a Good Man Is Hard To Find - Why The Misfit Kills Essay

Why Does the Misfit Kill?
“A Good Man is hard to Find” written by Flannery O’Connor is about a family, with three kids and a grandmother, who is on driving out of town for a relaxing vacation.   This family is heading towards an area where a convict named the Misfit has recently broken out of prison.   This convict ends up randomly coming upon this family after a horrible car crash.   By the end of the story, the Misfit ends up killing the whole family.   Even though the Misfit kills this family, he is not fully responsible for his actions.   The Misfit kills because he has had a terrible childhood, he is mentally unstable, and he simply likes what he does.    
The Misfit is a killer, but may not be responsible for all of his actions because of his awful childhood.   While he was a child his own father did not think he was normal, "My daddy said I was a different breed of dog from my brothers and sisters" (O'Connor).   This quote proves that he was different from the beginning.   His dad was implying that he was born with some mental problems and that it was very noticeable.   While he was a child he saw some pretty gruesome things.   For example, the Misfit said, '"...seen a man burnt alive once'" and "'I even seen a woman flogged"' (O'Connor).   These are two very disturbing memories that could have been the reason for the Misfits bad childhood.   Not only did the Misfit have a bad childhood, he was also mentally unstable.
Another reason for the Misfit's actions is the fact that he is mentally unstable.   These symptoms may have been started during his time in the armed services, "'Been in the arm service both land and sea'" (O'Connor).   This is a very huge trigger for mental illness because many people out of the armed services end up with some kind of problems and if they are not treated they can turn out to be very bad.   The Misfit also mentions that he does not remember what he had done and that the crime you do does not matter,   "'I found out the crime don't...