More handpicked essays just for you.
Symbolism of good country people
Opinion paper on good country people by flannery o'connor
The use of symbols in “Good Country People”
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Symbolism of good country people
Flannery O'Connor's "Good Country People"
In "Good Country People" by Flannery O'Connor, uses symbolism
in the choice of names, almost to the point of being ironic and humorous.
These names center around the personality and demeanor of the characters.
Hulga, once known as Joy, simply changed her name because it was the
ugliest she could think of. Mrs. Freeman's name is ironic because she is
burdened by the land that she works, so is not really free. Mrs. Hopewell?s
name is also ironic, because she trys to provide hope, but is in fact empty in
her talk. Each one of these characters names, Hulga, Mrs. Freeman, and
Mrs. Hopewell, show the symbolism used by Flannery O'Connor.
Hulga, the daughter to Mrs. Hopewell, was actually named Joy at
birth. At the age of ten, Joy lost one of her legs in a hunting accident, and
from that point on became a depressed realist. At the age of twenty one, Joy
moved out of the house, went to college, and legally changed her name to
Hulga. Hulga most likely changes her name to spite her mother, because
Joy is such a beautiful name and Hulga is such an ugly one. ?She [Hulga]
had arrived at it first purely on the basis of its ugly sound and then the full
genius of its fitness had struck her...She saw it as the name of her highest
creative act.? Hulga alo changes her name because of the true way she feels
inside. Hulga is the ugliest name she could think of and it shows her
inability to love or become close to anyone. ?One of...
Hopewell’s daughter, Joy who renames herself to Hulga. Hulga who is also like Phoenix, a victim of circumstances, is highly educated, was shot in the leg while young, and thus has a wooden leg and is also sick in that she has a weak heart. Hulga, goes through these circumstances and takes them negatively, she is seen as not only rude but also always cross and insensitive to other people’s feelings or emotions an example of this is when she shouted at her mother, Mrs. Hopewell, at the table “Woman! Do you ever look inside? Do you ever look inside and see what you are not? God!” (Clugston,
Joy Hopewell is the name given to Hulga by her mother and father when she was a baby. This name brings to mind a person who looks on the brighter side of things and doesn’t let things discourage her. In the readers mind this name may perhaps bring about the image of a teacher or someone who works with children in a well light happy place. It is also a softer more vulnerable name, which may have been O’Conner’s intent in using the name Joy. In the story Joy changes her name to Hulga Hopewell because of the fact that she feels it better suits her personality. During her childhood Hulga had an accident in which her leg was shot off of her body; therefore, she has to wear a wooden leg that is rather bulky so by having the name Hulga it helps her to deter many people from asking questions or trying to get too close to her. Due to this accident Hulga becomes a brooding person, not very fond of company and entertainment. The name Hulga brings to mind a rather large Swedish woman who could probably break a man in half. It is a brooding name and awkward on ...
Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate is the story of an African boy, Kek, who loses his father and a brother and flees, leaving his mother to secure his safety. Kek, now in Minnesota, is faced with difficulties of adapting to a new life and of finding his lost mother. He believes that his mother still lives and would soon join him in the new found family. Kek is taken from the airport by a caregiver who takes him to live with his aunt. It is here that Kek meets all that amazed him compared to his home in Sudan, Africa. Home of the brave shows conflicts that Kek faces. He is caught between two worlds, Africa and America. He feels guilty leaving behind his people to live in a distant land especially his mother, who he left in the midst of an attack.
Most of Flannery O'Connor's stories seem to contain the same elements: satirical and regional humor, references to God and Christianity, violent similes and metaphors, lots of stereotypical characters, grotesque humor and often focuses a lot of description on character's clothes and faces. However, one of the most important elements of O'Connor's "Good Country People" is the relevance of names. Her choice of names seem to give indications about the personalities of the characters and seem to be more relevant to the story than what the reader would commonly overlook as simply being stock character names. Mrs. Hopewell losing her "joy" (both her daughter and her happiness) and the Bible salesman's own attempt to satisfy his own "manly pointer" proves to the reader that, by coincidence or not, the names of "Good Country People" are indeed very well selected.
The ironic quality of each character’s name is apparent immediately. Joy Hopewell, a woman crippled in a gruesome hunting accident, is depicted as bitter, sullen, and nihilistic. She is anything but well-whishing or Joyful. Her mother named her daughter because she expected her ch...
