic ending . The story contains elements of southern Gothic , a fictional genre that vests its stories with foreboding and grotesquery and replaces the romanticism of nineteenth century Gothic works with realism . However, southern Gothic retains the disturbing elements of earlier Gothic works, whether in the form of a deranged character, a hostile forest, or a sense of impending doom. A southern-Gothic story may call up ghosts of the past , as Bailey’s mother does when she apparels herself in the finery of an Old South grande dame and when she persuades her family to visit a Civil War -era plantation with a secret panel.  The story first appeared in 1953 . It was published again in 1955 in a collection entitled   A Good Man Is Hard to Find, and Other Stories .

7. Setting The story begins in Atlanta, Georgia , in the home of a family preparing for a trip to Florida . The action continues the next day as the family travels southeast on a highway and takes a side trip on a dirt road, where the car rolls over and lands in a ditch. The final scene takes place after the accident. The time is the mid-twentieth century . Landscape descriptions and the apparel of the characters indicate that the action occurs during the warmer months . Atlanta (1950s) Florida (1950s) 10 Jan 2019

8. Characters 10 Jan 2019

9. Bailey Impatient with his family, he is an Atlanta resident with a wife and three children. He and his family are preparing for a trip to Florida. 10 Jan 2019

10. The Grandmother Main character, a talkative elderly woman unidentified by name who lives with Bailey, her son, and his family. She tries to persuade Bailey to go to Tennessee instead of Florida. 10 Jan 2019

11. Bailey’s Wife A quiet woman who spends her time feeding or holding her baby. She is unidentified by name . Described as "a young woman in slacks, whose face was as broad and innocent as a cabbage." 10 Jan 2019

12. The Kids John Wesley & June Star : Bailey’s demanding, self-centred children. Their troublesome behaviour apparently results from a lack parental discipline. 10 Jan 2019

13. Red Sammy Butts Restaurant operator who agrees with Bailey’s mother that the world is in a state of decline . He chats with The Grandmother about The Misfit and the terrible state of the world, concluding that, "A good man is hard to find." 10 Jan 2019

14. Red Sammy’s Wife Waitress in Red Sammy’s restaurant. She observes that not a single person in the world is trustworthy. A “tall burnt-brown woman with hair and eyes lighter than her skin” who takes the family's order when they stop to eat lunch at The Tower. June Star insults her by making fun of the run-down building. 10 Jan 2019

15. The Misfit A serial killer who has escaped from prison. The Grandmother reads about him in the newspaper as the story begins. He tells The Grandmother that he has been a gospel singer, in the armed service, twice married, and undertaker, and a railroad worker. " His hair was just beginning to gray and he wore silver-rimmed spectacles that gave him a scholarly look. He had a long creased face." 10 Jan 2019

16. The Misfit’s Sidekicks Young men who escaped from prison with The Misfit . Bobby Lee : He is "a fat boy in black trousers and a red sweat shirt," who reminds June Star of a pig . Hiram : He wears khaki pants, a blue striped coat, and a gray hat. 10 Jan 2019

17. Plot Summary Bailey’s mother wants to go to Tennessee , not Florida . In an attempt to change her son’s mind, she calls his attention to a newspaper article saying that a dangerous prison escapee called The Misfit is on his way to Florida . “ I wouldn’t take my children in any direction with a criminal like that aloose in it," she says. Besides , she notes while turning to Bailey’s wife, the children have already been to Florida but have never been to east T ennessee . The daughter-in-law, who is feeding the baby, does not respond. 10 Jan 2019

18. The next day, the old woman sits in the back seat, between John Wesley and June Star , with her black valise. Hidden beneath it is a basket containing her cat , Pitty Sing . She does not want to leave the animal home alone for three days. But because Bailey does not like to check into a motel with a cat, she must hide it from him. Bailey’s wife is in the front seat holding the baby as her husband pulls out at 8:45. Although she is wearing slacks, her mother-in-law is dressed elegantly . 10 Jan 2019

19. 10 Jan 2019 “In case of an accident ,” the narrator says, “anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a l ady ”.

