Irony In 'Good Country People'

The short story “Good Country People,” uses irony in many ways. But the clear use of irony is portrayed in the story through O’Connors use of character names. The use of irony is presented when characters names contradict what the character represents. In “Good Country People,” O’Connor uses these names to figuratively and literally describe the four main character’s and their flaws.
The first use of irony by using a characters name is shown when the audience is introduced to “Mrs. Hopewell.” Ironically, Mrs. Hopewell is surprisingly full of hope. Her name is ironic due to the simple outlook that she has on the world around her. She believes that you can do anything that you put your mind to. Because of this misinterpretation of the world, she assumes that everything is more simple than it actually is. In the beginning of the story, the author says “Mrs. Hopewell had no bad qualities of her own but she was able to use other people’s in such a constructive way that she never felt the lack,” (p. 2525). This shows how much hope Mrs. Hopewell had in the people around her. Sometimes Mrs. Hopewell lets her optimism get the best of her as well. In the story, Mrs. Hopewell says “She’s brilliant, but she doesn't

have a grain of sense… And she said such strange things,”(p.2527). In this quote, she is talking about her daughter Joy-Hulga. Mrs. Hopewell has such high expectations of Joy-Hulga to live up to her first name (Joy), that she is unable to understand her daughter’s true self. Her hope can be blinding and hypocritical, but Mrs. Hopewell does live up to her name.
Joy or Hulga is another character whose name is ironic to the story. Joy is Mrs. Hopewell’s daughter, who gave her the name Joy. Unlike her mother, Joy does not live up to the name she was born into. Joy got into a hunting accident and lost her leg at the age of ten, and she had a weak heart. In “Good Country People,” the author says, “The doctors had told Mrs. Hopewell that with the best of care, Joy might see forty-five,” (p.2527). This quote from the story makes it clear that Joy does not have the most ideal life. Joy also makes no effort to have a better life when she decides to change her name to Hulga. The author says, “She considered the name her personal affair. She had arrived at it purely on the basis of its ugly sound… One of her major triumphs was that her mother had not been able to turn her dust into Joy, but the greater one was that she had been able to turn herself into Hulga,”(p.2527). Joy wanted to change her name to Hulga so that her name fit the series of unfortunate events that she has been through. Joys name is ironic because it contradicts her lifestyle completely, until she changes it to Hulga.
Mrs.

Freeman’s name is also ironic to the story, it may not seem like it in the beginning of the story but Mrs. Freeman stands for freedom herself. In the very last line of the story, the author says, “Mrs. Freeman’s gaze drove forward and just touched him before he disappeared under the hill. Then she returned her attention to the evil smelling onion shoot she was lifting from the ground. ‘Some can’t be that simple… I know I never could,’ she said,” (p.2537). This just shows that unlike, Mrs. Hopewell or Joy, she is able to see what goes on around her. The ability to listen and respond gives Mrs. Freeman a real sense of freedom, knowledge. Although Mrs. Freeman is a farmer and seems like she does not know much, she lives up to the name given to

her.
In the story, “Good Country People,” irony is used through characterization. Mrs. Freeman, Mrs. Hopewell, and Joy-Hulga all give irony to this story. The use of irony is used clearly with each character that is introduced. The use of irony is presented in “Good Country People,” when the characters names contradict, or coincide with their lifestyle.