The good country people. Good Country People Study Guide 2022-12-17

The good country people Rating: 8,5/10 175 reviews

"Good Country People" is a short story written by Flannery O'Connor in 1955. It tells the story of Joy Hopewell, a young woman who is intellectually disabled, and her interactions with a charming con artist named Manley Pointer.

The story takes place on a farm in rural Georgia, and the main characters are all connected to the farm in some way. Joy's mother, Mrs. Freeman, is the owner of the farm, while Joy is the daughter of one of the farmhands. Mrs. Freeman is a strict and controlling woman who is determined to find Joy a husband, and she sees Manley Pointer as a potential suitor.

However, Manley Pointer is not who he seems. Despite his smooth-talking and charming demeanor, he is actually a con artist who has come to the farm to steal a valuable heirloom. He uses his charm to manipulate Joy and her mother, and he eventually succeeds in stealing the heirloom.

Despite this, the story is not entirely negative. O'Connor uses the character of Joy to show that people with intellectual disabilities can be complex and multidimensional. Joy is not portrayed as a victim, but rather as a strong and determined young woman who stands up for herself and refuses to be taken advantage of.

Overall, "Good Country People" is a thought-provoking story that deals with themes of deception, manipulation, and the complexities of human nature. It highlights the dangers of judging others based on appearances and encourages readers to look beyond surface-level appearances to see the true nature of people.

Good Country People

the good country people

Her face was almost purple. By dividing the story into four loosely distinct sections, O'Connor is able to establish subtle parallels between the characters of Mrs. Analysis of Flannery O'Connor's 'Good Country People'. Pointer is not who he claims to be. Freeman and Manley Pointer, while the flashbacks to the events of the previous day establish the parallels which exist between Hulga and her mother.

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Analysis of 'Good Country People' by Flannery O'Connor

the good country people

She now lives with her mother in the rural South. The story opens in Mrs. Experience tells us that a lot of these are charlatans. I thought I had read this years ago, but clearly I did not. He steals their most valuable belongings and flees. The last date is today's date — the date you are citing the material.

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Good Country People Themes

the good country people

Hulga, though, seems unimpressed. This story starts off one way and ends. To add insult to injury, Manley then opens up his Bible to reveal it's holding whiskey and cards. Then he tells Hulga that he loves her and asks for reciprocity. O'Connor's account of Hulga's reaction is worth examining in detail since it stresses the fact that Hulga's decision to surrender the leg is essentially an intellectual one: She sat staring at him. Now, however, we see that Hulga unconsciously wants to believe that there is a power greater than herself. Manley Pointer, the Bible salesman, is the antagonist.

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Good Country People Analysis

the good country people

Dialect contributes to a verisimilitude of setting. A symbol is a literary device used by authors to have one object represent something else. A Good Man is Hard to Find is perhaps my favorite literary short story, so I was looking forward to reading more Flannery O'Connor. Hopewell, who lives in a world of platitudes and conventional morals. Having made her commitment to Pointer, Hulga allows herself to indulge in a fantasy in which "she would run away with him and that every night he would take the leg off and every morning put it back on again.

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Good Country People by Flannery O'Connor

the good country people

There, they talk about the weather and their girls, two significant aspects of their life. . Hulga directs Manley to the barn attic when he advises finding a spot to sit down. Hypocrisy In The Good Country People, every character professes to have high moral standards, yet none of them live up to those standards. It was beautifully written, and I loved it, but it did not go in the direction I was expecting. Sometimes the start of essay writing causes a stupor.

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Class, Identity, and Superiority Theme in Good Country People

the good country people

Both she and Mrs. Within this larger setting are two others: Mrs. The citation above will include either 2 or 3 dates. Manley comes from the woods, but Mrs Hopewell is unaware he was with her daughter. And, if she were truly a genius, she would know this about herself, wouldn't she? As with many of her works the subtle symbolism with the names, the items that are mentioned and the almost breathless shift in tempo of the plot are classic traits of O'Connor now. They tend to be too dark and depressing, and I tend not to see much of a point. You see, he is a symbol for the nothingness Hulga claims to believe in.

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Good Country People Study Guide

the good country people

Hulga is the protagonist, or main character. The second date is today's date — the date you are citing the material. . Hulga's eyes, she says, are "icy blue, with the look of someone who has achieved blindness by an act of will and means to keep it. Hulga sits by herself and yearns for her prosthetic limb. In addition, they get together for meals at lunch and supper.


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Review: 'The Good Country' revives Midwest's history

the good country people

Hopewell would probably sum up her inability to understand her daughter-with-a-Ph. Freeman, ends it the same as it starts. They smile condescendingly at what they still think of as his simplicity. She meets him at the gate; walks across the pasture; climbs a ladder to the loft; and from there watches him walk away after he kisses her, removes her wooden leg, and ultimately takes it with him when he leaves. When she sees him, Mrs. Hulga has now undergone mortification, and Mrs. Hulga is in constant contact with a vain but simple-minded mother and an apparently simple-minded but shrewd hired woman.

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Good Country People by Flannery O’Connor Plot Summary

the good country people

She decided that for the first time in her life she was face to face with real innocence. We strive to achieve your goals. Hopewell sees the people of her world as falling into a clear hierarchy. After the salesman takes her glasses and false leg, Joy is then dependent due to her disability. The name Pointer manly , not his real name, functions as a semi-obscene pun on one level, and it comes to point out, on another level, the depths to which humanity might descend if it follows only its "manly" nature. As young Pointer is leaving, he arranges to meet Hulga the following day, and the banal conversation between the two of them clearly illustrates Hulga's naiveté. There are a lot of people who proclaim the Word of God.

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