...According to the story, “Good Country People” by Flannery O’Connor, the characters all have different personalities and something that sticks out to the reader is the relationship between Joy, also known as Hulga, and Manley Pointer, the bible salesman. Hulga is a grumpy woman, who has all the reasons to be with her leg being prostatic, heart condition, and all, but besides grumpy she thinks of others as ignorant and unintelligent. Hulga is a complex woman to please and satisfy until the charming bible salesman, Manley Pointer, appeared. Manley Pointer does not have a specific background, he’s from all over. Manley is introduced as a very respectful man who's number one job and priority is to sell you one of his fine bibles, in theory. Manley pointer is preconceived by Hulga and Mrs. Hopewell to be an unintelligent and uncomplicated man, this is the perfect example of the famous saying, looks can be deceiving. Flannery O’Connor is a very talented writer with unimaginable imagination, this is truly one of her best works. The way she portrays the characters is such an art....
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...Many people hold destructive opinions without considering their full implications. “Good Country People” by Flannery O’Connor is a short story about Mrs. Hopewell and her daughter Hulga, and the tragic consequences of their misconceptions about the world. The importance of challenging one’s common convictions and the dangers that can arise from being narrow-minded is carried by the mother’s dissatisfaction of diversity and women’s education. The devastation of both women implies a sense of desired moderation in the realm of perspective, depicting evils of nihilism as well as the vulnerability of narrow-minded, traditional thought. O’Connor’s purposeful use of point of view allows her to develop characters in order to criticize the blindness of human nature....
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...Good Country People Author Institutional Affiliation Good Country People Introduction Good Country People is the first and famous short story among the writings of Flannery O’Connor. The short story was published in 1955 in her collection of short stories titled, “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”. The characters in O’Connor’s book are seen to have embraced and rejected some platitudes that have fully taken control over their lives. They give ‘Good Country People’ a lesson based on the dangers humans are prone to as they mistake platitudes for original perceptions. Moreover, there are various themes acquired from the short story: betrayal, grace, nihilism, redemption and blindness. The setting of the story is on Georgian tenant farm. Irony Flannery O’Connor’s short story Good Country People is filled with ironical objects and characters starting from the title. The end of the story gives a lesson on how no-Good Country People exists in the contemporary world. There is irony noticed in the names of the characters in the book. For instance, Manley Pointer’s bible turns out to be a carrier for a small printed blue box, a pack of cards and a pocket flask full of Whiskey. Mrs. Freeman is Mrs. Hopewell’s tenant farmer. From her name, “Free-Man” has no sign of freedom as she is an employee though privileged by being Mrs. Hopewell’s cliché exchange ally. Despite Hulga’s extensive knowledge, she attempts being her own light both intellectually and spiritually. The irony...
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...subconscious simply let get the best of them. One way of vulnerability is shown is by living a lie and being hypocritical like Manley pointer from “Good Country People”. He is a suppose to be a good Christian but ends up taking Joy’s Prostheses leg and he takes out a hollowed bible with condoms, a bottle of whiskey and sex cards. He is a masked evil man trying to portrayed a innocent Christian salesman. These things happen in today’s society in people don’t realize how they are being ambushed. They see what they want to see instead of seeing beyond. Deception comes with vulnerability and that’s when people usually seek their faith. When they go to God and he makes them realized whatever happens is in the past they don’t have to carry that burden. A stronghold is formed when deception takes hold in a person's mind Temptation often follows deception. A way to deal with deception is by overcoming that vulnerability by resisting and trusting God. Temptation is when we are enticed or encouraged to sin in one way or another. We always think that temptation is overpowering for us to bear which is a lie. A way is by letting God handle it and refocusing your attention on something else. Everything starts in the mind it is a battle whatever gets your attention will get you. In the story “Good Country People” Mrs. Hopewell does not reveal to Manley Pointer that she is not a Christian instead she wants him to think she is by telling him where she puts her...
