Is it significant that the story begins and ends with Mrs. Freeman? "Good country people are the salt of the earth! Now, however, we see that Hulga unconsciously wants to believe that there is a power greater than herself. We can undoubtedly say that the whole story revolves around the theme of the distinction between false expression and the truth of a character. You'll be able to access your notes and highlights, make requests, and get updates on new titles. Hulga sees herself as superior to and more intelligent than the men in the area, showing that she too sees a clear hierarchy of people with herself at the top. Black Humor In Flannery O Connor's Good Country People O'Connor, however, does not depict Mrs. Freeman as an example of "good country people.". Mrs. Freeman is free to rule herself. In O'Connor's "Good Country People," why are the characters' names significant? The Grandmother want to visit friends in Tennessee. However, she is reluctant to tell them about her present date walk with him. However, Mrs. Freeman is not the one that someone would tolerate for a longer time but Mrs. Hopewell considers her good; therefore, she has to be patient towards her at any cost. On the contrary, Mrs. Freeman never surrenders herself to being wrong. She used to be insecure about her wooden leg, but now she reveres it as her defining quality, besides her education. In "Good Country People," identify the point of view and explain how knowing the point of view influences how we understand a major theme of the story. She considers everyone inferior to her and reminds them of their lower class e.g. Then after supper, Mrs. Hopewell excuses him to make him end the meeting. She is supposed to meet Manley at the gate at ten oclock, and she has been up thinking about it all night. Its clear that Hulga feels stifled and alone in her mothers house, and so she cant help idealizing the Bible Salesman as soon as he seems like he might be a deep person who could share her interests. She also thinks about her meeting with the salesman at ten and their previous days conversation. O'Connor uses the final paragraphs of the story to make clear the parallel which she established earlier between Hulga and her mother. She does not make a distinction between good and bad people based on their character but judges them on the basis of their class. Good Country People Summary Mrs. Freeman and Mrs. Hopewell take care of "important business" (2) every morning over breakfast. Our summaries and analyses are written by experts, and your questions are answered by real teachers. They are the only tenants who are good for her unlike her previous tenants who were all trash. 2. This lie, more explicitly than anything else, shows Mrs. Hopewells hypocrisy for what it is. He still refuses to give her her leg back; instead, he slams it inside his valise and climbs down the ladder, abandoning her in the loft. Flannery O'Connor - Good Country People | Genius In philosophical terms, she is a nihilist. She admires her daughters before Hulga and Mrs. Hopewell because Mrs. Freeman likes to make Hulga feel inferior and ordinary. Hulga, on the other hand, is outraged by this endless self-justification and agreement. Physically defeated, Hulga attempts to use her intellect to shame Pointer into returning the leg. They enter a barn to sit down, and climb up a ladder to the loft. She does not admit to being wrong and always proves herself right in every situation against Mrs. Hopewell. However, in the end, he is the one who fools her and leaves her helpless. Therefore, the style becomes complex and philosophic. She takes pride in telling the Bible Salesman that she is an atheist, imagining that she will seduce him, corrupt him, and reveal to him the cynical, non-religious truth of the universe. Is O'Connor trying to make a point about formal education through the story "Good Country People"? My students love how organized the handouts are and enjoy tracking the themes as a class., Requesting a new guide requires a free LitCharts account. "Good country people" refers to those whom Mrs. Hopewell sees as simple and moral. Why does Manley Pointer refer to Christians as Chrustians in "Good Country People"? Mrs. Hopewell is embarrassed and angry about her daughter's behavior, but she knows that she must ultimately accept it because of the hunting accident which cost Joy her leg when she was ten. However, there is no insight into her psychological world; therefore, little is known about her feelings. Although the Hopewells consider him as a simple, unintelligent, and inferior person but still he manages to gain their attention and fool them, quite ironic. dinner which Mrs. Hopewell does not approve of. These names depict the meaning of their existence in the story-line. realized that nothing is perfect and that in the Freemans she had good country people and that if, in this day and age, you get good country people, you had better hang onto them. In nihilism, there is no concrete basis for distinguishing right from wrong. What does "We are not our own light" mean? 2. Their father, Mr. Freeman is a good person and does not interfere in others affairs. She completely blinds herself to the approval of the reality of things and sways in his love. She is popular among boys and is proposed to by a man Harvey Hill but there is no information about her acceptance. Written in the mid-1950s, this short story features an uncharacteristically strong female character. Hulga in "Good Country People" - 1136 Words | Studymode He masks his identity to gain his means from other