Letter Example to the Grandmother

Hello grandmother, I am writing this letter to express my opinions and arguments on the subject matter "judgment." I found you as one of the most interesting characters appearing numerous times in the short story A Good man is hard to find. In the story, you have exhibited a selfish behavior that equips you with the right of judging others and deeming yourself right. Your basis of judgment relies on outward appearance. However, I fancy your judgments towards other characters as I believe human's character is not only based on the outward appearance but also in action.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

In the story, you are engrossed in appearance as a mode of defining character rather than the character to an extent you are more concerned about appearance rather than death (Sparknotes, 2018). I understand your position in the essence that, appearance is a mode used to define someone's characters. It can be the way a particular person dresses or presents him or herself, walks and talks. Appearance can be a mode used to define identity or character. But isn't it a hasty generalization to base a particular personal identity or character concerning appearance only? In the short story, we can see how you respond to the hypothetical death in case the misfit strikes you dead. Most of the emphasis is on how the strangers will perceive you upon visually interacting with them, rather than your family and your own life (Sparknotes, 2018). Maybe one of your worst fears is being perceived wrongly as you strived to maintain a good character through appearance.

In the car, John Wesley utters, "Go through Georgia so fast we don't have to look at it much." Bearing in mind that, you deemed Georgia as having a beautiful landscape, the exact word of your grandchildren represents the moral decay in today's generation (O'Connor, p 7). I believe in this quotation, and the children actions have portrayed their disrespectful character. As you told the grandchildren that people in your young days were more respectful to their home state, Wesley further deems Georgia "Lousy" proving beyond doubt they are disrespectful. People may critic your judgment as trying to elevate your position to be more culturally sensitive in comparison to the young generation, but their actions proved to define a character. Thus, I strongly agree with you on the way people present themselves and talk, as a means to define a character. Furthermore, can a character of specific people be a reflection of a particular group's character? I might also agree that the present generation has fallen short of respect and moral values. However, this is only subject to our opinion. Deeming the present generation as morally decayed might also turn out to be a fallacy.

The Misfits deems himself as not good in the story. I believe we can arrive at common ground by agreeing that both appearance and action take into account when defining the character of a particular person. In the story, we can see how you warn your children from stories learned of the misfit through the newspaper. Having in mind neither you nor your children have ever met the Misfits before, the story in the newspaper gives an idealistic impression of his character even without physically interacting with him. Furthermore, in the story, as you have an encounter with the Misfit, you utter the words, "Listen, I know you are a good man, who doesn't look like you have common blood you come from nice people." In this quotation, you have used appearance as a means to judge character, which in itself is okay. However, I tend to believe that the situation made you make such compliments in order to save your life. As we both can agree, the Misfits appearance in itself confirms he is a bad person. You are immediately able to confirm the Misfits identity and character upon seeing him physically. Even though the story does not state the physical attributes of the Misfits in the newspaper, you were able to match the characters described in the newspaper though appearance. Hence the subject matter can all be narrowed to actions and appearance as critical elements in judging character.

As the story takes a sad tone, you are forced to beg for your life. At this juncture, you deem yourself as a good woman to save your life. We can both agree that character of a particular person can also be judged depending on how one responds to a situation. The author suggests maybe you would have been a good woman all your life if you lived with a gun on your head (O'Connor, p 7). The author attempted to show that other external factors can dictate character. Hence, it is of paramount importance for us not only to judge people from actions and appearance but also to take into consideration many factors that may dictate a temporary behavior and presentation of a particular person. As you cried for Jesus help, the Misfit sarcastically says that Jesus should not have raised the dead. Even though the Misfit is considered as bad, cruel and dangerous, the scene further represents a dominant character of the Misfit. In this scene, you are subdued to the mercies of the Misfit, which would not have been the case if he had not met you before. Thus, we can both agree that circumstances do govern character. In the scene, you are displaying character timid and weak begging for your life. The Misfit, in turn, finds himself in a superior state exercising authority.

As you beg for life, you end up calling the misfits one of your babies. This in itself is a sign of faith that emphasizes on the path that God had forced you to take. In this setting, you have already judged your character as good and worth a place in heaven. The Misfit challenges you to leave everything you own and follow Jesus as your savior, and you end up deeming yourself not to be a true believer. In that juncture, you question the work of Jesus that further confirms you are not a true believer. The deeds have defined your character that makes you a non-believer. We thus arrive at a common ground that both appearance and actions are critical in defining a character. As you die at the end of the story you can identify the importance of the misfit's words. In the end, the misfits tell us it is better to be either good or bad in this world since only God can save you. Being a good person is only a reflection of what people perceive you. To effectively arrive at a solution, we agree that a person character is defined by a reflection of his appearance and actions.

Work Cited

O'Connor, Flannery. "A Good Man Is Hard to find. "Perrine's Literature: Structure, Thomas R. Arp and Greg Johnson. 9th ed. Boston: Michael Rosenberg, 2006.

Sparknotes https://www.sparknotes.com/short-stories/a-good-man-is-hard-to-find/characters/. 2018