A Good Man Is Hard to Find by Flannery O'Connor

The sky was a hazy grey, the air thick with humidity as the family set off on their road trip. Grandmother sat in the back seat with her cat, Pitty Sing, while her son, Bailey, drove and his wife, the children, and their baby sat in the front. The grandmother had convinced the family to change their travel plans and visit an old plantation house she had visited as a child. Despite Bailey's objections, the family agreed, and they set off on a detour through the countryside.

As they traveled down the deserted country road, the grandmother told stories of the old plantation house, but the family remained unimpressed. Suddenly, the car went off the road, and they found themselves stranded. The grandmother noticed a sign for a nearby barbecue restaurant, and she convinced the family to go and check it out.

They arrived at the restaurant, where they met the owner, Red Sammy Butts. They sat outside and enjoyed their meal while discussing the state of the world. Red Sammy declared that a good man was hard to find, and the grandmother agreed, nodding her head in approval.

After leaving the restaurant, they returned to the car, and the grandmother realized that the plantation house was not too far away. She began to insist that they visit it, but Bailey remained adamant about sticking to their original travel plans. However, the grandmother, determined to see the house, secretly tucked Pitty Sing under her dress, knowing that the cat would not be allowed in the car.

As they traveled further down the road, the grandmother began to worry that they were lost, and she realized that she had made a mistake by insisting on seeing the plantation house. She felt guilty and ashamed, but she kept quiet and hoped that they would find their way.

Suddenly, the car skidded off the road, and they crashed into a ditch. As they waited for help, they saw a car approaching in the distance. The grandmother recognized the car as the same one she had seen earlier at the restaurant, and she realized that it was the Misfit, a notorious criminal who had escaped from prison.

The Misfit and his two henchmen approached the family, and the grandmother tried to reason with him, hoping to save her family's lives. She told him that he was a good man, but he simply laughed and declared that there was no real good in the world. The Misfit ordered his men to take the family into the woods and kill them.

As they walked through the woods, the grandmother realized that she had failed her family, and she began to pray for salvation. The Misfit and his men lined the family up and prepared to shoot them. The grandmother, in a moment of clarity, saw the Misfit as a human being, and she reached out to him, calling him her son. The Misfit, surprised by the grandmother's sudden affection, paused for a moment and then shot her.

As the Misfit prepared to kill the rest of the family, he had a change of heart. He realized that the grandmother had shown him genuine love and affection, something he had never experienced before. He declared that he could not kill the children and ordered his men to let them go.

As the family fled, the Misfit had an epiphany. He realized that he had been living a life of sin and violence, and he decided to turn his life around. The story ends with the Misfit declaring that he wished he had been there when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead so that he could have seen it with his own eyes and believed.