What Does Flannery O 'Connor In' Good Country People Mean

Throughout life, everyone views themselves much worse than how others see them. In Flannery O’Connor’s “Good Country People,” Joy changes her name to Hulga because she views it as an ugly name, which allows readers to believe that she views herself as ugly because of her disability. One of Joy’s disability comes from her leg being shot off in a hunting accident when she was ten years old and has had an artificial leg for twenty-two years now (1342). With this artificial leg, Joy might believe that this prevents her from doing activities that other thirty-two-year-old women do and because she cannot participate, she views herself as different. In turn, she could come to the conclusion that she is ugly because of her differences and chooses an

ugly name to compare herself to the “ugly sweating [Greek god of fire] Vulcan” (1342). Not only does Joy have an artificial leg that causes her to believe she is ugly, but she also has a weak heart that causes her to believe she is unlovable.

Mrs. Hopewell reveals to readers that “with the best of care, Joy might see forty-five [because] she has a weak heart” (1343). With Joy’s weak heart, she does not commit herself to men because she might have a fear of the two of them getting too attached, or even married, and her unexpectedly passing away. Joy purposely changes her birth name to an ugly name because she views herself as ugly with her artificial leg and her weak heart, when really, she might be beautiful. This is her way of dealing with her life, in the sense of maybe thinking ‘well I’m going to die at an early age anyways and with my conditions there is nobody out there that would love me so since I’m ugly, I’ll just change my name to an ugly name.’ When, in reality, there is someone out there that would love her just the way she is with her disabilities and all. Even if she is supposed to die at an early age, there is always a slight chance that she might live much longer than the doctors expected her to. In conclusion, the way we view ourselves is not always how others view us. We, especially as women, are much harder on ourselves with our self-image than anyone else would ever

know. It might not seem like there is someone out there for us, that would love and care for us, but there definitely is someone out there for everyone – no matter how we view ourselves.