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Thematic essay on good country people
Literary analysis of good country people
Thematic essay on good country people
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This short story authored by Flannery O’Connor illustrates the innocence and naiveté of two of the main characters, Joy (Hulga) and her mother, both of whom reside alone in a rural area in the 1950’s era. The former has the misfortune of being taken advantage of by a traveling bible salesman who succeeds in deceiving the two. He may not have raped the young woman, but does end up violating her in a terrible act. Good Country People The short story, Good Country People is a prime example of an age old battle: Good versus Evil. The story begins with a description of one of the four main characters, Mrs. Freeman, the wife of the hired man who came under the employment of Mrs. Hopewell. Although Mrs. Freeman spends a great …show more content…
He cast himself as being a “good Crustian,” simply trying to earn his way for the time being. He himself, upon initially meeting Mrs. Hopewell, called her a “good Crustian woman, he could see it in every line of her face.” He goes on to describe himself as simply a simple country boy. In doing so, he reinforces what we the reader believes about him upon reading the first description of this “walking, living and breathing evil.” He does his best to ingratiate himself to these hosts, the Hopewells. He overstayed his peddling visit, so late that the Mrs. Hopewell invites him to dine with her and the daughter Joy. This is when the evil man first lays eyes on the daughter, probably already noticing her handicap and her vulnerability; planning and scheming on how he will work himself into her good graces and then take advantage of her. He probably sees that she is capable of being taken in by somebody such as himself. After all, even though Joy was a highly educated girl/woman, she is naïve in a way that he can sense. He then plots to make his move, getting her to agree to meet up with him on Saturday; in her naiveté Joy dreams that night of seducing him, not knowing that the fateful outcome of the upcoming meeting with him will turn into a life-changing experience for her. According to an anonymous review online of OConnor’s short story, the following sentence describes Joy very well: “Somehow all that the daughter learned in her vast education is useless in the face of real evil.”(The Reading
Flannery O'Connor's "Good Country People" is a story told through the examination of the relationships between the four main characters. All of the characters have distinct feelings about the others, from misunderstanding to contempt. Both Joy-Hulga, the protagonist, and Manley Pointer, the antagonist, are multi-faceted characters. While all of the characters have different levels of complexity, Joy-Hulga and Manley Pointer are the deepest and the ones with the most obvious facades.
When an individual has to do a compare and contrast for a short story in the realm of literature, I believe that you have to take into account the deeper meaning in a short story. You have to read between the lines, one has to know what the symbols and what metaphors are. “A symbol is something that has a literal identity, but also stands for something else—something abstract—like an idea, a belief, or an emotion. A metaphor is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between one object and another that is different from it.” (Clugston, 2014) The reader needs to know that the author is using figurative language in the short story. Once the individual can understand this, the literature work will be significantly easier to do a compare and contrast essay.
While reading Flannery O’Connor “A Good Man is Hard to Find” we read that a family of five are on a roadtrip to Florida where they go every year. We have The Grandmother who derailed her family from the actual road to see a house she thought was in those parts of town. When all of a sudden her helpers are the murders she is afraid of. The murder “The Misfit” kills off the rest of her family and leaves her to dwell in her sorrow that she will be next. The Grandmother tries to maneuver her way out of dying by sweet talking The Misfit into thinking she can love him as her own child and that he doesn’t have to kill anymore. When she tries to reach for him he moved back and shot her. The Grandmother didn’t want him to be violent anymore and thought
Flannery O'Connor's "Good Country People" In "Good Country People" by Flannery O'Connor, uses symbolism in the choice of names, almost to the point of being ironic and humorous. These names center around the personality and demeanor of the characters. Hulga, once known as Joy, simply changed her name because it was the ugliest she could think of.
Freeman, mother of Carramae and Gylnese and Mrs. Hopewell Hulga’s mother. Both characters have a major impact towards Hulga’s life. Mrs. Freeman, as described by O’Conner is seen more of a realist who speaks and thinks freely. She is a very passionate woman and “had a special fondness for the details of secret infections hidden deformities, assaults upon children”, which in this case applies to Hulgas state of appearance, her deformity the artificial leg. This quote shows the bond Hulga has with Mrs. Freeman since she is very passionate about deformity. Hulga appreciates Mrs. Freeman because she helps her distinguish a more realistic view of life and the world, rather than following the same old good Christian morals. On the other hand Mrs. Hopewell, joys mother is seen as a good woman who has good Christian values. O’Conner uses this symbolistic name of Mrs. Hopewell because she carries hope with her where ever she is. “People who looked on the bright side of things would be beautiful even if they were not” (173). She is a very optimistic good Christian and follows good country people morals. She is as well proud of her ability to see well in anyone she crosses and help any situation that is in a bad state. O’Conner’s usage of indirect characters like Mrs. Hopewell and Mrs. Freeman play a role in Hulga’s nihilistic life as an angel and a demon. Both constantly attempt to influence their beliefs without forcing their opinions towards
“Good Country People” is a masterfully written example of irony as a method of characterization. It is more than snark or satire. Flannery O’Connor uses characterization to give this short piece a deep emotional impact. When Manley Pointer leaves Hulga Hopewell in the barn loft, helpless and hopeless. He declares that she, “…ain’t so smart.” That he has been, “…believing in nothing even since [he] was born” just as he slips away. Here we see the full irony of the characters names. These titles hold multifaceted meanings and expose each characters failure to acknowledge themselves and others as they are, They prefer instead their cherished assumptions until the ugly truth escapes from sight.
