Characterization And Characterism In O Connor's Good Country People

713 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: thematic essay on good country people

In the short story Good Country People the author, O 'Connor, utilizes elements of characterization and point of view to show the theme of how easily we can assume who the the villain in the story is. In the beginning of the story, the reader gets the chance to pick a hero and a villain. Most of the characters get a backstory and justification of their motives in the setting. What we don 't think of is,when we can’t pick someone first hand. In many ways, the antagonist in the story was society. The two foil characters would be Mrs. Hopewell and Manley, one has the social norms and rules drilled deep in their system and the other has never obeyed a rule in their life. They both live in completely different worlds. When Hulga comes downstairs …show more content…

We all see Hulga as a grumpy girl who is always rude to everyone,"A large blonde girl had an artificial leg"(461) instead, what we don 't fully understand her whole character. It 's the 1950 's, she has no kids, she 's not married, she has physical disability that everyone can see, she has a full education, and she has a heart disease. The readers see her as someone who’s being rude for no reason, but her bitterness for the world is understandable. The place she lives in hasn 't given her a chance to be normal. She 's given up pretending she 's going to be okay when being told "with the best care, [Hulga] might see 45"(463). Hulga is 37, and if she 's lucky she might get to 45. Having her days numbered, anyone could agree is terrifying, that 's when she started to go into a mental coma. Her only comfort was her education, how much she was able to know. When Manley came along, he gave her comfort that showed how alone she really felt. No one took their time to understand Hulga’s situation, all she had been given was pity from strangers. Manley woke her up mentally. He showed her how the other side lived, what it was like to not be a zombie in their society. She believed everyone was the same, with the same purpose, until Manley showed her that you don 't have to live by the

Show More
Related

  • Relationships in Good Country People, by Flannery O'Connor

    2362 Words  | 5 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Romeo And Juliet Character Foil

    400 Words  | 1 Pages

    If you have the Harry Potter series, or almost any other story you have been introduced to this literary device that instantly makes your story attention-grabbing, and page-turning. This writing tool is known as a character foil. A character foil is a character that displays contrary, or opposite character traits. An example of a character foil is Draco Malfoy, and Harry Potter. Their rival relationship and other conflicts are the perfect example to showcase foils at work. To continue, in the iconic “Romeo and Juliet” written by William Shakespeare, there are two known character foils in the first Act: Benvolio and Tybalt, and the Nurse and Lady Capulet.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of A Good Man Is Hard To Find By Flannery O Connor

    959 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Irony and Characterization in O’Connor’s Good Country People

    927 Words  | 2 Pages

    “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.

    Read More

  • People Skills versus Formal Education in Good Country People by Flannery O'Connor

    577 Words  | 2 Pages

    O’connor, Flannery. "Good Country People" The Bedford Introduction To Literature, 5th ed. Ed, Michael Meyer. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s,1999. 393-406

    Read More

  • The Author's Character in A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O'Connor

    1037 Words  | 3 Pages

    “A Good Man is Hard to Find” is a short story written by Flannery O’ Connor. O’Connor was an American writer whose writings always incorporated humor into a sad or devastating situation. Her collections include 31 short stories, two novels, and a couple of letters and speeches. O’Connor is most famous for her short story works. In numerous works of her, her conscious craftsmanship was revealed and also the devoted role that Roman Catholicism plays in her life (Flannery)

    Read More

  • Identifying Evil in Flannery O'Connor's A Good Man is Hard to Find

    2002 Words  | 5 Pages

    Flannery O’Connor’s short story “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, is tale about a grandmother who unknowingly steers her family to a fatal meeting with a fugitive. The chance encounter with the murderous fugitive ultimately costs the grandmother and her family their lives. Sticking with the Southern Gothic genre, O’Connor takes odd characters and mixes in dark encounters to produce a story packed full of hidden meanings and foreshadowing (Language and Literature, 2). At first glance, it seems easy to identify the character that represents evil in the story, the murderous outlaw. However, things are not always, what they seem; a closer look will reveal that the murder might not be the evilest character in the story.

    Read More

  • Good Country People Character Analysis Essay

    1340 Words  | 3 Pages

    Her artificial leg is made from wood, not flesh and bone. Her “superior intelligence” comes from books, not real world experiences. In actuality, Hulga’s artificial leg and “superior intelligence” are completely useless. Hulga’s poor eyesight symbolizes her blindness to reality. Hulga’s poor vision prevents from seeing through Manley’s disguise as a good country boy. Instead of seeing what’s inside of people, Hulga only sees superficial traits. Hulga’s eyeglasses do not help her to see Manley’s wicked intentions. Hulga spends all of her time reading philosophy books to learn about the world, instead of learning about the world through real interaction. Hulga also associates her doctoral degree with her intellectual superiority to “good country people.” Hubbard states that Hulga defines good country people as people who can be easily seduced because of their simplicity and lack of knowledge. It is ironic that a young, simple-minded boy could manipulate an intellectually superior woman. Hulga’s weak heart symbolizes her emotional weakness to seduction and her lack of compassion for others (Oliver). Manley seduces Hulga to the point where she wants to be a part of him. O’Conner states that Hulga allowing Manley to remove her artificial leg “was like surrendering to him completely. It was like losing her own life and finding it again, miraculously, in his.” Because Hulga

