Good Country People By Flannery O Connor: Feminism

“Good Country People” by Flannery O’Connor is a short story told in third person omniscient point of view. The story contains a lot of irony, symbolism, imagery, and many more literary devices. Flannery O’Connor’s purpose was to demonstrate how “good country people” are not so “good.” Instead, they were categorized as “trash” and “good.” The short story interprets how the characters are contradictory and how women are portrayed in 1955 as well as today’s society.

Everyone wants to believe that they are beautiful. For this reason, we tend to seek out that approval from others including our parents, friends, and other loved ones. Flannery O'Connor's story, "Good Country People," focuses on this particular theme. In her narrative, a young girl named Joy Hopewell longs for her mother's approval. When she does not find it, Joy begins to believe that she is unworthy of anyone's admiration. This basic premise allows for Manley Pointer to easily win Joy's trust. Flannery O'Connor includes this string of events in order to show the significant role parents play in developing their children's self-esteem, as well as reveal that even though Joy Hopewell begins to believe that she is not beautiful, she

In 1999, American author Bobbie Ann Mason wrote the short story “Being Country” to satirize the notion that the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. Mason, who was the main character and narrator of her own story, was very unhappy with her life on the farm, as demonstrated through the discontented, critical tone of her narration. She insisted a countrywoman could only have an impact on the world if she took initiative and questioned her womanly duties.

Thesis Statement: In Flannery O'Connor's short story "Good Country People," the expulsion of the outside world allows for more emphasis on the symbolic nature of each of the active characters.

The short story “Good Country People” wrote by Flannery O’Connor is a story that shows many underlining themes about the people around us. One of the many underlying themes is that it shows that people are not always who they say they are, we see this when Hulga/Joy meets the Bible salesman, Manley Pointer. Also, people should not judge others by their looks, we see this when Hulga and Mrs. Hopewell think they are superior over everyone else. Throughout the story, Flannery O’Connor uses his description of characters, dialogue, and the use of the reality he created to show the underlying theme of the story.

“A Good Man is Hard to Find," by Flannery O'Connor, shows a family trip to Florida which end to an unexpected death at the end of the story. In the progression of this story, O’Connor has presented women as naïve with graceful images. Women are presented as the weaker sex while men are given more importance and powerful roles. In this regard this story can be viewed as feministic point of view. Feminism is self-awareness among women about women’s rights on the base of political, social, and economic equality to men (Thompson 18). Feminist Criticism offers a Unique understanding of Flannery O'Connor’s short story A Good Man is Hard to Find because it reflects

For my final project I will be examining the role that gender plays in the Blithedale Romance, specifically how Brook Farm as a utopia looks to represent the roles of men and women in society. I will examine how the Brook Farm looks to change the societal norms surrounding gender. My argument will be centered on the idea that although these utopia communities, specifically Brook Farm, looked to change or eliminate the typical gender roles that existed at the time, they ultimately cannot. I will delve into why they cannot, specifically focusing on the idea that the reason these communities cannot change or redefine these roles is because ultimately these utopia societies are set to fail from the get-go, as we see in the Blithedale Romance.

In addition to the characterization of Joy-Hulga O’Connor’s depiction of Mrs. Hopewell creates irony that begins with her names. Like joy, Mrs. Hopewell, is full of the same limiting perceptions of those around her. Demonstrated by the belief that country people are “good”, or the “salt of the earth.” In much the same way Joy’s impairment results in Mrs. Hopewell’s perpetual assumption that joy is like a child. She regards her with

Flannery O’Connor was born on March 25, 1925, in Savannah, Georgia. She was an American writer. O’Connor wrote two novels and 32 short stories in her life time. She was a southern writer who wrote in Southern Gothic style. In the Article, Female Gothic Fiction Carolyn E. Megan asks Dorothy Allison what Southern Gothic is to her and she responded with, “It’s a lyrical tradition. Language. Iconoclastic, outrageous as hell, leveled with humor. Yankees do it, but Southerners do it more. It’s the grotesque.”(Bailey 1) Later she was asked who one of her role models was and she stated that Flannery O’Connor was one she could relate to. One of O’Connor’s stronger works was “Good Country People” which was published in 1955.

