A Comparison Of Good Country People And Enoch And The Gorilla

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The Catholic writer, Flannery O’Connor, has compiled two short fictional stories that share a similar view point into the hidden evils of life. These stories use characters, events, and objects to portray this idea. The two stories take an identical route to display that evil is concealed in the world, even in some of the purest things. These stories use characters, events, and objects to portray this idea. The stories she has written to support her argument are Good Country People and Enoch and the Gorilla Enoch and the Gorilla is a story about a man who steals a gorilla costume in order to pursue another identity. O’Connor bases this story around the theme of evil being concealed within an object. Enoch and the Gorilla begins with Enoch …show more content…

The story is about a woman named Hulga who gets deceived by a bible salesman. The sales man comes to the door and asks Mrs. Freeman if anyone would like to buy a Bible. Her initial response is, “May daughter is an atheist and won’t let me keep the Bible in the parlor” (278), so she does not buy the Bible. The salesman does not get any business from them but he manages to get a date with Hulga. At this point in the story O’Connor begins to firmly develop the idea of evil being concealed. The two go to a barn where Hulga thinks it will be romantic and genuinely nice. However, the idea she put in her head ends up the opposite. When they get there the salesman takes out a hollow Bible that contains items that are evil. Inside are booze, cards, and condoms. O’Connor uses this as an example of concealed evil because the Bible is revered as a holy book and inside was a hidden evil. Another example of evil within this story is when the salesman takes Hulga’s leg. While the two are talking he brings up her wooden leg and says, “Show me how to take it off and on” (289). Hulga feels like she has to submit to his command and shows him. After he takes her leg off and does not give it back. Hulga’s leg was the only thing that kept her standing, and can also be viewed as her soul. The salesman literally took Hulga’s soul out of the evil in his heart. O’Connor’s point in this scene is that even the

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