Hulga, or Joy as she was originally named, is the lead female role in Flannery O’Connor’s “Good Country People”. It is rather ironic that she was first named Joy; Hulga represents many things, Joy not being one of them. With her natural disease and inability to live a normal life, surely no one can judge her lack of enthusiasm for life. Hulga desperately would like to live outside of her Mother’s house, but lacks the proper health stability that is necessary for living with no one else. She has obtained a doctorate in philosophy and is very active in reading and writing. The knowledge she has gained through over a decade of consistent reading cannot be overlooked, but she has also lost out on valuable time for enhancing her social skills.