20. After cautioning Bailey against speeding, the old woman calls attention to points of interest along the way . John Wesley then urges his father to “go through Georgia fast so we won't have to look at much”. “If I were a little boy ,” his grandmother says , “I wouldn't talk about my native state that way. Tennessee has the mountains and Georgia has the hills”. “Tennessee is just a hillbilly dumping ground, and Georgia is a lousy state too ,” John Wesley responds. June Star agrees . 10 Jan 2019

21. The old woman holds the baby for a while, making faces at him. He reacts with a faint flicker of a smile. After John Wesley and June Star put down the comic books they have been reading, they eat lunch with their grandmother, who dines on a peanut-butter sandwich and an olive. She tells them a story about the time when a young man named Edgar Atkins Teagarden left her a watermelon on her front porch when he was wooing her. He had carved his initials into the rind. But, the old woman says, she never got it “because a nigger boy ate it when he saw the initials. E.A.T.!”. She tells June Star that Teagarden would have been a good man to marry because he had good manners, bought Coca-Cola stock, and died rich. 10 Jan 2019

22. The family stops at the Tower, a restaurant owned by Red Sammy Butts, and orders his specialty, barbecued sandwiches. Red Sammy sits down near them and complains about how untrustworthy people are but notes that he recently allowed two men to charge a gas bill . “ Now why did I do that ?”, Red Sammy asks. “ Because you’re a good man ,” the old woman says. The waitress, Red Sammy's wife, brings the food and says, “It isn’t a soul in this green world of God’s that you can trust .” Looking at her husband, she adds, “And I don’t count nobody out of that . . .”. The old woman asks Red Sammy whether he has heard about The Misfit, and his wife says she wouldn’t be surprised if he “attacked . . . this restaurant right here ”. “ A good man is hard to find ,” Red Sammy says. “Everything is getting terrible ” The old woman says Europe is to blame for everything because of all the money it gets from the United States. Red Sammy agrees . 10 Jan 2019

23. When the family is on the road again and approaching Toomsboro , the old woman recalls a plantation she visited in the area. She wants to see it again. Realising that Bailey won’t want to stop, she makes up a story to arouse the family’s appetite , saying the house has a secret panel behind which all the family silver was hidden during Sherman’s march through Georgia . The story intrigues the children, so she asks Bailey to turn off so they can see the house. He refuses. John Wesley begins kicking the back of the driver’s seat, and June Star complains to her mother. The baby starts crying. Bailey gives in . 10 Jan 2019

24. Following his mother’s directions, Bailey turns around and drives about a mile to a dirt road and swings onto it. After he goes a considerable distance, a “ horrible thought ” comes to his mother. It is so unsettling that she jerks upward, moving the valise and uncovering the basket. Pitty Sing jumps out and lands on Bailey’s shoulder. Bailey loses control of the car. His wife falls out her door, hugging the baby close. The children spill onto the floor, and the old woman ends up in the front beneath the dashboard. After turning over but righting itself, the car comes to rest in a deep ditch on the side of the road. Everyone is all right except Bailey’s wife, who has a cut on her face and a broken shoulder. The children are delighted with the idea that they have just been in an accident. The old woman decides not to tell anyone about the “horrible thought” that precipitated the accident: She had remembered that the plantation she visited was in Tennessee , not Georgia. While hey are all sitting in the ditch, she stands up and waves her arms as a black car resembling a hearse approaches. 10 Jan 2019

25. 10 Jan 2019 After it stops, two young men and an older man , the driver, get out. All are carrying guns …

26. The old woman thinks she recognises the driver, who is wearing glasses, but can’t place him. He greets them and tells one of the younger fellow, Hiram , to try to start the car. John Wesley asks why he is carrying a gun. The man tells his mother to have the children sit next to her because they “make me nervous.” June Star asks why he is telling them what to do. Then their grandmother remembers who he is . “You’re The Misfit!” she says. Apparently , she had seen his picture in the newspaper article about him or on a wanted poster. 10 Jan 2019

27. He confirms that he is indeed The Misfit, seeming pleased with himself. But he says it would have been better for everyone if she hadn’t remembered his face . Bailey, apparently angry with her for letting on that she recognized him, says something to her that makes her cry. The Misfit tries to calm her down . “ You wouldn’t shoot a lady , would you ?”, she says. The Misfit says he hopes he won’t have to. The old woman then says he looks like a nice man who comes from a good family . He says his mother and father were among the finest people you could meet. Then he tells the other young man, Bobby Lee, to watch the children, again noting that they make him nervous . 10 Jan 2019

