Good and Evil in Good Country People
In "Good Country People" by Flannery O'Connor, the masked truth is reflected unequivocally through the reality in the story, its equal counterpart. For every good or evil thing, there is an antagonist or opposing force. Each character has a duplicate personality mirrored in someone else in the story.
In the story, the names and personalities of the characters clash. The name is the mask covering the personality, which is representative of the reality aspect of each character. When Mrs. Hopewell named her daughter Joy, she was hoping for all the joy that comes with raising a child and watching the child develop a life of its own. What Mrs. Hopewell received was a disabled daughter who lived miserably at home and was the antithesis of everything her mother believed.
The name Hulga is also a mask. When Joy changed her name to Hulga, Mrs. Hopewell had made up her mind that Joy "had thought and thought until she hit upon the ugliest name in any language" (O'Connor 299). Although Joy-Hulga chose the name because of its "ugly sound" and how well it suited her, she "secretly desired an inner self that was beautifully unique" (Bloom 99).
The name Manley, the Bible salesman, has similar implications. The name Manley includes the word "man," but he is constantly revealed through his child-like acts such as his mumbling "was like the sleepy fretting of a child" (O'Connor 307). O'Connor also refers to him as having sweet breath like a child's and his "kisses were sticky like a child's" (307).
The beginning of the story, "Good Country People," is misleading. At first, the story points to Mrs. Freeman and Manley Pointer as being good country people. According to Mrs. Hopewell t...
... middle of paper ...
... the story. Flannery O'Connor portrayed both the good and the evil side of human nature. She also explored religious issues that are prevalent in today's society. The struggle between good and evil and real and hidden truths build the foundations for "Good Country People."
Works Cited
Bloom, Harold, ed. Flannery O'Connor. New York: Chelsea, 1986.
Humphries, Jefferson. The Otherness Within: Gnostic Readings in Marcel Proust, Flannery O'Connor, and Francois Villion. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State UP, 1983.
May, John R. The Pruning Word: The Parables of Flannery O'Connor. Notre Dame, IN: U of Notre Dame P, 1976.
O'Connor, Flannery. "Good Country People." Literature: Reading, Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and the Essay. 3rd ed. Ed. Robert DiYanni. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1994. 297-310.
Walters, Dorothy. Flannery O'Connor. New York: Twayne, 1973.
Asals, Frederick. Flannery O'Connor : The Imagination of Extremity. University of Georgia Press; Reissue edition. Athens, Georgia, 2007.
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.
“Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work Reading;” Tue 5 Feb. 2013. Web. 24 Mar. 2016.
Flannery O’Connor, undoubtedly one of the most well-read authors of the early 20th Century, had many strong themes deeply embedded within all her writings. Two of her most prominent and poignant themes were Christianity and racism. By analyzing, “A Good Man is Hard to Find” and “Everything that Rises Must Converge,” these two themes jump out at the reader. Growing up in the mid-1920’s in Georgia was a huge influence on O’Connor. Less than a decade before her birth, Georgia was much different than it was at her birth. Slaves labored tirelessly on their master’s plantations and were indeed a facet of everyday life. However, as the Civil War ended and Reconstruction began, slaves were not easily assimilated into Southern culture. Thus, O’Connor grew up in a highly racist area that mourned the fact that slaves were now to be treated as “equals.” In her everyday life in Georgia, O’Connor encountered countless citizens who were not shy in expressing their discontent toward the black race. This indeed was a guiding influence and inspiration in her fiction writing. The other guiding influence in her life that became a major theme in her writing was religion. Flannery O'Connor was born in Savannah, Georgia, the only child of a Catholic family. The region was part of the 'Christ-haunted' Bible belt of the Southern States. The spiritual heritage of the region profoundly shaped O'Connor's writing as described in her essay "The Catholic Novelist in the Protestant South" (1969). Many of her 32 short stories are inundated with Christ-like allusions and other references to her faith.
