The Misfit said, “I found out the crime don’t matter. You can do one thing or you can do another, kill a man or take a tire off his car, because sooner or later you’re going to forget what it was you done and just be punished for it” (O’Connor 949). Here the Misfit’s message to the grandmother is no matter what the crime is that the punishment will be the same even if the person can never remember what they did. Also, here I believe that The Misfit may have a psychological problem, or does he just not want to remember what he did, so he thinks doing crimes are fine if later you forget? The Misfit said, “then it's nothing for you to do but enjoy the few minutes you got left the best way you can by killing somebody or burning down his house or doing some other meanness to him. No pleasure but meanness” (O’Connor 950). Here it sounds as if The Misfit commits these crimes because he enjoys doing it like it’s the last minute he has in life, so he has no regrets of it. Is he doing this out of meanness in his heart but not for pleasure and killing people that caused him to build up this meanness is his way of solving the issue. The Misfit really shows the worst part of himself because he talks about killing people or crimes that he could have committed which seems clearly, he takes some pleasure in doing …show more content…
The Grandmother said, “Here this fellow that calls himself The Misfit is aloose from the Federal Pen and headed toward Florida and you read here what it says he did to these people. Just you read it. I wouldn't take my children in any direction with a criminal like that aloose in it. I couldn't answer to my conscience if I did” (O’Connor 940). The message here is that when the grandmother runs into a situation that is not going her way she manipulates others into doing what she wants, and she is very subtle about it. Now after seeing her manipulating her son in doing what she wants the same thing happens later in the story when she cross paths with The Misfit. The Grandmother said, “You wouldn't shoot a lady, would you?” removed a clean handkerchief from her cuff and began to slap at her eyes with it (947). Here The grandmother tries to manipulate The Misfit not to shoot her because she is a lady. However, does the grandmother really know what being a lady means because again she is in a situation that is not going the way she thought it would so clearly tries manipulating her way out of this situation. Now was the Grandmother really a victim or was she the villain because she manipulates those around