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...The tale of Flannery O’Connor’s “Good Country People” is a story of an optimistic mother, Mrs. Hopewell, and a pessimistic daughter, Hulga, who lives on a farm together in rural Georgia. On the farm also lives the Freeman’s “good country people” (O’Connor, 482), the family was hired to help with the farm. One day a bible sales man, Manley Pointer, comes by the house in an attempt to make a sale, and ends up making a major impact on Hulga’s life. Hulga a doctor of philosophy values her contemptuous relationship with her mother, she also values her uniqueness, and she believes she is vastly more intelligent than others. These beliefs make Hulga a displeasure to be around and ultimately leads to her being deceived. Hulga lives with her mother, as if she is tolerating...
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...Good Country People: Illusion Or Truth? Never let your schooling get in the way of your education -Mark Twain Good Country People, by Flannery O’Connor, presents us with a look into the monotonous lives of three women living together on a rural farm. All three women are set in their old-fashioned ways, having experienced very little of life, out on the farm. A bible salesman named Manley Pointer, appearing like nothing more than simple, good country people(1), pays them a visit one day. It turns out that this simple countryboy is actually a brilliant con artist who scams the pretentious daughter, Hulga (also known as Joy) into removing her wooden leg, which he proceeds to steal. A great change in Hulga is triggered by her experience with Manley Pointer. Although it was a cruel scam, the bible salesman helps her to see the truth about her education and human nature. Hulga realizes that in addition to book smarts, people skills are also crucial in navigating the real world. Hulga has been to college for many years, earning a Ph.D. in Philosophy. Coming from such a rural background, she feels that her education raises her status in the intellectual world, and therefore life in general, above anyone not as educated as she is. You poor baby…it’s just as well you don’t understand(404). The young woman fails to see that there is much more to life than what you can learn in a book. Due to a heart condition, however, Hulga is forced to remain home on the farm, instead of being in an...
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...Flannery O’Connor “Good Country People”: Questions 1. The relationship between Joy-Hulga Hopewell and Manley Pointer started as an attempt for romantic relations; at least the woman believed the salesman fell in love with her or had some similar feeling. Hulga decided to use his feelings and try to seduce Manley to “reckon with his remorse… [take it] in hand and [change] it into a deeper understanding of life” (O’Connor 12); the woman thought the Bible salesman needed such procedure to become more experienced and loose “rose-colored spectacles” he sees the world through. The irony was in the fact that Manley’s job belonged to a totally opposite side than his personality. The salesman showed himself as a cynical, amoral person that know how to use others for the own benefit....
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...journalism at Iowa State University but quickly turned to creative writing. She is known for her short stories and two novels. In her southern style of writing in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” and “Good Country People”, O’Connor uses prophet like characters to distinguish good versus evil. In “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”,...
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...symbolism behind his name, his internalized isolation, and his reaction to simple kindness. Desmond also provides insight into the morality of other characters, such as The Grandmother. The Misfit's isolation and resistance to change is also exhibited by Hulga in "Good Country People". With each text comes examples of how morality changes a person and dictates their actions through desire. The Misfit is a self-sufficient, morally isolated character. Throughout "A Good Man is Hard to Find," the Misfit shares with the Grandmother details concerning his name. The Misfit claims...
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...important voice in American literature, she wrote two novels and 32 short stories, as well as a number of reviews and commentaries. In many of her stories there are similarities. In Flannery O’Connor’s short stories her villains represent an antichrist figure through similar traits of manipulation and deception. What is an antichrist? a person or thing regarded as supremely evil or as a fundamental enemy or opponent (Merriam- Webster). Antichrist figures appear in Flannery O’Connor’s stories: “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, “The Lame Shall Enter First”, “The Life You Save May Be Your Own”, and “Good Country People”. “A Good Man is Hard to Find” begins with a family trip to Florida. The family gets in a car crash on a lonely dirt road after the grandmother causes the family to take a wrong turn. When a passing car stops to help three men get out, the grandmother recognizes one of the men as “The Misfit”. The Misfit then kills the whole family (O’connor) The misfit is the main villain in “A Good Man is Hard to Find”. He is an antichrist figure because of his manipulative attitude and deception to the family. “Jesus thrown everything off balance. It was the same case with him as with me except He hadn’t committed any crime”(O’Connor). This shows that The Misfit is an antichrist figure because he compares himself to Jesus and admits to committing a crime. The Misfit goes on to kill everyone and in the end the grandmother is praying and he shoots her. All of this shows that The Misfit...
