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The unforeseen savior in the story turns out to be the villain, The Misfit. O’Connor’s
dualistic representation of this character reveals that he is the darkness, yet he brings the light.
He represents the evil that is present within all of us that can lead to our ultimate destruction, yet
he also represents the evil that O’Connor uses to awaken the grandmother into clarity, awareness,
and finally rebirth. As the grandmother experiences her enlightenment upon death, The Misfit
too, experiences a change in awareness. His change is evident in his shift in attitude after
shooting the grandmother, as well as in the emotions he experiences prior to shooting her.
During their conversation about Jesus raising the dead, The Misfit’s vulnerability, too, becomes
apparent as “his voice seemed about to crack” when he says, “if I had of been there I would of
known and I wouldn’t be like I am now” (O’Connor, “Good Man” 260). There is desperation in
his voice as he seeks understanding. Prior to the grandmother’s murder, he revels in his sadistic
motto of “No pleasure but meanness” (O’Connor, “Good Man” 260). After shooting the
grandmother, his awareness shifts to see killing as “no real pleasure in life” (O’Connor, “Good
Man” 261). For The Misfit, his shift reveals a possible awakening of his conscience such that
killing will no longer equate to pleasure. Through the grandmother’s death, and perhaps her
recognition of authentic connection to him, he is awakened to a greater possibility of life.
O’Connor believed that “Redemption is meaningless unless there is a cause for it in the actual
life we live” (O’Connor, Mystery 33). While the grandmother’s salvation and rebirth came at the
cost of death, The Misfit’s awakening will allow for the possibility of a new life, a life in which,
in O’Connor’s worldview, he will now have the opportunity to be redeemed by Christ for the
murders he has committed.

O’Connor’s approach to conveying a spiritual message is, at the very least, less than
orthodox, yet she achieves what is intended. Through the two main characters of the

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