Hulg The First Kiss

What makes a first kiss, a first kiss? A first kiss is universally known to be awkward and disgusting. Right before someone kisses another for the first time their head spins with questions. The Hollywood movies make it seem romantic and beyond epic. Realistically, it is more likely to spark thoughts of sweaty hands, swapping spit(disgusting), and the endlessness of the lip lock. The first kiss compared to a hundredth kiss with a significant other generates the intensity of feelings, with less mentality behind it--more automatic kissing, and how emotionally-driven they both are. Joy, or rather Hulga, is a victim of theft. Her first kiss was revolting, it was exactly what a real first kiss is like. Flannery O’Connor created an image of a first kiss that is not typical. The power of a classic first kiss was not given to Hulga. Her kiss was not pretentious, as she certainly is. Her pretentiousness produces thoughts of disgust from her mother. Mrs. Hopewell does not accept her leg or Hulga as a person. The legless

Hulga, in Flannery O’Connor’s “Good Country People,” gets what she deserves when she encounters her first romantic experience.
Hulga made herself new--she reinvented herself.

At least, that was her intention. On page three of “Good Country People” Hulga is revealed. Joy reinvented herself. Joy created a new name when she had other issues that she simply ignored. In the Psychology world, there is a man named Abraham Maslow, that created a defining pyramid of human needs. On the bottom, there are necessities, such as food and water, then it becomes more complex as the pyramid reaches its peak. Joy is stuck between the two parts of the pyramid that are known as safety and love and belonging. Joy’s mother does not love her for who she is. On page two that is made clear when she says, “If you want me, here I am- LIKE I AM.” Her mother does not accept her leg, when Hulga defines herself by her artificial leg. Hulga cheats Maslow’s pyramid and goes straight to the top-- self-actualization. By changing her name that changes her status as a person, and now Hulga must go to the bottom and

up.
Flannery O’Connor’s short story’s narrator is limited. While the narrator can see how Hulga feels, it cannot know how Mrs. Hopewell feels or any other character in the story. Perhaps the narrator is an analogy for the way Hulga tends to be. Hulga is stubborn, solipsistic, and naive. Is Hulga really to blame after being repressed her entire life? Society, in America, allows women to become well-educated--to be equal to men. However, especially before the twenty-first century, women have been seen as housewives. They have no ulterior purpose in life. Women need to be in the kitchen, and they need to be beautiful under any circumstances. This societal antagonism has allowed Mrs. Hopewell to turn against her own daughter. Hulga not only has to face repression from her mother, but also society as a whole.