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Title/Author/Significance:

"She would of been a good woman," The Misfit said, "if it had been
somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life?"

User Boobalan
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1 Answer

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Final answer:

The Misfit's line suggests that the grandmother in 'A Good Man is Hard to Find' could have lived up to her moral potential if she had been constantly faced with the threat of death, pushing her to a moment of grace where she recognizes her flaws and shows compassion.

Step-by-step explanation:

The Misfit's final line, "She would have been a good woman... if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life," from Flannery O'Connor's short story A Good Man is Hard to Find, carries profound implications about the nature and potential of human morality under the pressure of mortality. In this statement, the Misfit suggests that the grandmother would have reached her moral potential if she had been faced with the constant awareness of her imminent death.

This line underscores one of O'Connor's themes about the moment of grace that occurs when a character is faced with a crisis. It is at this juncture that the grandmother shows her potential for goodness by acknowledging her own flaws and extending compassion to the Misfit as if he were her own child, which only occurs under the threat of death.

User Cwissy
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