payment page
The grandmother cries out that the man in front of them is The Misfit, and he smugly reveals that she is correct. She begins to cry, both in response to their situation and Bailey’s burst of anger at her, while The Misfit explains that it would have been better for them if she had not recognized him. The grandmother goes on to ask if he would shoot a lady, and his response suggests that he would if necessary. She insists that he must be a good man, arguing that he looks as if he comes from a nice family. He agrees and sings the praises of his parents while instructing the second man, Bobby Lee, to watch the children.
Hiram, who had been inspecting the car, predicts that it will take a half hour to fix, but The Misfit instructs him to first take Bailey and John Wesley back into the woods. With desperation in his voice, Bailey tries to reason with them and, as he does, the grandmother accidentally breaks the brim off of her hat. Hiram and Bobby Lee escort Bailey and John Wesley into the woods, and the grandmother sorrowfully calls for them to come back. While she continues to try to convince The Misfit of his goodness, he argues that he is not the best person in the world but also not the worst and apologizes to the women for his appearance. The grandmother innocently suggests that he might borrow a shirt from Bailey’s suitcase.
Almost immediately after The Misfit replies in the negative to the grandmother’s question about praying, the sound of two gunshots comes from the woods. The Misfit, ignoring the shots, goes on to explain that he once was a gospel singer and has lived many different lifestyles. The grandmother begins repeating the word “pray” to herself over and over before telling him that he should have started praying the first time he was in prison. She suggests that perhaps he was imprisoned by mistake since he cannot remember his crime, but he insists that there are papers detailing his actions. In response to the grandmother’s pleas to pray, The Misfit says that he does not want Jesus’s help.
Hiram and Bobby Lee return from the woods holding the shirt that Bailey had been wearing. The Misfit asks Bailey’s wife if she, June Star, and the baby would like to go into the woods to join her husband, and she helplessly agrees. Now alone with The Misfit, the grandmother can only bring herself to say “Jesus.” He emphasizes that Jesus changed everything and even compares himself to Him, explaining that he calls himself “The Misfit” because he believes his punishment does not align with whatever he did wrong. Three more shots ring out from the woods, and as the grandmother grows more desperate, The Misfit tells her that Jesus should not have risen the dead as it ruined the balance of the world. In a daze, she admits that maybe Jesus did not raise the dead after all, and The Misfit emphasizes that he would be a different man if he knew for sure whether He had such a power.
The grandmother suddenly has a moment of clarity and calls The Misfit one of her own children. This act shocks him and causes him to shoot her three times in the chest. Hiram and Bobby Lee return to the ditch and look down on the grandmother’s body, and The Misfit instructs them to toss her away with the rest of the family. He suggests that she would have been a good woman if there had always been someone to shoot her and admits that life has no real pleasures.
