Flannery O’Connor was an American writer from 1946 to 1964. She wrote numerous short stories and two novels. She even made cartoons for a short while. O’Connor was known for her humorous stories with dark endings. A Good Man is Hard to Find and Good Country People are two of her most notable works. Personally, in Good Country People, I believe there is a twisted truth about O’Connor in it. The conflict of this story to me falls under man versus self. In the story, O’Connor expresses the difficulties Hulga has with dealing with one leg. O’Connor states, “Joy had made it plain that if it had not been for this condition, she would be far from these red hills and good country people. She would be in a university lecturing to people who knew what In the short story O’Connor states, “…but the grandmother had on a navy blue straw sailor hat with a bunch of white violets on the brim and a navy blue dress with a small white dot in the print. Her collars and cuffs were white organdy trimmed with lace and at her neckline she had pinned a purple spray of cloth violets containing a sachet. In case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady.” Why did the grandmother have to put on an outfit for her death? Did she not care about her grandkids? Did she know something tragic would happen on their journey? In this story the grandmother was the most selfish person who only cared about herself. Although she showed no compassion throughout the story, when she was faced with death she better herself but it was too late. This is kind of like people in today 's society. When it is time to change it is sometimes too late. Being close to death should not make one change for the better. When people go to jail they turn to a religious figure and when they close to dying. This is what I call a wakeup call. Life is too short for someone to be mean, selfish, and have hatred in their hearts towards others. It is time for a change. If people would put others first and treat others how they want to be treated, life would be ten times
Flannery O'Connor was a Southern writer especially noted for 32 incisive short stories before a tragic death at the age of 39.
A brilliant storyteller during the mid-twentieth century, Flannery O'Connor wrote intriguing tales of morality, ethics and religion. A Southern writer, she wrote in the Southern Gothic style, cataloging thirty-two short stories; the most well known being “A Good Man is Hard to Find.”
Even though, a person likes to think they are in control, life will show them they are in less control than thought they were. In Flannery O’Connor’s “Good Country People,” the character Hulga is a person that wants to maintain control in every aspect of her life good or bad. To Hulga it seems she is in constant control of her surroundings and her life. However, she does not have control that she thinks has.
Pride is a very relevant issue in almost everyone's lives. Only when a person is forced to face his pride can he begin to overcome it. Through the similar themes of her short stories, Flannery O'Connor attempts to make her characters realize their pride and overcome it.
Scott, Nathan A., Jr. "Flannery O'Connor's Testimony." The Added Dimension: The Art and Mind of Flannery O'Connor. Ed. Melvin J. Friedman and Lewis A. Lawson. New York: Fordham UP, 1966. 138-56.
The characters and their traits in the short story, “Good Country People,” play a major role in enhancing the plot of the story. The short story’s main character, Hulga Hopewell, is a physically impaired thirty-two-year-old woman who uses her physical complications as
Hulga lost her leg at the young age of ten, and being reminded for the entire episode, she is stripped of the capacity for both hope and joy. Hulga’s deformity, has helped shaped her as a character. She used to be insecure about her wooden leg, but now she believes it defines her quality, besides her education. She takes care of it by herself and never lets anyone see it. Therefore, this type of attitude and the lack of faith in God is represented as the cause of her to go donwhill, since she lets Manley take off her leg, she becomes very susceptible. She doesn’t know how to live without it, she panics, and Manley ends up stealing it and abandoning her in the loft.
The grandmother did not want to go to Florida; she ironically dresses in her Sunday best. She was dressed very nicely with, "A navy blue dress with a small white dot in the print. Her collars and cuffs were white organdy trimmed with lace and at her neckline she had pinned a purple spray of cloth violets containing a sachet." (11). A strong foreshadowing imagery can be seen in these lines. Knowing the ending of the story, the grandmother’s elaborate dress symbolizes a preparation for her coffin. When a person dies, they are usually dressed in their best outfit, just like the grandmother was dressed in what seemed to be in her Sunday best.
She is a manipulator when it comes to any aspect of her life. Ideally, the grandmother was selfish and care about herself. For instance, when the author has her saying “In case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady (O’Connor). The author let it be known at that second that the grandmother was only thinking about herself. As if she was traveling with a group of strangers. Throughout the story, the grandmother shows that she can be dishonest towards her family. “She woke up and recalled an old plantation that she had visited in this neighborhood once when she was a young lady” (O’Conner). The grandmother did this to manipulate the situation causing the ride to be delayed. Thus, she was lying to the children about the secret panel in the house. Therefore, she caused chaos in the car. The author made it seem that the grandmother was very content with that she has caused. Even when she realized that the location of the house that she was referring to was not up that road at all. But she remained quiet or did she know this along. She was quick to judge and tell someone what not to do. But she never turned her eye on herself. That she was selfish and dishonest to her
In “Good Country People,” O’Connor effectively symbolizes Christian hypocrisy in her narrative. The same man who is selling bibles is the one who carries “a pocket flask of whisky and a pack of cards” (“Good Country People,” 289), in his hollowed-out bible. A bible salesman using a hollowed-out bible as storage for whisky represents those who use religion to cover up for their sins and achieve society’s approval. Additionally, in Revelation, a person’s name symbolizes the sole theme of the narrative. While Mrs. Turnip is busy denouncing other people’s appearances in the waiting room, a girl named Mary Grace exposes Mrs. Turnip for who she really is, and tells her to “go back to hell, where [she comes] from, [and calls Mrs. Turnip an] old wart hog” (“Revelation”, 21). Although Mrs. Turnip believes she is a noble person, Mary Grace symbolizes the need for grace in Mrs. Turnip’s life for her to become aware of the ugliness that lies beneath her beautiful face, and clean skin. Furthermore, symbolism is a significant element in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find.” The Misfit arrives in “a big black bettered hearse-like automobile” (“AMIHTF,” 6). The car designed to carry coffins, indicates and symbolizes the family’s death, and all the others that the Misfit
The story begun with the grandmother not wanting to go to Florida, but Tennessee where she has some friends to see. She ironically dresses in her Sunday best. She is dressed very nicely with, "A navy blue dress with a small white dot in the print. Her collars and cuffs were white organdy trimmed with lace and at her neckline she had pinned a purple spray of cloth violets containing a sachet"(382). A strong foreshadowing imagery can be seen in this line. Knowing the ending of the story, the grandmother's elaborate dress symbolizes a preparation for her funeral. When a person die, he or she usually are dressed in their best outfit, just like the grandmother is dressed in what seems to be her Sunday best.
1) O’Connor, Flannery, A Good Man Is Hard to Find (Women Writers: Text & Contexts Series). Rutgers University Press, 1993.
“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.
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.
Whitt, Margaret. Understanding Flannery O’Connor. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1995. 47-48, 78. Print.