A grandmother can either be the glue that holds the family together with her wisdom and patience or the Berlin wall that keeps the family apart. In "a good man is hard to find", the grandmother leads the family to a horrible fate. A lie she thought was crafty later yielded an unexpected car accident and an unwanted encounter with an escaped convict named the Misfit. The grandmother made bad decisions on the trip ultimately handing the family over to death, which leaves only her at fault for the family's termination of existence.
The cat brought by the grandmother clearly caused the car accident in the story, " the instant the valise removed, the newspaper top she had over the basket under it rose with a snarl and Pitty Sing, the cat, sprang onto Bailey's shoulder", which led them to the Misfit who ended their lives. …