28. Meanwhile, Hiram reports that it will take a half-hour to repair the car. The Misfit then orders Hiram and Bobby Lee to take Bailey and John Wesley into nearby woods because “the boys want to ask you something ”. After the boys leave with Bailey and his son, the old lady tells The Misfit, “I just know you’re a good man . You’re not a bit common”. The Misfit says he is not a good man ; his own father predicted that he would go wrong. He then apologises for his shabby apparel, saying, “We buried our clothes that we had on when we escaped and we’re just making do until we can get better ”. 10 Jan 2019

29. The old woman tells him he could live an upright life if he really wanted to and nobody would be “chasing you all the time”. Her words make him reflect . Two pistol shots ring out from the forest. “Bailey Boy!” the old woman says. The Misfit says he has done almost everything in his life. He was a gospel singer, a soldier, a husband (twice), an undertaker , a railroad worker, and a farmer. Moreover, he says, “[I] been in a tornado , seen a man burnt alive once, [ and] even seen a woman flogged”. The old woman repeatedly tells him to pray, although he had already told her that he doesn’t pray. He says he can’t remember why he went to prison but acknowledges that a prison therapist had told him that he killed his father. "[B] ut I known that for a lie," the Misfit says, claiming that his father died of the flu in 1919 . 10 Jan 2019

30. Hiram and Bobby Lee return from the woods. Hiram has Bailey’s shirt , which displays imprints of bright blue parrots. The Misfit puts the shirt on, then sends June Star , her mother , and the baby off to the woods with the boys. The Misfit and the old woman are now the only ones at the crash site. When she tells him that Christ will help him, he compares himself to Christ , saying he was wrongfully punished. He calls himself The Misfit, he says, because what he was supposed to have done wrong does not fit the severity of the punishment he received. 10 Jan 2019

31. There is another pistol shot, and the old woman begs for her life , saying she’ll give The Misfit all her money. Two more pistol shots ring out. “Bailey Boy, Bailey Boy!” the woman cries. Christ raised the dead, The Misfit says. But He shouldn’t have done so, he says, because “ He [thrown ] everything off balance . If He did what He said, then it’s nothing for you to do but [throw ] everything away and follow Him, and if He didn’t , then it’s nothing for you to do but enjoy the few minutes you got left the best way you can—by killing somebody or burning down his house or doing some other meanness to him”. 10 Jan 2019

32. The Misfit says he wishes he knew for certain whether Christ did or did not raise the dead. If he knew, he says, “I wouldn’t be like I am now.” He looks as if he is about to cry, and the old woman reaches out and touches him . The Misfit pulls back and shoots her in the chest three times . When Hiram and Bobby Lee return, they look down at the woman’s face, which is smiling . The Misfit tells them to dispose of her body in the woods, where the other bodies are lying . He picks up Pitty Sing the cat. 10 Jan 2019

33. “She was a talker, wasn’t she?” Bobby Lee says. “She would’ve been a good woman if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life ,” The Misfit says. “Some fun!” Bobby Lee says. The Misfit says, “Shut up, Bobby Lee. It’s no real pleasure in life ”. THE END :D 10 Jan 2019

34. Themes Salvation Through Faith : According to Christianity, anyone can become righteous and gain redemption, no matter the gravity of his or her wrongdoing, by humbly accepting Christ and placing faith in Him. When the old woman reaches out and touches The Misfit—calling him one of her own children— she achieves forgiveness for her sins—including her self-centred ways, her racism, and her lying—inasmuch as her selfless act signals her own contrite acceptance of Christ. Having received the grace of God, she becomes the “ good man ” who is hard to find. The Misfit, on the other hand, continues to reject Christ. However, the old woman’s insights and attempts to fire his faith have loosened the hold of his unbelief, thereby casting in doubt the validity of his raison d’être —to kill for pleasure. As a result , he tells Bobby Lee at the end of the story, there’s “no real pleasure in life.” 10 Jan 2019

