The grandmother in the novel is a representative of modern people in Western Civilization society. On the surface, she was merciful and nostalgic: she would take the cat with her when she went outside for fear that nobody looked after it. But in nature, she was selfish and superficial, turning her back on religious belief. Her behavior symbolized egocentrism in Western Culture. She had been trying to persuade the family to go to East Tennessee instead of Florida with the excuse that she wouldn’t want them to have a risk there due to the Misfit at large. But it wasn’t true. Actually she said so with the aim of visiting friends. In addition, she had extremely superficial values: she judged someone only by his appearance and his property. She dressed in her best clothes and an ostentatious hat when going for this trip in order that people would consider her as a rich and noble lady if she died from a car accident on the highway occasionally. She also gave a lively description about a man called Edgar Atkins Teagarden who once wooed her. She said she was supposed to marry him because he was a rich gentleman. She admired superiority in class and race, turning a blind eye to miseries around her. She failed to realize poverty and race discrimination black people face. She was often a liar, completely putting the religious belief all behind. However, facing the life-threatening situation, she thought of God and tried to stop the Misfit repeatedly.
《好人难寻》中的宗教主题(3):http://www.chuibin.com/yingyu/lunwen_206269.html