By definition joy means a great feeling of pleasure and happiness. In Mary Flannery O'Connor's short story Good Country People, Joy Freeman was not at all joyful. Actually, she was the exact opposite. Joy's leg was shot off in a hunting accident when she was ten. Because of that incident, Joy was a stout girl in her thirties who had never danced a step or had any normal good times. (O'Connor 249). She had a wooden leg that only brought her teasing from others and problems in doing daily activities. Joy was very rude as well. In the story it speaks of her comments being so rude and ugly and her face so glum that her mother's boss, Mrs. Hopewell, would tell her if she could not come pleasantly than for her to not come at all. (O'Connor 249).
Religion and nature are both thought to bring beauty to life. Religion gives some a purpose to live while for others, nature provides a natural escape from the problems of modern day life. However, author Flannery O’ Connor uses both of these elements in her short story, The Life You Save May Be Your Own, for a different purpose. Religion and nature provide the reader with insight into the main character, Tom Shiflet, a troubled drifter with one arm who comes into the lives of the Crater women and leaves them abruptly. Shiflet’s moral corruption is represented in the story’s weather change and the numerous Christian symbols that surround the various characters.
Wise Blood showcases the flaws of organized religion as seen by the author, Flannery O’Connor, via the story of the anti-religious protagonist and representative of society, Hazel Motes, and his road to redemption. The author makes sharp commentary on the concept of atheism by setting up the idea that christ is a matter of life or death. The novel is used as a proclamation of faith as well as an analysis of american society.. The novel reflects the society, both religious and nonreligious, of the time that it is set in; this reflection allows O’Connor to emphasize both her own and her faith’s opinions of the world that surrounded her post World War II.
Flannery O'Connor's "Greenleaf," "Everything that Rises Must Converge," and "A Good Man is Hard to Find"
...of a minor character in the story but she is referred to as having two emotions, “forward and reverse”. This is important because when a person is forced to go in reverse they must face something or learn something they don’t want to know about themselves. This seems to be what happens during the course of the story for Joy-Hulga. Although all the characters in the story are stuck in reverse, the only character that is forced to realize her weakness, which destroys the façade that she created is Joy-Hulga. It seems that in this story as in life the most high and mighty suffers the greatest fall. Joy-Hulga was the one who perceived herself to be the high and mighty of the characters. This attitude is displayed with many of her comment to Mrs. Hopewell. Perhaps when Joy-Hulga remarks to Mrs. Hopewell, “Woman, do you ever look inside?” she should’ve taken her own advice.
There has been an increase in high paying jobs that require young people to have a higher education in developing countries that are enhancing and integrating to global economy. Technology is another factor that is becoming more prevalent in these under developed countries. It’s becoming less common for young people to go out and do agricultural work to support the family financially, as many parents rather support and make it easier for their children to go to school. These entire factors can eventually open up all the possibilities for more and more emerging adults to experience life and explore their independence, as countries become wealthier chances are that more young people can go to school and move in to a dorm and have a semi independent lifestyle until they reach adulthood. This can benefit our future generations to come and potentially increase the life expectancy and become achievable adults that live a longer and prosperous life. This will be a new evolution for the young people now and the young people to come, this means more educated people, which call change the way our jobs, economy, and development of our countries can be. More young people will explore their horizons and develop to be the best they can be instead of being forced to work a full time low paying job and hit a dead end. Perhaps one day the new
Smoking is a current issue, it has been there and it is here till now. It is the second major cause of death in the world; it kills nearly 6 million people each year. That is one person every 6 seconds. It’s responsible for the death of a one in ten adults and kills up to half of its users. Since it’s the leading preventable cause of all deaths, there is need to prevent it. Despite the negative side effects of smoking like; smoking kills, its exacerbates poverty, contributes to world hunger by diverting lands use to its production, its production damages the environment and reduces economic productivity, many people still smoke tobacco every day. It...
The first character we encounter is Mrs. Freeman. She is the wife of Mrs. Hopewell's tenant farmer. She is a very outspoken woman, and "she [can] never be brought to admit herself wrong on any point" (O'Connor 180). Mrs. Freeman is a gossip; she is nosy and she "ha[s] a special fondness for the details of secret infections, hidden deformities, assaults upon children" (O'Connor 183).
`I was only purely happy until I was nine years old. After that - in spite of the girl scouts and piano lessons.
From many perspectives, the word smoking means different things to different people. Some might think smoking means relaxation while others might think of smoking as a harmful disease. Cigarettes were invented over a century ago. Since then, many people have started to smoke which has led to many issues that the world faces today. Smoking is a serious issue that needs the attention of all American citizens. Even though the United States cannot control what other countries think about this issue, they can definitely set an example for others to follow. Smoking causes major issues for the smokers themselves and for other people around them. Due to the health effects caused by smoking cigarettes and secondhand smoke, the American government should