Page 18 - Middle Georgia State University - Knighted 2019

who are not as fortunate, her perception of her own superiority regarding social standing and race
is clear.

Teagarden’s function is two-fold: not only is he used to expose the grandmother’s racial
superiority complex, but also he illustrates the grandmother’s perception of a gentleman,
marking a defining moment in the story in which O’Connor emphasizes that the grandmother’s
perception is centered around appearances; Mr. Teagarden is a “very good-looking man and a
gentleman,” not to mention a “wealthy man” (O’Connor, “Good Man” 251). Thus, in the
grandmother’s eyes, he is a good man.

Once the family encounters The Misfit, manipulation becomes the grandmother’s
primary method of trying to control him and save herself. She tells him that he does not look like
he has “common blood,” implying that he must come from a higher social status (O’Connor,
“Good Man” 257). Owens explains, “The grandmother's value system is founded upon particular
notions of aristocracy and heredity. According to this system, there is a specific, superior class of
people, the gentility” (101). Therefore, how could a gentleman possibly shoot a lady? When that
tactic fails, she tries to convince him that he is a “good man . . . [and] must come from nice
people!” (O’Connor, “Good Man” 257). To this, The Misfit agrees: “Yes mam . . . [the] finest
people in the world” (O’Connor, “Good Man” 257). He does not, however, agree to being a good
man, and says, “Nome, I ain’t a good man” (O’Connor, “Good Man” 257). He is upfront about
who he is and he does not try to convince anyone otherwise, contradicting the archetypal model
of a murderer. In her final attempt to save herself, the grandmother resorts to a tactic of prayer.
She tells him that “If [he] would pray . . . Jesus would help [him],” for she believes that surely a
Christian would never, ever shoot a lady (O’Connor, “Good Man” 259).

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