Good Country People Sparknotes

The short story “Good Country People” begins and we are introduced to Mrs. Hopewell, who owns a farm in Georgia that is ran with the assistance of her tenants, Mr. and Mrs. Freeman. Mrs. Hopewell's daughter, Joy, is thirty-two years old who lost her leg in a tragic childhood accident. Joy practices antitheism and has a Ph.D. in philosophy. She seems to have a hate towards her mother, and in an act of rebellion, Joy changed her name to "Hulga," the ugliest name Mrs. Hopewell can imagine for her daughter to ever have. The relationship between mother and daughter is not a healthy or common one. Mrs. Hopewell still sees her daughter as a child and Joy resents her mother for not accepting the woman that she is. Throughout the story the two bicker

constantly and don’t get along. A traveling Bible salesman, Manley Pointer, visits the family and is invited to have dinner despite the Hopewell’s lack of interest in purchasing Bibles.

Mrs. Hopewell believes Manley is "good country people." Pointer invites Joy for a picnic date and Joy accepts. During the date, he convinces her to go up into the barn where he gets her to remove her prosthetic leg and takes her glasses. Then, he brings out his hollowed-out Bible containing a bottle of whiskey and cards with vulgar images printed on them. He tries to get her to drink, but she refuses his offer and constantly insist that he gives her back her leg. At that point he disappears with her leg after telling her that he collects prostheses from disabled people and is a nihilistic atheist. In the short story, “Good Country People”, I believe the most obvious themes are religion and identity. The story creates an opposition between having faith in God and believing in absolutely nothing. The main character, Hulga, is portrayed as an open, honest and fully devoted atheism. She considers herself as a highly educated and experienced woman who has no need or want for religion. While other characters such as Mrs. Hopewell and Manly Pointer, appear to be Christians but are far from being devoted in their religion and

beliefs. Two examples of this is seen when Hulga states to Manly Pointer “You’re a Christian! You’re a fine Christian! You’re just like them all- you say one thing and do another. You’re a perfect Christian” (Flannery O’Conner; pg. 1644).

Another example is shown when Mrs. Hopewell says "My daughter is an atheist and won't let me keep the Bible in my parlor" (1636). Both examples shows the huge presence of religion throughout the short story and how it develops with each character. Another theme I saw in the story is identity. It is uncovered in the story when Joy changes her name to Hulga because she doesn’t identify herself with the true meaning of her birth name Joy. Joy means feeling happiness and enjoyment but Hulga does not feel that way about herself. She resents her mother, Mrs. Hopewell, because of her simplistic view of the world and because she doesn’t fully accept her daughter for who she really is. An example is seen when Hulga states “If you want me, here I am- LIKE I AM” (1633) to her mother. Manly Pointer’s identify is also uncovered in the story. In the beginning of the short story, he portrays himself as a traveling Bible salesmen but he is far from it and uses this view of himself to his advantage. Hulga and Mrs. Hopewell think Manley’s a prefect Christian, harmless, and the cliché term of “good country people”, but they do not know his true intent, which is to steal and to be cruel and

misleading. Towards the end, Manley shows his true intentions and true self by tricking Joy and stealing her prosthetic leg. Examples of this is shown when Hulga says to Manley “Aren’t you,’’ she murmured, “Aren’t you good country people” (1644). Also when Manly states “I hope you don’t think I believe in that crap! I may sell bibles but I know which end is up and I wasn’t born yesterday and I know where I’m going” (1644).