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6 ways flannery o connor reflected her life in her work
How are the characters in Flannery O’Connor’s “Good Country People” limited by their paradigms
Good country people flannery o'connor analysis
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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.
The first character we encounter is Mrs. Freeman. She is the wife of Mrs. Hopewell's tenant farmer. She is a very outspoken woman, and "she [can] never be brought to admit herself wrong on any point" (O'Connor 180). Mrs. Freeman is a gossip; she is nosy and she "ha[s] a special fondness for the details of secret infections, hidden deformities, assaults upon children" (O'Connor 183).
Mrs. Freeman wants to be an authority on everyone else's personal business. She is never shy of sharing the details of her daughters' lives with Mrs. Hopewell. I get the impression that she tells anyone that she meets the intimate details of the lives of Glynese, Carramae, Mrs. Hopewell, and Joy-Hulga. Being a poor tenant farmer's wife, her only weapon is her speech (Enjoiras 36). In order to compete with Mrs. Hopewell, she must be constantly on the look-out for ways to subtly one-up her in the course of their conversations. Asals describes their conversations as "hackneyed one-upmanship" (99). For example, the way they speak to each other one rnorning goes like this:
"Everybody is different," Mrs. Hopewell said.
"Yes, most people is," Mrs. Freeman said.
"It takes all kinds to make the world."
"I always said it did myself....
... middle of paper ...
...f the story proves it. The facades they put on are as essential to "Good Country People" as the mindless conversations between Mrs. Freeman and Mrs. Hopewell. The relationships between these four characters are what make "Good Country People" such a literary success.
Works Cited
Asals, Frederick. Flannery O'Connor : The Imagination of Extremity. University of Georgia Press; Reissue edition. Athens, Georgia, 2007.
Enjolras, Laurence. Flannery O'Connor's Characters. New York: University Press of America, Inc., 1998.
Feeley, Kathleen, S.S.N.D. Flannery O'Connor: Voice of the Peacock. New York: Fordham University Press; 2 edition, 2010.
O'Connor, Flannery. The Complete Stories. Thirty-seventh printing. New York: Noonday Press, 1994.
Whitt, Margaret Earley. Understanding Flannery O'Connor. University of South Carolina Press, 1997.
“The third-person narrator of "Good Country People" sees into the minds of Mrs. Hopewell and Hulga, but it presents Mrs. Freeman and Manley—the other two main characters—mostly through Mrs. Hopewell and Hulga's eyes. That's the limited part of the narrator's omniscience: It hops into some heads, but not all” (Shmoop Editorial Team).
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
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.
Bandy, Stephen C. "One of my babies": The Misfit and the Grandmother in Flannery O'Connor's short story 'A Good Man Is Hard to Find'. Studies in Short Fiction; Winter 1996, v33, n1, p107(11)
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.
Cofer, Jordan. "Flannery O'connor's Role In Popular Culture: A Review Essay." Southern Quarterly 47.2 (2010): 140-157. OmniFile Full Text Mega (H.W. Wilson). Web. 2 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.
O'Connor crafts the story so that the plot does not actually begin until insight into the characters has been provided. The limited omniscience persona of the narrative voice alternates between Joy and her mother, Mrs. Hopewell. The exposition provides an understanding of how the characters have developed the personality traits they possess when the drama begins to take place, which is on a Friday evening during the Spring sometime during the mid-1950s. The exposition demonstrates how Joy develops the social and philosophical assumptions that deeply affect the way she sees herself and relates to others.
The story “Good Country People”, by Flannery O’Conner is a work that uses characterization in a new and interesting way to help shape and present the characters of this story. One of the main characters is Hulga Hopewell, also known as Joy Hopewell. This characters name plays a very ironic role in the story. Through the use of such a peculiar name O’Conner helps to develop and build the characteristics of Hulga. In the story “Good Country People” the use of the name Hulga (Joy) Hopewell helps to further build upon the characterization of Hulga and give the reader a deeper understanding of the character.
Raiger, Michael. “’’Large and Startling Figures’: The Grotesque and the Sublime in the Short Stories of Flannery O’Connor.’” Seeing into the Life of Things: Essays on Literature and Religious Experience (1998): 242-70. Rpt. in Short Story Criticism. Ed. Janet Witalec.
Whitt, Margaret. Understanding Flannery O’Connor. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1995. 47-48, 78. Print.
Web. . Margaret, Whitt. Understanding Flannery O’Connor . Ebook.
...sque, and in Flannery O’Connor’s artistic makeup there is not the slightest trace of sentimentally” (qtd. in Bloom 19). Flannery O’Connor’s style of writing challenges the reader to examine her work and grasp the meaning of her usage of symbols and imagery. Edward Kessler wrote about Flannery O’Connor’s writing style stating that “O’Connor’s writing does not represent the physical world but serves as her means of apprehending and understanding a power activating that world” (55). In order to fully understand her work one must research O’Connor and her background to be able to recognize her allegories throughout her stories. Her usage of religious symbols can best be studied by looking into her religious Catholic upbringing. Formalist criticism exists in “A Good Man is Hard to Find” through Flannery O’Connor’s use of plot, characterization, setting, and symbolism.