A Good Man Is Hard To Find by Flannery O'Connor is one of the most famous short stories in American history. A Good Man Is Hard to Find is a haunting tale that exemplifies grace in extreme situations as well as the threat of an intruder. The story tells of an elderly grandmother and her family who take a road trip to Florida. Grandma is a stubborn old woman with a low sense of morality. During the trip, the grandmother convinces her son to take a detour which results in a car breakdown and an encounter with a convicted fugitive, The Misfit. Although the grandmother begs for mercy, the Misfit kills the rest of her family. Through the grace she finds in her extreme circumstances, Grandma calls the Misfit her own and begs him to spare her life. The Misfit does not oblige her and states after her death, "She would have been a good woman if someone had shot her every day of her life." Through the disturbing and shocking depiction of her grandmother's death, Flannery O'Connor gives the reader a sense of the menacing power of an intruder and the idea of ​​extreme situations leading to a state of grace. The reason for such a powerful work could be due to Flannery O'Connor's religious upbringing and the state of the nation at the time. During much of the 1930s and 1940s, the United States was a fairly isolated nation. While much of Europe and the rest of the world declared war on Germany, the United States maintained a rather pacifist stance and refrained from military involvement (World War II: Isolationist America). Many citizens in the United States feared intrusion by outside forces, especially after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, which changed the... middle of paper... evil character, The Misfit, is capable of helping his grandmother find grace makes him redeemable too. Whatever Flannery O'Connor's reason for writing A Good Man Is Hard To Find, it will forever be one of her best works, as well as one of the best and most unusual short stories of all time. Works Cited Gordon, Sarah. "Flannery O'Connor (1925-1964)." New Encyclopedia of Georgia. Georgia Humanities Council and University of Georgia Press, March 3, 2009. Web. March 10, 2012. Shmoop editorial team. “A good man is hard to find” Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., November 11, 2008. Web. March 10, 2012. “World War II: Isolationist America.” Campaigns of the Second World War. Historical children's clothing, 31 December 2002. Web. 10 March. 2012. .