    Read More

  • Symbolism in Jackson's The Lottery

    1043 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...l human character. Writers of American literature have many different opinions on the society. In order for readers to understand an author’s view on the society, they must look at many different aspects including the writer’s life and the time period in which the work was written. Though writers have different theories about the society, they express their philosophies into their work. The town who seem horribly uncivilized, where a son stones his mother, yet they can easily be compared to today's society.

    Read More

  • Irony and Foreshadowing in Flannery O’Connor’s A Good Man is Hard to Find

    1618 Words  | 4 Pages

    As I read Flannery O’Connor’s short story “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, I find myself being completely consumed by the rich tale that the author weaves; a tragic and ironic tale that concisely and precisely utilizes irony and foreshadowing with expert skill. As the story progresses, it is readily apparent that the story will end in a tragic and predictable state due to the devices which O’Connor expertly employs and thusly, I find that I cannot stop reading it; the plot grows thicker with every sentence and by doing so, the characters within the story are infinitely real in my mind’s eye. As I consider these factors, the story focuses on two main characters; that of the grandmother, who comes across as self-centered and self-serving and The Misfit, a man, who quite ingeniously, also appears to be self-centered and self-serving. It is the story behind the grandmother, however, that evidence appears to demonstrate the extreme differences between her superficial self and the true character of her persona; as the story unfolds, and proof of my thought process becomes apparently clear.

    Read More

  • Good Country People

    1274 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...of a minor character in the story but she is referred to as having two emotions, “forward and reverse”. This is important because when a person is forced to go in reverse they must face something or learn something they don’t want to know about themselves. This seems to be what happens during the course of the story for Joy-Hulga. Although all the characters in the story are stuck in reverse, the only character that is forced to realize her weakness, which destroys the façade that she created is Joy-Hulga. It seems that in this story as in life the most high and mighty suffers the greatest fall. Joy-Hulga was the one who perceived herself to be the high and mighty of the characters. This attitude is displayed with many of her comment to Mrs. Hopewell. Perhaps when Joy-Hulga remarks to Mrs. Hopewell, “Woman, do you ever look inside?” she should’ve taken her own advice.

    Read More

  • good or bad?

    803 Words  | 2 Pages

    In conclusion it is reasonable to state that the characters are very easy to determine in which category they fall into. The good guys who are Huck and Him and the bad guys who are the King, Duke and Pap, because they only do things for their own benefit. But beyond seeing these characters being represented the way that they are, this has a deeper meaning. It shows us that there are people in the world who are simply bad and good. Those who do stuff to help others and those who only do things that benefit themselves. So could this mean that there are only two types of people, good or bad?

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast The Misfit And A Good Man Is Hard To Find

    826 Words  | 2 Pages

    Societies standards are what everyone wants to fit into it is the norms that are used as a guide to living life. The grandmother and the misfit in O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find” follow the way of social values, thoughts, and way society sees one another closely in 1953. Both the grandmother and the misfit are different in many ways, but have one common value of society’s views are important to them. The way society views and judges people causes both the misfit and the grandmother to act differently but subtly makes them more alike than either of them could tell. The shared value of society’s point of view on a human being can explain both characters views, behaviors, and actions because of how heavily it weighed on the grandma and

    Read More

  • The Character of Hulga in Good Country People by Mary Flannery O'Connor

    1023 Words  | 3 Pages

    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).

    Read More

  • Mrs. Linde as a Foil for Nora in in Ibsen's A Doll's House

    1642 Words  | 4 Pages

    Random House Webster's dictionary defines a foil as "a person or thing that makes another seem better by contrast."  This essay will focus on the use of the foil to contrast another character. The characters of Nora and Mrs. Linde provide an excellent example of this literary device. Mrs. Linde's aged, experienced personality is the perfect foil for Nora's childish nature. Mrs. Linde's hard life is used to contrast the frivolity and sheltered aspects of Nora's life. Nora's optimism and belief in things improbable is an opposite to the rationality and down-to-earth mentality of Mrs. Linde. Finally, the rekindling of the flame between Mrs. Linde and Krogstad is a direct contrast to the burning down of Nora and Torvald's "doll's house."

    Read More

More about Characterization And Characterism In O Connor's Good Country People

Open Document