Meet the Cast
The Grandmother
A Granny Who Gets What She WantsNo two ways about it: the grandmother in "A Good Man is Hard to Find" is a manipulator. The first thing we learn about her is that she doesn't want to go to Florida...
The Misfit
The Mysterious MisfitThe Misfit doesn't get it. He just doesn't understand why he's been punished the way he has for what he did. In his own words, "I call myself The Misfit […] because I can't m...
Bailey
#1 DadBailey is the grandmother's only son, and the father of June Star and John Wesley. He is also the driver for the family trip. In his mind, he's in charge—and he won't let you forget it. We...
June Star
June Star is Bailey's daughter, and the grandmother's granddaughter. Though she's cute, she's just plain nasty to everybody, as we learn pretty early on in the story from the way she treats her gra...
John Wesley
June Star's eight-year-old brother, John Wesley is almost as nasty as she is, though not quite as bad. This might be due to the fact that he doesn't get the opportunity to say as much. His hobbies...
The Mother
The mother (of June Star and John Wesley) is a bland character who barely says or does anything in this story. Sadly, she does not play much of a role in the story until she dies. Most of the time...
Bobby Lee
Bobby Lee is the guy who smiles noticeably and apparently thinks killing people is "some fun." He's one of The Misfit's two accomplices. He's young—he's described as a boy—though we really know...
Hiram
Hiram is the skinnier of The Misfit's two "boy" accomplices. Apparently, he's the one who knows something about cars, since The Misfit asks him if the family's car is easily reparable. He doesn't s...
Red Sammy
Red Sammy, "the fat man with the happy laugh" (27), is the owner of The Tower, the BBQ restaurant where the family stops for lunch. And his dialogue gives us the title of the story:"A good man is h...
Red Sammy's Wife
Red Sammy's wife is a "tall burnt-brown woman with hair and eyes lighter than her skin" (29). She helps Red Sammy run The Tower restaurant and is apparently responsible for taking people's orders a...
Pitty Sing
The grandmother's cat, Pitty Sing, is named after one of the characters in The Mikado. The grandmother worries that Pitty Sing would asphyxiate himself if left alone in the house, so she brings him...
The Baby
The baby has little other role in this story than to occupy the mother's attention, and to give the grandmother one happy moment (when she plays with it on her lap). The baby's sleeping when it's s...