In "A Good Man is Hard to Find," some critics disagree with redemptive readings of the story's ending, including O'Connor's. They assert that the...

The
grandmother is not the agent of grace; on the contrary, the Misfit is the agent of grace. This
grace through violence is a trope of O'Connor's, suggestive, perhaps, of the earlier martyrs of
O'Connor's Roman Catholic Church. Because the grandmother has dismissed all her platitudes and
instead embraced her faith, repeating, "Jesus, Jesus...." she recognizes that, like
her, the Misfit is a sinner. But, it is her faith that saves her, while the Misfit recoils from
the grace she receives.

In O'Connor's own words, her story becomes

...a duel of sorts between the Grandmother and her superficial
beliefs and the Misfit's more profoundly felt involvement with Christ's action which set the
world off balance for him."

But, the grandmother
receives grace from outside of her because of her faith. Again, in O'Connor's words,

...you must believe in order to understand, not understand in order
to believe.

Further, O'Connor urges readers to "...
be on the lookout for such things as the action of grace in the Grandmother's soul, and not for
the dead bodies." For, grace can come to anyone who has faith, and it can come through acts
of violence. This is why the Misfit observes,

"She
would have been a good woman,...if it had been somebody ther to shoot her every minute of her
life."

Those who perceive the grandmother as neither
the recipient of grace nor the agent of grace, find the character satirical. In her efforts to
appear aristocratic and ladylike, she fails; in her recognition of "a good man," she
is completely wrong; her memory fails her and she leads the family to its destruction by
bringing her cat along and by identifying the Misfit. Her illusionary world is brought
down.