There are many themes within Flannery O’Connor’s short story “Good Country People”. Religion is definitely one of the more prominent themes that the story holds. Like most of O’Connor’s works, it plays a big part in the actions or characteristics of the main characters. This is all on the surface however. The more important and less accentuated theme is the various facades the characters create for themselves. These facades prevent them from facing their true “grotesque” selves. These facades also hide their weaknesses that they have no wish to face ort just can’t understand. People must be comfortable with every aspect of themselves, because certain people, who in this story

Freeman and Mrs. Hopewell and their grown children living in a boarding house. Mrs. Freeman’s character was a boarder with two grown girls Glynese and Carramae Mrs. Freeman worked for Mrs. Hopewell, Mrs Freeman character was portrayed as someone trying to live honestly, she was trying to marry off both of her daughter’s. Mrs. Hopewell seem to be what you would call good old country people and she wanted so much for her daughter Joy to be nice like Mrs. Freeman’s two daughter Glynese and Carramae who were consider to be two of the finest country girls you could meet they were hospitable and well mannered, unlike Mrs. Hopewell’s daughter Joy/Hulga who was so set on being rude and rebellious against her mother Mrs. Hopewell and she talked to people like a know it all, just because she was educated with a PhD. She made a point to let others around her know how well educated she was. But because of her heart condition and prostatic leg she let her condition define her and change her personality to mean spirited person which she was not. As I began to get deeper into story Manley and Hulga seem to be developing a relationship which had Hulga feeling excited because she thought no one would be interested in her disfigured body. So when Manley show interest this made her feel good, and she began day dreaming about seducing him, this relationship seem to begin softening Hulga heart and changing her mind about her disposition

Writing from very different perspectives, O'Connor and Walker have both captured something of significance about country people, the South, and the relationships between mothers and their daughters. Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” is about an African-American family that consists of a mother, Mrs. Johnson and her two daughters, Dee-Wangero and Maggie whereas Flannery O’Connor’s “Good Country People” is comprised of a Southern white family of a mother, Mrs. Hopewell, and her daughter Joy-Hulga. Joy-Hulga and Dee-Wangero both fought with their families and experienced emotional conflicts themselves. The link of the two stories and the characters is that Joy-Hulga and Dee-Wangero are educated women who both look down on their families, wish to

Whilst McEwan demonstrates how women are victims of society in that they are unable to achieve a high social position and class without the aid of men, Bronte focuses on how women reach a position of power through their own source of status and wealth. Emily, Cecilia and Briony all represent a society dependent on men to achieve wealth and status, as they all become members of the upper class through the wealth and inheritance of Jack Tallis. Emily’s ineffectiveness and lack of status and authority is emphasised by the contrast between her and her husband, as despite her husband’s absence from the family, he still has more control over the children than she does. With Jack’s presence, the household is described as ‘settled around a fixed point’, however without him it is ‘a drama

The title “Good Country People”, initially led me to believe that the story was actually about “good country people”. After finishing the story I was pleased to discover that some of the characters are not quite what they appear to be. The story did not change how I feel about “good country people”, but, it did serve as a reminder that people are not always what they seem. That just because I have a preconceived notion of different types of people does not mean that everyone is the way I assume they

In history, a woman was the one who would nurture the bodies and minds of her children and husband. Dickens story takes a turn when he makes Mr. Gradgrind take on this role. Mrs. Gradgrind is barely mentioned but continues to have a strong message in her character. Through hard facts Gradgrind teaches both his students and children the same things and removes the burden of ideal femininity from his daughter, Louisa. Unfortunately, this leaves her unprepared for entering the world outside her own progressive family. She is unable to fulfill the idealized roles of wife and mother, and has no other options for adulthood outside of these. This book shows the constant need of a female role model in the household but fails to show it’s proceed