O’connor, Flannery. "Good Country People" The Bedford Introduction To Literature, 5th ed. Ed, Michael Meyer. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s,1999. 393-406
The short story focuses on the expectations of Hulga Hopewell and the irony of her encounter with a traveling Bible salesman. Hulga, with a PhD in philosophy and a wooden leg, sees herself as an uncompromising cynic in a world of fools, and she believes she has spotted a world-class fool in a Bible salesman, Manley Pointer. As her name implies, this is just wishful thinking: her certainty in her own brilliance and the stupidity of others leads her into a trap that reveals far more truth about herself and the world around her than she would have ever previously thought possible.
Hopewell, Joy, and Mrs. Freeman, none of these women’s behavior displays quite as many nuances as the Bible salesman’s. Though he and Joy actually share small similarities. They are both emotionally distressed because of the health issues with which they are coping, therefore they project their own internal misery onto everyone else. The difference between them is, the Bible salesman uses deception to lure people into his schemes. Like a green mamba snake slithers around patiently planning an attack on his prey, so does the Bible salesman calmly sweet-talk his way into the hearts of those he wishes to deceive. He is aware of the common positive stereotypes used to describe country people, therefore he is determined to inform Mrs. Hopewell that he is from the country. His efforts to feign innocence and honesty include his use of phrases such as “I know I’m real simple”, “I’m just a country boy”, and “People like you don’t like to fool with country people like me!” He is well aware that the appearance of innocence will enable him to wiggle his way into his victims’
Hopewell’s hopefulness works against her good will. Her optimism leads her to only see the good in people and situations. Mrs. Hopewell’s simplemindedness foreshadows her daughter’s defeat to Manley’s manipulative skills. From the beginning of the story, Mrs. Hopewell coins the phrase, “good country people.” This quote proves that Mrs. Hopewell forms superficial stereotypes of certain types of people. She assumes that all country people are good people. Manley’s devout Christian, country boy act easily fools Mrs. Hopewell. She believes he is a great person because he appears to be religious and country. Though Mrs. Hopewell’s always seems to have good intentions with her daughter, Mrs. Hopewell inflicts her views of country people on her daughter, which leads to her daughter’s blindness from reality. Mrs. Freeman, the Hopewell’s family helper, plays a very small, yet important role in Flannery O’Connor’s story. Contrary to how Mrs. Hopewell’s name corresponds with her personality, Mrs. Freeman’s name differs from her actuality. Mrs. Freeman’s name implies that she is free from control, but she works for another family as if she is
Joy was a young girl when she became disabled. As described in the story, her leg was shot off in a hunting accident when she was just ten years old. Now as a thirty two year old educated woman, Joy’s mental state had been changed due to her disability. “Mrs. Hopewell, (Joy’s mother) was certain that she
In most of Flannery O’Connor’s short stories a number of characters have a hard time seeing an ultimate reality in their life. They tend to have a distorted grasp on reality but not all in the same way. In the story “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” the Misfit and the Grandmother are prime examples. The actions and the way of life of the Misfit and Grandmother are mostly due to the fact that they are living in an false reality where they are in their own little world, where in the Misfit’s world everything goes with no worry of repercussion in the Grandmother’s case she can do no wrong because she has a false perception of what is right.
Throughout this story it appears that there are two distinctly different sides of Hulga Hopewell. One side is that of Hulga large, brooding, and rude. The other side however, is softer and much more vulnerable. That side is Joy Hopewell. By using these two names together O’Conner creates a unique picture of this character. The revelation that Hulga’s real name is Joy gives the reader some insight and helps the reader to see the softer side of Hulga more easily. By using something as simple as a name in this story the author creates deeper meaning for each character.
“A Good Man Is Hard To Find” and “Good Country People” are two short stories written by Flannery O’Connor during her short lived writing career. Despite the literary achievements of O’Connor’s works, she is often criticized for the grotesqueness of her characters and endings of her short stories and novels. Her writings have been described as “understated, orderly, unexperimental fiction, with a Southern backdrop and a Roman Catholic vision, in defiance, it would seem, of those restless innovators who preceded her and who came into prominence after her death”(Friedman 4). “A Good Man Is Hard To Find” and “Good Country People” are both set in the South, and O’Connor explores the tension between the old and new South. The stories are tow ironically twisted tales of different families whos lives are altered after trusting a stranger, only to be mislead. Each story explores the themes of Christian theology, new verses the old South, and fallen human nature.
By definition joy means a great feeling of pleasure and happiness. In Mary Flannery O'Connor's short story Good Country People, Joy Freeman was not at all joyful. Actually, she was the exact opposite. Joy's leg was shot off in a hunting accident when she was ten. Because of that incident, Joy was a stout girl in her thirties who had never danced a step or had any normal good times. (O'Connor 249). She had a wooden leg that only brought her teasing from others and problems in doing daily activities. Joy was very rude as well. In the story it speaks of her comments being so rude and ugly and her face so glum that her mother's boss, Mrs. Hopewell, would tell her if she could not come pleasantly than for her to not come at all. (O'Connor 249).