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The Grandmother’s Hat
Described as a “big black battered hearse-like automobile,” the Misfit’s car is a clear symbol for death when it enters the family’s story of petty conflicts. A hearse, a type of car that is unusually long and designed to carry the coffin to a funeral, is an unambiguous indication that the idea of death has arrived—for both the family and in the mind of the reader. Sure enough, it turns out that the car’s passengers—the Misfit, Bobby Lee, and Hiram—are killers, and they end up murdering Bailey’s entire family. The hearse-like car thus also symbolizes that the Misfit and his henchmen are carrying a history of violence and death with them.
The Misfit’s Car Quotes in A Good Man is Hard to Find
The A Good Man is Hard to Find quotes below all refer to the symbol of The Misfit’s Car. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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A Good Man is Hard to Find
Quotes
The car continued to come on slowly, disappeared around a bend and appeared again, moving even slower, on the top of the hill they had gone over. It was a big black battered hearse-like automobile.
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The Misfit’s Car Symbol Timeline in A Good Man is Hard to Find
The timeline below shows where the symbol The Misfit’s Car appears in A Good Man is Hard to Find. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
A Good Man is Hard to Find
...road, and behind the ditch are only woods. A few minutes later, they spot a car. The Grandmother waves her arms. The car, a “big black battered hearse-like automobile,” approaches. The...
(full context)
