The Doll House and a Good Man Is Hard to Find -Narcissistic View of Nora and Grandmother

In the beginning, the grandmother is reading the newspaper where she then learns about the Misfit who escaped prison. The grandmother says, “I wouldn’t take my children in any direction with a criminal like that aloose in it. I couldn’t answer to my conscious if it did” (O’Connor 485). This quote foreshadows as the accident happened with her guidance on the road it is what led them to steer off the main road. They were on and into the arms of who they call the Misfit and his

The road that the family in the story travels symbolizes good up until the point the grandmother all but forces the family to make a detour onto a dirt road that leads to their demise. She is the unlikely antagonist in the story. A serial killer named, The Misfit, is the protagonist despite his homicidal actions. Both characters in the story help to illustrate how a relationship with God is perceived good and sacrilegious behavior is perceived evil. Grandmother creates the families down fall by forcing them down a memory, which doesn't exist. "The thought was so embarrassing that she jumped up...the house she had remembered was in Georgia not Tennessee."(p. 198) Grandmother by the end of the story, is no longer the subtle antagonist. She is blatant. If Grandmother were to be removed from the story, no harm would befall the family. Thus, proving that the Grandmother is the direct source of evil. The Misfit saves the family from Grandmother through killing them. He redirects their souls back from whence they came. The Misfit says that Grandmother "...would have been a good woman had somebody been there to shoot her every day of her life". (p. 203) Had some one been there to redeem Grandmother's soul everyday of her life she would have been a good woman. I guess a Good Woman is Hard to Find

We all love ourselves. That seems to be such a true statement that we do not bother to look it as a possible disorder. A person who loves himself is one thing but one who loves his reflection is another. A healthy person will love himself and his accomplishments. That person is all around happy and satisfied with himself. On the other hand one who is in love with his reflection is cause for narcissism. One who depends on the existence of a reflection to produce the emotion of self-love. It also makes it impossible for the person to tell himself what is reality or what is fantasy. The narcissist does possess the desire to love and to be loved. If he cannot love himself, he has love his reflection. Narcissist are five (or more) of the

The Grandmother was trying to appeal to the Misfits good nature, by saying "You're not a bit common!" (CITE). She was trying to explain to him that she believed that he was not an ordinary person, he must have come from good parents. The Misfit respond by simply saying "… I ain't a good man" (CITE). When face to face with the Misfit the Grandmother said "Why you're one of my babies. You're one of my own children!" (CITE). This was her last attempted to save her life. In this last attempted she reached out and put her hand on the Misfits shoulder. As soon as she touched him he jumped back and shot her three times. It was this final act, to appeal to him for his soul, not her own that scared the Misfit into quickly shooting her. In the end, she had finally reached God, not to save herself, but for the benefit of someone else.

The Grandmother heads the family down the dirt road by drawing the children with stories of a domain she went to in her youth. The Grandmother provides for her an opportunity to pompous examinations lead her, and her family to destiny. Once on the earth road, the family has an incident, an interchange condition that was nudged by Grandmother. After the family has the setback they encounter the Misfit. At last one after an interchange is shot and executed by the

In addition to the Grandmother’s actions, she is the cause of the family’s fate when she makes a mindless decision to blurt out the identity of the Misfit. In addition to the Grandmother’s actions she is the cause of the family’s fate when she makes a mindless decision to blurt out the identity of the Misfit. When her family members are lured into the woods, the Grandmother only tries to spare her own life. She makes suggestions that “the Misfit is too good a man to shoot a lady” (Hendricks 204). The Grandmother resorts to motherhood to manipulate the Misfit into being one of her babies to overcome him.

The family notices a young poor black boy and a visit to a café. The next major plot twist is the grandmother wants to visit a house or plantation she remembers as a young woman. She thinks it is in Georgia but in Tennessee. This leads to their venture down the dirt road ending in their car crash.

“Narcissistic Personality Disorder: A Guide to Signs, Diagnosis, and Treatments”, a Psycom article written by Christina Gregory Ph.D., is an article that explains the overall concept of narcissism as a personality disorder as well as its symptoms and causes. The author explains narcissism by explaining that “It is characterized by an inflated sense of self-importance, a lack of empathy for others, and a great need for admiration.” Narcissists, who tend to have an indefinite view of self-superiority, typically are not happy or become upset when the people surrounding them are not consistent with their need to feel admiration or praise regularly. These individuals do have an overstated sense of entitlement and self-absorption who tend to belittle the people around them and have trouble giving any credit to anyone else as well as allowing themselves to be social critiques, but they are considered the ones who usually are not able to handle when criticism is bestowed upon them. Narcissism can range from moderate to severe and has the ability to tear down and drain any relationship they try to build as it is unfulfilling to the narcissist and not enjoyable for the potential

Narcissism: is a term that originated with Narcissus in Greek mythology who fell in love with his own image reflected in a pool of water. Currently it is used to describe the pursuit of gratification from vanity, or egotistic admiration of one's own physical or mental attributes, that derive from arrogant pride.

The irony of the story is that it is under the directions of the Grandmother that leads the family into a run in with The Misfit, which is what she told her son she would never do. Throughout the trip we are given examples of the racism that was present during this period. The Grandmother makes multiple racist innuendos such as her observation of the “cute little pickaninny,” and her statement that “little niggers in the country don’t have things like we do” (O’Conner 2). During the ride, The Grandmother convinces Bailey to take a detour down an old, dirt road which supposedly leads to an old southern plantation home she once visited. The road leads them deep into the woods where an accident is caused by The Grandmothers cat, which leaves the car upturned and the family stranded. It is then the family encounters The Misfit, whom discovers them stranded as he was passing by. He approaches the family with two young men and shortly after The Grandmother lets out a scream as she realizes him. During their encounter, the readers are given a small glimpse into the deranged mind of The Misfit. It is apparent that he has an upturned moral compass. He gains pleasure from committing crimes and the meanness that goes along with it. During his conversation with the Grandmother, he slowly has his men take members of the family out

Furthermore, the family unfortunately encounters The Misfit, the criminal that the grandmother has warned the family about, and he ends up teaching the grandmother her best and final lesson in life about morals. The family was driving down the road when the car spun out of control as a result

So let me explain. A narcissist, for lack of a better description, is someone that is obsessed with themselves. Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) is a disorder that causes the person to have an excessive want for admiration. Doctor Linda Martinez, author of “The Narcissist In You Life,” states: “They manufacture their own reality. They detest the truth, especially when it is pointed out to them.”

When I think of someone as being narcissistic, I think of someone who is vain, only cares about themselves and sees them self above others.

If people are capable of instances of selflessness and goodness, why do they so often act in a flawed, selfish manner? When our actions are scrutinized, we mostly act as we should; whether it means performing a task up to expectations or acting more responsible. However, our actions often revert to be more self centered in everyday life. O’Connor highlights this shift through the Misfit when he highlights how, “she would of been a good woman if it had been someone there to shoot her every minute of her life.” From this statement I began to question why the grandmother only acted in this selfless manner in her final moments. Throughout the majority of this story, she lacks compassion and with a false sense of superiority. This is evident in

The family stops at a restaurant to get a bite to eat, and we find out that the two parents, Bailey and his wife, do not really care for the Grandmother. The Grandmother asks Bailey to dance, but he just declines and ignores her. Bailey’s wife does not seem to care either. They then continue on the road, and the Grandmother begins to tell the story of a house that she really enjoyed passing. She really wanted to go there, so she persuaded the children to want to go as well. After a long time of complaining, they finally convince their father to head back toward this house. They go down this road when all