I found the religion focus in this story intriguing and I was interested to read about the authors religious beliefs ... my impression of the grandmother's insistence that the Misfit should pray really came off as useless and meaningless. If anything, it seemed to distract from any conceivable attempt they might have made to save themselves or their children. And it came across as disingenuous at best, why should she care for the Misfits mortal soul?geo wrote: Knowing that O'Connor probably included most of her readers among the damned, I still think we can enjoy a superbly well-told tale. It's telling to see what the Grandmother considers are qualities that make a "good" person. The Grandmother is religious only in a superficial way and comes out as a hypocrite. The larger question of this story centers around whether the Grandmother is redeemed at the end. What is the significance of her telling the Misfit: "Why you're one of my babies. You're one of my own children"? Is she reaching out to another human being? Does she feel a connection to the Misfit? Or is she just trying to save her own butt?
In the moments before she was shot and after her family was killed, my sense is that the Grandmother saw herself transformed into a religious figure, a disciple or maybe Jesus, and she reaches out to the Misfit and touches him saying 'you're one of my children' .. in some twisted way and under the extreme stress of knowing that her family is dead and that she had a significant part in that and knowing that she is about to die, I think she wanted to forgive the killer, as perhaps Jesus would.
It is a macabre story in many ways. The depth of evil of the Misfit and his henchman made me think of the Bad Man from Bodie, from EI Doctorow's Welcome to Hard Times. Yet the grandmother insists on trying to find good in the Misfit and his family. She is trying to appeal to a good side that he simply doesn't have. These attempts really highlight how completely evil he is.
One of the strangest lines in the story I think is Bailey's line, just before the Misfit is identified .. he says ... "Look here now, we're in a predicament!" He tries to go on but is shouted down by the Grandmother, identifying th eMisfit, which is unfortunate for all of them. If she had kept her mouth shut at that point, things may have turned out differently .. Bailey might have been able to talk their way out, although that seems unlikely. Still, it was their last, best chance.
When he speaks of predicament, I wonder who Bailey is really talking too? I felt this was aimed at the reader, not so much at the other characters. A sort of appeal to the reader. And what predicament is he referring too? The obvious answer is the car accident but I think this is intended to have wider meaning. A predicament of life circumstances (he doesn't seem happy) or a broader religious/spiritual predicament? And, of course, the situation is about to become far worse, and 'predicament' becomes a gross understatement.
I was also struck by how passively Bailey and his wife do as they are told by the Misfit. His wife actually says 'thank you' when the Misfit 'asks' her if she wants to 'join her husband' even when it is abundantly clear that ther husband and son were shot. Truely bizarre. I know they are being held at gunpoint but still their passivity and complete lack of resistance or of trying to deal with the Misfit was surprising, especially given the clear threat to their children's lives.