Good Country People Analysis Essay

The short story, “Good Country People”, by Flannery O’Connor, was built on the elements of both irony and foreshadowing. Throughout the story, the most ironic aspect was the phrase: “good country people” because after analyzing each individual character, all of them were uniquely flawed in their own way. In addition every character’s name was uniquely crafted to either foreshadow future behavior or ironically give the character a deeper meaning as a whole. The main characters, Hulga and Manley were both ironically portrayed as someone they are not until their true characteristics were revealed at the very end when they were alone together. Mrs. Freeman and Mrs. Hopewell’s name foreshadows how they will each individually act. Hulga’s

At the end of the story, when Manley takes Hulga’s artificial leg he mentions that he has also taken a lady’s glass eye; which definitely does not an act done by a manly person. In fact, it hints more at insanity and lunacy. However, Manley’s last name suits him very well, because he pointed out all of Hulga’s insecurities such that, without the comfort of her own house and the support of her artificial leg, she is more or less helpless and extremely vulnerable. Throughout most of the story, Hulga was seen as an independent young woman who is highly educated, but at the end, with the help of Manley, all of Hulga’s dependencies were revealed and exposed. Lastly, Hulga’s name also has a deeper meaning. Although O’Connor gives a brief explanation on why Joy decided to change her name to Hulga, “Mrs. Hopewell was certain that she had thought and thought until she had hit upon the ugliest name in any language” there is actually a more meaningful reason. Ironically, Hulga is not just an ugly name, it also means holy and faithful; even though Hulga explicitly said “‘I don’t even believe in God’”. By changing Joy’s name to Hulga it foreshadows that she is going to be actively searching for religion, and that she wants to know more about faith. Both Hulga and Manley’s name played a crucially ironic role within the

Finally, when Hulga demonstrated to Manley how to both attach and detach her artificial leg, the irony reached its paramount. Before this scene, Hulga was always seen as untouchable, but once her leg was exposed and removed she was no longer seen as an independent person. On the contrary, Hulga was suddenly transformed into someone who is constantly either dependent on something or on someone. When Hulga had her artificial leg, she was incredibly independent by “putting both hands on the ladder, she climbed it while he stood below, apparently awestruck”, however this actually proves her dependency on her artificial leg, because without it, she cannot carry out any of her daily tasks. When Manley took her leg away and she can no longer depend on her artificial leg, so she became dependent on Manley to return and attach her artificial leg again, by urging Manley to “‘Put it back on’”. But now Hulga has evidently lost her voice in the current situation. Finally, when Hulga sensed her own vulnerability she demanded for her artificial leg “‘Put it back on now’” but it was way too late. Other than the irony that is already within Hulga’s name; Hugla’s character as a whole has its own ironic elements, such as how can someone be seen as completely independent