people through foolery. Similarly, the whole storyline is judgmental about the standard of good and wrong. Chazelle, Damien ed. We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. Its suggested that Hulga disability feeds her introversion and alienation, and has given her a cynical view of the worldone manifested by changing her name from Joy to Hulga.. read analysis of Class, Identity, and Superiority, read analysis of Appearances and Realities, read analysis of Authentic Faith and Vulnerability. You're just like them all say one thing and do another," only to hear Pointer tell her that he is not a Christian. Ironically, she detests the company of both of them because they are not well educated like her. The way the content is organized, LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in. As Hulga is a professor in philosophy, she considers herself unique and qualified and others as illiterate fools. Sometimes Mrs. Freeman also joins them in the debates. Although Hulga tries to continue her "indoctrination" of the youth by explaining that she is "one of those people who have seen through to nothing," Pointer ignores her comments and continues to woo her, kissing her passionately and insisting that she tell him that she loves him. Hulga is alone and misses her artificial leg. Despite being the chaste sections of society, some characters exhibit conflicting and false appearances. She published the story in June 1955 in her book; A Good Man is Hard to Find. This unique introduction sets the theme of her machine-like nature that shows Mrs. Freeman never surrenders to anyone and is a character that lives in the reality of the situation. This irritates Hulga but pleases Mrs. Freeman. She feeds into Mrs. Hopewells own ego by agreeing with whatever her employer says, while also building up her own self-image as someone both polite and wise. Hers is based on education, intelligence, and authenticity, howevernot class, wealth, or religious faith. answer choices Savannah, Georgia Boston, Mass. Also, every person has a different approach to life. Joy develops superiority over the only two women in her life Mrs. Freeman and her mother and it leaves her vulnerable to the dodges of the people outside. In this case, they are used to reveal that the people whom Mrs. Hopewell believes to be good country people are in fact nothing of the sort. As OConnor says, A story is a way to say something that cant be said any other way, and it takes every word in the story to say what the meaning is. The story Good Country People is a compact and beautiful piece of work that materializes her statement by making it unique and interesting. While leaving the house, he sees Hulga outside who joins him towards the door and he manages to have some talk with her before leaving. Mrs. Hopewell thinks that Hulga's wearing "a six-year-old skirt and a yellow sweat shirt with a faded cowboy on a horse embossed on it" is idiotic, proof that despite Hulga's Ph.D. and her name change, she is "still a child.". She agrees, but reservedly, having pity on him because she thinks of him as a poor baby.. Although O'Connor uses the intellectual, or the pseudo-intellectual, in one of her novels and in seven of her short stories, Hulga is the only female in the bunch. Examples Of Irony In Good Country People - 1238 Words | Cram PDF downloads of all 1725 LitCharts literature guides, and of every new one we publish. He takes their most dear things and runs away. By living such an intellectual life, Hulga has to some extent cut herself off from the natural world, reaffirming that, for all her knowledge of philosophy, she is missing out on many aspects of life. Why did Flannery O'Connor choose an onion as the closing image in the story "Good Country People"? Hulga is outraged to discover that the "proof of love" demanded by Pointer is that she show him where her wooden leg joins her body; Hulga is "as sensitive about her artificial leg as a peacock is about his tail." good and trash. Mrs. Hopewell thinks of him as such a simple and pure man who might be selling Bibles to the black lot where he is heading. "Good Country People" - CliffsNotes Because both Hulga and her mother have accepted this false view of reality, each of them "hopes well" to tailor that world to meet her own needs Mrs. Hopewell by living in a world where clichs operate as truth, and Hulga by insisting that there is nothing behind, or beyond, the surface world. The loss of Hulga's glasses symbolically marks her total loss of perception, and she begins to return his kisses, "kissing him again and again as if she were trying to draw all the breath out of him." His personality resembles that of the hollow Bible because his exterior is so simple and pure but there is nothing inside. . Definitions and examples of 136 literary terms and devices. To continue, Manley also asks her to show him the place where her wooden leg is attached to her body. LitCharts Teacher Editions. For example, the name "Hopewell" (hope well) characterizes both the mother and her daughter. In "Good Country People", Mrs. Hopewell sees the people of her world as falling into a clear hierarchy. Presently, while Freeman discusses her daughters, Joy takes her breakfast to the table so that her mother may not find the chance to ask about the salesman. She considers her old tenants as trash while the new ones are good. However, Joy does not pay attention to him after greeting him. To her, "good country people are the salt of the earth." For instance, she spends most of her time reading and goes for a walk occasionally.