35. Breakdown in Values : The behaviour of the characters suggests that the values of the world are breaking down. John Wesley and June Star are hellions with sassy tongues, but their parents show no inclination to discipline them. Although Bailey’s mother realises that the world has gone astray —“People are certainly not nice like they used to be ”— she is ignorant of her own shortcomings : She nags, she lies, she primps herself excessively, and she uses offensive racist terms such as “nigger” and “ pickaninny ”. Moreover, she observes that Edgar Atkins Teagarden would have been a good man to marry simply because he held Coca-Cola stock, and she begrudges the money America sends to Europe in the aftermath of WWII On the latter point, Red Sammy, owner of the Tower restaurant, agrees with the old woman even though his appearance indicates that he can well afford to sacrifice for those in need : “His khaki trousers reached just to his hip bones and his stomach hung over them like a sack of meal under his shirt” … 10 Jan 2019

36. … Red Sammy’s wife agrees with the old woman's observation that people aren't the way they used to be. In fact, she says the world is so bad that everyone is false and faithless: "It isn’t a soul in this green world of God’s that you can trust,” she [Red Sammy's wife] said. “And I don’t count nobody out of that, not nobody,” she repeated, looking at Red Sammy ”. The Misfit, of course, thinks the only worthwhile thing to do in life is to “ enjoy the few minutes you got left the best way you can—by killing somebody or burning down his house or doing some other meanness to him. No pleasure but meanness ”. His two young companions, apparently believe as he does. 10 Jan 2019

37. Disbelief Breeds Wrongdoing The Misfit rejects Christ as God because he lacks empirical evidence of His divinity and because he lacks faith in the testimony of the bible. If there is no God, The Misfit reasons, there is no moral order . Consequently, he believes that he may do whatever he pleases —even commit murder . 10 Jan 2019

38. Narration Flannery O'Connor presents the story in third-person point of view. Most of the time, the narrator reports the actions and conversations of the characters but not their thoughts . Such a narrative approach is called limited third-person point of view . However , in a few instances , she also reveals the characters' thoughts. This approach is called omniscient ( all-knowing) third-person point of view. Here are examples of the latter: “She didn't intend for the cat to be left alone for three days” (paragraph 10). “The grandmother wrote this down because she thought it would be interesting to say how many miles they had been when they got back” (paragraph 11). “She knew that Bailey would not be willing to lose any time looking at an old house” (paragraph 45). 10 Jan 2019

39. Foreshadowing The author sneaks into the story words and passages that foreshadow the tragic developments on the dirt road. Consider, for example, the reference to The Misfit by Bailey's mother in paragraph 1. It raises the possibility, however remote, that Bailey and his family will encounter The Misfit. Bailey's mother again foreshadows later developments when she dresses for the trip in her finest clothes so that "in case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady”. When the family is on the highway, Bailey's mother calls attention to a cemetery in a cotton field "with five or six graves”. There are, of course, six people in the car. When the old woman observes at the Tower restaurant that people aren't as nice they once were, the owner's wife says she thinks the world is so bad that everyone is false and faithless: (After the accident, the old woman flags down a black car, unaware that The Misfit is the driver. She trusts him to come to their aid .) 10 Jan 2019

40. After the travellers leave the restaurant and drive off, the author clues the reader that the trip is about to go wrong by noting that they are approaching the town of Toomsboro. When they turn off to see the plantation with the secret panel, they encounter a dusty dirt road that snakes this way and that, as well as dark forests—all signs that they are headed toward misfortune . 10 Jan 2019

41. For the trip to Florida, the old woman dresses in finery that reflects her image of herself as a lady . Of particular interest are her white gloves, the white violets on her blue straw hat, the white dot in the print on her navy blue dress, and her white organdie collar and cuffs. These appear to symbolize her opinion of herself as a righteous and principled woman with a sunny disposition. Nature mimics her—or does it mock her?—with its lustrous attire . As the car travels out of the Atlanta area , she calls attention to “the blue granite that in some places came up to both sides of the highway; the brilliant red clay banks slightly streaked with purple and the various crops that made rows of green lace-work on the ground. The trees were full of silver-white sunlight and the meanest of them sparkled”. (paragraph 13) 10 Jan 2019 Imagery: Color and Light

