The Grandmother

The Grandmother

A Good Man Is Hard to Find embodies a great deal of religious symbolism as well as an emphasis of realism. The realism in this story is often overlooked, but the realistic aspects can be seen through the racist opinions expressed by the grandmother. The racist attitude of the grandmother is noticeable throughout the story. The grandmother's attitude reflects that of white American Southerners during the time in which the story was written. Southerners and all United States citizens were encountering serious changes in society. For example, black Americans were no longer slaves and were beginning to fight for their equality under the law, an aspect of life to which Southerners were still adjusting. Also, the United States had participated in World War II in order to stop Nazi Germany from annihilating the Jews which added to the racial tensions of the country. These aspects of real life are reflected in the grandmother's opinions and attitudes about life. There are several racist remarks and issues in this story. The first place in the text that racism is found is a negative reference about a black American child. "Oh look at the cute little pickaninny! she said and pointed to a Negro child standing in the door of a shack. Wouldn't that make a picture, now?" (203). The term pickaninny was used in the days of slavery. It was often used to refer to slaves in numbers, as if they were animals. The grandmother is aware that slavery is over, yet she continues to use the word to reference the black child. The most troubling part of this sentence is the grandmother's reference to the picture. If the child is a pickaninny, a reference to something that holds little or no value, why is the child something that the grandmother wants to remember? It seems that she prefers to remember black children in this way rather than think of them as people who deserve respect and prosperity. This view obviously represents the attitude of white American Southerners in reference to black Americans. After all, at one point white Southerners thought that it was in the best interest of black Americans to be slaves, because slaves could do no better for themselves even if they were free. Has it gone unnoticed that O'Connor chooses to use the word "niggers," although she knew that it was a negative reference to black Americans? The story was written at a time when black Americans were free and had made it publicly known that they preferred not to be called niggers. Around this time, the NAACP was arguing Brown v. Board of Education and several other court cases involving civil rights. The grandmother, who keeps up with current events, seems to have skipped the sections that would have educated her on the proper etiquette when referring to black Americans. The grandmother, who must also be aware that times are changing, continues to use the negative word to refer to black Americans. This passage is a clear representation of the grandmother's feelings about black Americans. At this point, the grandmother begins to tell a story about a little black boy who could not tell the difference between the word eat and someone's initials that are E.A.T. Once again, there is the use of the word nigger as well as the inheritance of a racist attitude. The grandmother tells the story, and the little boy, John Wesley, thinks that it is hilarious that the child did not understand the difference between the two words. This is disturbing, because the grandmother is not only making fun of the black boy, but she is teaching the children to make fun of the black boy too. The grandmother never indicates that it is sad that the boy misunderstood, only that it is funny. The only references to black Americans in this story are negative. Another thing which is disturbing is the reaction by June Star, who disagrees that the story is funny but for the wrong reason. June is dismayed by the story, not because she does not wish to participate in making fun of the child, but because she is more concerned with the material aspects of the story. The story is