A Good Man Is Hard to Find tells the reader about a typical American family going on a short trip to Florida. A chain of coincidences makes them encounter a dangerous gang on a lonely road. The gangsters mercilessly kill the Baileys one by one while philosophizing about religion and morality.
In this article prepared by our editorial team, you’ll find A Good Man Is Hard to Find short summary with pictures.
The Bailey family are to go to Florida on a short trip. The Grandmother objects: she would prefer to go to Tennessee. She tells Bailey that going to Florida is dangerous. She has read in a newspaper that a hardened criminal called The Misfit has escaped the prison. He is heading toward Florida, too.
Still, to Florida they are to go. The following day, all of them get into the car: Bailey, his wife, three children, and the Grandmother. The old lady is dressed up. In case of an accident, she wants to let those who will find her body know that she was a lady. She secretly takes her cat with her in a basket.
The family stops at The Tower for lunch. The Grandmother has a conversation with Red Sam, the host of the place. They conclude that people are no longer as friendly and kind as they used to be. Nobody can be trusted these days: a good man is hard to find.
The Grandmother insists on visiting an old plantation she admired in her youth. Bailey resists at first but then surrenders. They drive the dirt road for a while when the Grandmother realizes that the plantation is in another state. Her feet jump up, the cat escapes his hide and jumps on Bailey’s shoulder. The car turns right side up off the road.
June Star, the daughter, is disappointed by the fact that no one is killed. However, the situation is bad enough: the car is ten feet below the road level. The Baileys are trapped in the wild, with not a single living soul in the area. They see a large black automobile with three people inside approaching. The hearse-like car stops, and the men come up to the family.
The men are holding guns in their hands. One of them is wearing silver-rimmed spectacles. The Grandmother has a feeling that she has seen the man before. Then she realizes that she saw his photo in the newspaper. “You’re the Misfit!” – she exclaims foolishly. Once they have recognized the criminal, he can not afford to let them go alive.
The Grandmother tries to persuade the Misfit not to kill her. She says she knows the Misfit is a good person from a family of “nice people.” The latter tells his men to take Bailey and John Wesley (the son) to the forest as if intending to ask them something. Bailey promises to return in a minute. Later, two shots are heard from the forest.
Bailey’s wife begins to breathe heavily. The Misfit offers her to join her husband. His companions take Bailey’s wife to the forest with June Star and the baby. The Grandmother is left alone with the criminal. She doesn’t give up, trying to persuade him to let her go. Meanwhile, other shots are heard from the forest.
The Grandmother calls the Misfit one of her babies. When she touches his shoulder, he shoots her three times through the chest. When the other two gangsters return, he orders them to carry her body to the others in the forest. He remarks that the Grandmother would have been a good person if someone could shoot her every minute of her life.
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