42. After The Misfit arrives and orders his cohorts to take her son and grandson into the woods, the old woman begins to reject her selfish image of herself , symbolised by her hat: "The grandmother reached up to adjust her hat brim as if she were going to the woods with him [Bailey] but it came off in her hand. She stood staring at it and after a second she let it fall on the ground" (paragraph 96). When Hiram and Bobby Lee take Bailey's wife, the baby, and June Star to the woods, all of the brightness disappears from the old woman's surroundings: "Alone with the misfit, the grandmother found that she had lost her voice. There was not a cloud in the sky nor any sun. There was nothing around her but woods" (paragraph 128). 10 Jan 2019

43. The old woman then realises that The Misfit's dark soul is similar to her own. She may not have committed atrocious crimes, but she is a sinner nonetheless. When she reaches out and touches The Misfit, she completes the transition from selfish old woman to selfless old woman . The misfit shoots her. But she dies with a smile on her face, as though she knows a genuinely bright future awaits her. 10 Jan 2019

44. Irony: Dramatic and Situational Dramatic Irony: Dramatic irony occurs when a character in a literary work fails to perceive what is obvious to the reader (or, in the case of a play, the audience). The most famous example of dramatic irony in literature occurs in Sophocles ' play,  Oedipus Rex , when he fails to realise what is clear to the audience : that a traveller he kills on a road is his own father and that a woman he marries is his own mother.   In "A Good Man Is Hard to Find," Bailey's mother views herself as a proper southern lady—genteel, upright, wise. But to the reader, her actions reveal her as another person. She primps excessively, lies, uses racist language, begrudges America's goodwill contributions to post-war Europe, and foolishly blurts out that she recognises The Misfit. Not until the story takes a tragic turn does she begin to realise that she is not who she thinks she is.  10 Jan 2019

45. Situational irony occurs when a development in a story is the opposite of what the reader expects . In “A Good Man Is Hard to Find ,” this type of irony occurs when an evil man, The Misfit, causes Bailey's mother to see herself for what she is , a sinner . Her enlightenment allows her to redeem herself by casting off her selfishness and reaching out to the deranged killer . When he shoots her, she dies with a smile on her face, happy that she had become a good woman before it was too late . In effect, The Misfit's evildoing leads to the old woman's redemption . 10 Jan 2019

46. Similes Flannery O'Connor makes every word contribute to the overall effect of a story. When she uses figures of speech, they are not mere dressing to demonstrate technical skill but integral parts of the story, as in the following highlighted simile describing the children's mother: "[She was] a young woman in slacks, whose face was as broad and as innocent as a cabbage . . . (paragraph 2). This simile, together with the words before it, stresses the mother's innocence and shyness, making it easy for others in her family to manipulate her. In Red Sammy's restaurant, she plays " The Tennessee Waltz" on the jukebox, perhaps suggesting that she wanted to go to Tennessee too but was afraid to speak up . Other effective similes in the story include the following: His [Bailey's] jaw was as rigid as a horseshoe (paragraph 49). Behind them the line of woods gaped like a dark open mouth ( paragraph 80). His [Bailey's] eyes were as blue and intense as the parrots in his shirt ( paragraph 95). [T]he grandmother raised her head like a parched old turkey hen . . . (paragraph 133). 10 Jan 2019

47. Like his mother, Bailey has an opportunity to redeem himself, an opportunity presented when he is “squatting in the position of a runner about to spring forward . . .” (§91 ). Apparently, he is considering rushing The Misfit to save his mother and family. But he remains fixed in that position; he fails to act. A moment later, when he and John Wesley are about to enter the woods with Hiram and Bobby Lee, he turns and shouts, “I’ll be back in a minute, Mamma, wait on me” (§96 ). Here, no doubt realising that he is going to his death, his last thought is of his mother. He is attempting to hearten and console her. And, for the only time in the story, he addresses her with an endearing name rather than ignoring her or growling at her. But is this behaviour enough to redeem him? After all, he addresses only his mother and ignores his wife. Moreover, he does not include John Wesley in his statement; he says “ I'll be back ” instead of “ we 'll be back .” 10 Jan 2019 The Family's Fate