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...Cotina Moore English 1302 Essay #1 Southern Gothic Fiction 02 March 2015 “What Is In A Title” A Literary Analysis of Flannery O’ Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” “Good Country People,” and “Everything That Rises Must Converge” “I am not afraid that the book will be controversial, I’m afraid it will not be controversial-Flannery O’Connor Flannery O’Connor is considered one of the best short story authors of the 20th century. Born in Savannah Georgia in 1925, O’Connor was a devout Catholic. Her writings incorporated religious themes and her southern life (Bio). When reading O’Connor’s short stories, it is very surprising and shocking that the stories are often dark and controversial. Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” “Good Country People,” and “Everything That Rises Must Converge” use macabre, grotesque violence, irony, and grace through the depiction of her characters to illustrate that when an individual is faced with “grave” circumstances; those are the moments when grace is realized. Flannery O’Connor incorporates the use of macabre and violence in her short story “A Good Man is Hard to Find” masterfully to elicit an unforgettable moment of grace from a character when faced with her “grave” circumstance. The use of grotesque violence is vividly displayed as a southern family is horrendously murdered by an escaped convict, The Misfit and his accomplices. An “eerie” sense of foreshadowing is realized when the protagonist, the grandmother...
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...“Good Country People” by Flannery O’Connor, was published in 1995. The genre of the story is southern gothic. Gothic tales are usually creepy, like in this story there is a missing leg and a missing glass eye. Gothic tales are also describes by a small or enclosed place. Half of the setting takes place in the kitchen making it clear that it is from Hulga and Mrs. Hopewell’s point of view. The Climatic action takes place in the barn loft emphasizing Hulga’s vulnerability. The reason the story is southern gothic and not just gothic is because it takes place in the South. The title of the story is a phrase repeated by Hulga and Mrs. Hopewell throughout the story. Mrs. Hopewell thinks she can decide between if a person is “trash” or if they are...
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...Humans have, for a long, long time, acknowledged that there is a good side, and a bad side to each and every person. The better side of human nature brings out compliments, support, and encouragement to others and to oneself. Unfortunately, people do not always act that way. The darker side of human nature is one that people like to keep quiet and hidden from sight. In the short stories, “The Veldt” by Ray Bradbury, “Good Country People” by Flannery O’Connor,o and “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe, this dark side is shown through various people and situations. In “The Veldt”, two children turn on their parents in anger. In “Good Country People”, a young man is not who he says he is and robs one of the main characters, and in “The...
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...Who was Flannery O’Connor? Flannery O’Connor was a female, American writer and an important voice in American literature, who wrote two novels and multiple short stories throughout her lifetime. In “A Good Man is Hard to Find” and “Good Country People,” Flannery O’Connor showcases a genre of themes throughout her pieces and a style that is interesting and different compared to others. Like most of her short stories, both of these writings are very interesting and narrated in a third person point of view. It is clearly obvious that O’Connor’s influence upon these two short stories illustrates her own version of southern gothic with a twist of religion, much like many of her works. There were many factors to her style of writing but two that she uses were “...distortion and exaggeration…” (Shloss 35). The focus of...
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...In O'Connor's stories, her characters are connected to the events that happen around them. Symbolizing their life and what happens in it, despite what the narrator describes. In O'Connor's story, "A Good Man is Hard to Find", the grandmother desires to visit some of her connections in Tennessee but the family is traveling to Florida. Her continuous thought about where she wanted to go and where she was going eventually causes all of O'Connor's characters to travel down a grotesque path. Also in O'Connor's story, "Good Country People", her character, Hulga, subconsciously desires to believe in a greater power but is blind to what she truly wants. This subconscious desire leads her to go with Pointer. She hopes to redeem herself by doing so, once she realizes the situation she is in (O'Connor 10). The desire for redemption within ties in with beliefs too. Hulga is an atheist, however; Hulga's desire for something greater within herself allows her to see a figure walking on water. O'Connor's characters also relate their events in life to their religion and use it as a "tool for...
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