Joy O Connor Analysis

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This story by O'Connor is about a woman named Joy who lost her leg in a shooting accident when she was young. Joy lives with her mother Mrs. Hopewell and their hired help Mrs.Freedman. Joy legally changed her name to Hulga because of her truly unhappy nature and it was the ugliest name she had come across. Then one day a Bible salesman named Pointer came to sell bibles to Mrs.Hopewell and later asked joy on a date. The date was at first very rushed and Pointer seemed to be pushing Joy into kissing him and saying that she loves him shortly after meeting him. Pointer proceeds to take off her fake leg in what seems at the time to be a caring matter. But he then changed his tone and confesses that he not only is not who he had said he was but is stealing joys leg and that there was nothing she could do. The overall theme that O'Connor portrays in this story is that things are not always how they appear. …show more content…

Mrs.Hopewell is described by Joy as having "...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". My own mother is like this so I can understand why joy has such little patience with her and why they do not have a close bond like many other families. Joy also goes on and gives examples of her mother's cliché sayings such as "Nothing is perfect...that is life!...other people have opinions too." These sayings along with other commonly overused ones are often said by my mother who I just roll my eyes at due to her

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