48. As for Bailey's wife, she acquits herself honourably, it seems. First, she saves her baby when she falls out the door, suffering a broken left shoulder as she clings to the infant. When her turn to die comes, she sits dangling her left arm at her side while holding the baby with the other arm. The Misfit says, "Lady, would you and that little girl like to step off yonder with Bobby Lee and Hiram and join your husband?" Her astonishing response is, "Yes, thank you" (§124 ). Her response and her behaviour during and after the accident arouse the sympathy .   And what of John Wesley and June Star? Because they are so young, one may conclude that God does not turn them away. 10 Jan 2019

49. John Wesley: Misfit in the Making The narrator hints that John Wesley and The Misfit have more in common than the eyeglasses they wear. Consider that the boy embodies the sadistic philosophy of The Misfit: There is “no pleasure but meanness ” (§134 ). John Wesley is certainly mean: He insults his grandmother, disrespects his parents, and resorts to violence—kicking the back of his father’s seat (§50 ) and fighting with his sister (§25 )—to vent his wrath. Moreover, he maintains a hostile attitude toward the world: “Tennessee is just a hillbilly dumping ground,” he says, “and Georgia is a lousy state too” (§16 ).  Consider too that both The Misfit and John Wesley want to look beyond the pale of their mundane existence : The Misfit wishes he could have seen Christ and learned what was behind the resurrection story. John Wesley wants to see the secret panel in the plantation house and discover what is behind it. Oddly, The Misfit was a gospel singer who became a killer. John Wesley bears the name of a gospel preacher, John Wesley (1703-1791), and a killer, gunslinger John Wesley Hardin (1853-1895), who shot to death more than twenty men. 10 Jan 2019

50. The cat and The Misfit: Dangerous Escapees Like The Misfit, Bailey's mother's cat, Pitty Sing, is a dangerous escapee . After the old woman enters the family car in Atlanta, she hides Pitty Sing in a basket covered with a newspaper (probably the same one with the article about The Misfit), then places her valise on top, " imprisoning " him. Later, when the old woman discovers her mistake about the location of the plantation, she jerks upward, knocking over the valise. "The instant the valise moved," the narrator says, "the newspaper top she had over the basket under it rose with a snarl and Pitty Sing, the cat, sprang onto Bailey's shoulder," causing Bailey to lose control of the car. It ends up in a ditch. The narrator uses the word  snarl  one other time in the story, in paragraph 134 to characterise the sound of The Misfit's voice. After The Misfit and his partners commit the murders, the cat nuzzles against The Misfit, who then picks it up. Is Pitty Sing an agent of evil ?. 10 Jan 2019

51. Escapees' Apparel Raises Questions While on the lam, The Misfit, Hiram, and Bobby Lee bury their prison uniforms after obtaining other clothes. One can imagine that they killed the wearers of the apparel, as well as the owner of the " hearse-like " car. When they exit the car at the accident scene, The Misfit is wearing tight jeans and tan and white shoes but no shirt or socks . He is carrying a black hat. Hiram is wearing black pants and a red sweat shirt . Bobby Lee is wearing khaki pants, a striped coat, and a grey hat. 10 Jan 2019

52. Their apparel raises the following questions: Did Bobby Lee get his khaki pants from Red Sammy Butts, who is described in §34 as wearing “khaki   trousers”? If so, did the trio kill Red Sammy and his wife? Keep in mind that Red Sammy's wife had earlier told Bailey's mother , “I wouldn't be a bit surprised if he did attack this place right here .” Did Hiram, who is described as fat, get his red sweat shirt from Red Sammy Butts, who is also fat? The narrator says in  § 34 that Red Sammy is wearing a shirt but does not mention the colour . Where did the Misfit's black hat, Hiram's black trousers, and the black hearse-like car come from? In the first paragraph of the story, when Bailey's mother reads the newspaper article about The Misfit, she says, "[Y] ou read here what it says he did to these people." Were "these people" an undertaker and his family? 10 Jan 2019

53. Aaaand .. THAT’S ALL, FOLKS! Badji El Wafi Zeroulou Amal Sources : BooksTellYouWhy .com / Britannica / Cummings Study Guides . (Artworks and pictures from WordPress blogs and 9Gag ).