This takes a lot of personal recognition from the employees to make sure no bad mood from an employee is being shown to a customer.
In Flannery O’Connor’s stories, “Good Country People”, “Everything that Rises Must Converge”, ”A Good Man is Hard to Find”, and “The Life You Save May Be Your Own”, there are many similar characters and situations. Few, if any of the characters are likeable, and most of them are grotesque. Two of the stories have characters that view themselves as superior in one way or another to those around them, and in some cases these characters experience a downfall, illustrating the old proverb, “Pride goeth before a fall” (King James Bible ,Proverbs 16:18). Two of the stories include a character that has some type of disability, three of the stories showcase a very turbulent relationship between a parent and child, and three of the stories contain a character that could easily be described as evil.
Nadal, Marita. "Temporality And Narrative Structure In Flannery O'connor's Tales." Atlantis (0210-6124) 31.1 (2009): 23-39. Fuente Académica. Web. 1 Nov. 2013.
A story without style is like a man without personality: useless and boring. However, Flannery O’Connor incorporates various different styles in her narratives. Dark humor, irony, and symbolism are perhaps the utmost powerful and common styles in her writing. From “Revelation” and “Good Country People” to “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” all of O’Connor’s stories consist of different styles in writing.
Describe your dietary habits (see assignment #1 from PHAS 5009) and discuss how those habits may be influencing your risk for chronic diseases such as heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer, osteoporosis, etc.
1) O’Connor, Flannery, A Good Man Is Hard to Find (Women Writers: Text & Contexts Series). Rutgers University Press, 1993.
Violence, Humanity, Grace. These are three reoccurring themes throughout Flannery O’Connors short stories. As one looks at O’Connor’s stories one starts to see a pattern, or a similarity between each of the stories. One might describe it as “getting to know a personality” (Mays 419). As we focus on three stories, A Good Man is Hard to Find, Everything That Rises Must Converge, and “Good Country People”, by American fiction writer Flannery O’Connor we start to see distinct characteristics. O’Connor’s stories are set in the deep south where racism is often times prevalent. O’Connor’s characters often find themselves in difficult situations which can even be tragic. Most of her stories start out on a happier
...ated and had a Ph.D. in Philosophy. She could not call her daughter a schoolteacher, a nurse, or a chemical engineer and that bothered her. These people and episodes in Joy's life made her a very miserable person. They made her hate all that surrounded her, which included flowers, animals, and young men. This is why Joy changes her name to Hulga when she was twenty-one years old. She believed the name represented her as an individual. The name was fierce, strong, and determined just like her. The name reminded her of the broad, blank hull of a battleship. Joy felt the name reflected her inside and out. It separated her from the people who surrounded her that she hated the most.
"Registered nurses have a variety of tasks to take care of daily. RNs keep records, administer medication, consult with other healthcare providers, monitor patients and educate individuals and family. RNs must also stay up to date with new technology." (Rasmussen College). These abilities help nurses provide the best patient care and support for their families and the best support to doctors and other healthcare specialists involved in the care of the patients. RN responsibilities are different depending on what you know or were taught but often include patient care, advanced cardiac life support (ACLS), acute care, case management, and treatment planning. Besides medical skills that can be learned through a nursing program, nurses must also have a blend of known taught skills such as active listening, critical thinking, social skills, and decision making skills are all very important for nurses. "Registered nurses have numerous job duties that put them in the forefront of the medical field. They not only provide patient care but also help educate patients and their families about health care and specific situations." (Nurse Journal Social Community for Nurses Worldwide). Registered nurses help tremendously for their workplace and also they do not just work at a hospital setting. Common duties handled by an RN include administering medication or
Psychotic characteristics are one component of anti-social disorders, in which both Hyde as well as Jekyll display throughout the novel. Both characters in the book show these
Whitt, Margaret. Understanding Flannery O’Connor. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1995. 47-48, 78. Print.