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Good Country People

Flannery OÆConnorÆs (1976) Good Country People provides the reader with a story wherein the characters turn out differently than they appear throughout the story. This is particularly true with the characters of Joy (ôHulgaö) Hopewell and a Bible salesman who goes by the name Manley Pointer. These are good, country people, a reference that is made numerous times throughout the story. Mrs. Hopewell has three daughters and has taken on a tenant couple, Mr. and Mrs. Freeman. Mrs. HopewellÆs eldest daughter, Joy, has a Ph.D. in philosophy but her wooden leg and weak heart prevent her from putting it to use through teaching. Joy is also an avowed atheist. One day a Bible salesman enters the Hopewell household, a man who is viewed as ôinnocentö by Mrs. Hopewell and even the cynical Joy. He is also good country people, who Mrs. Hopewell labels ôthe salt of the earthö (OÆConnor 179). Despite JoyÆs seemingly cynical and atheistic worldview and despite Manley PointerÆs presumed innocence and religiosity, the ending shows that people, even good country people, are not what they seem.

In the short stories of Flannery OÆConnor, certain themes reappear. Christian symbolism is often a part of her stories as is the concept that all human beings are flawed. One of Mrs. HopewellÆs favorite sayings is that ôNothing is perfectö (OÆConnor 1976, 171). The relationship between Mrs. Hopewell and her daughter demonstrates another common aspect of OÆConnerÆs works, that of education versus ignorance. Joy is educated and Mrs. Hopewell and those around her are not. Joy startles her mother at one point by exclaiming, ôWoman! do you ever look inside? Do you ever look inside and see what you are not? God!ö (OÆConnor 1976, 176). In another OÆConnor story, Everything That Rises Must Converge, we see a similar relationship between Julian and his mother. Julian has received an education in spite of his mother, ôIn spite o...

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Good Country People. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 17:37, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1710467.html