Irony in Good Country People

“Good Country People,” is a classic example of the use of irony as a technique for imbuing a story with meaning. Irony works on many different levels through the piece. Examples of this range from O’ Connors use of clearly ironic dialogue to the dramatic irony that unfolds between Manley and Joy-Hulga. However the most obvious examples can be found in O’Connor’s characterization of these, “Good Country People.” The technique of irony is applied prominently to the character’s names and behaviors to present the contradictions between their expectations and their reality. O’Connor uses her characters to explore common notions regarding, “good” and “bad” people. Using their expectations for one another, O’Connor ultimately expose their

physically abused by her father and that causes a diminish of hope within herself to become

as her theme in “Good Country People” to broaden her readers' perspectives and give me a better

Flannery O’Conner, a Gothic literature writer, has written several short stories throughout her life. Among these stories, two of them being A Good Man is Hard to Find and Good Country People, she has included some of the most fleshed out and grotesque characters I have ever read. O’Conner brings her characters to life throughout her writing in near flawless and subtle detail with ironic humor. For example, O’Conner makes skillful use of ironic names for her characters. The titles and names such as grandmother, the misfit, Joy/Hulga, and the bible salesman are used ironically. These subtle characterizations help guide the reader to the final, and often times ironic, conclusions all her characters deserve.

Irony in stories can make it funnier, more interesting, or exciting to read. With some types of irony you can get that sort of suspense to the story. Irony can be in a views in a couple ways; you can have situational when you expect something to happen and the total opposite happens, then you have verbal irony, which is when someone says one thing, but something different is really meant. Then there is dramatic irony, which is when the audience knows but not the character does not. In “Good Country People” (O’Connor 116) there are two types of irony: Situational and dramatic irony. Some of the points of irony in the story are the names in the story including the title, the characters, and the central plot of the story.

"Humor brings insight and tolerance. Irony brings a deeper and less friendly understanding." (Repplier) Irony, more specifically situational irony, is in any given circumstance when actions are taken that are contrary to original beliefs. When placed in a story the irony involves the characters' actions and the final outcome or ending of the novel. In the short story, "Good Country People", O'Connor deliberately uses irony with characters actions and thoughts, or vice versa, to lead the reader to the wrong assumption.

This story is about a farm owner named Mrs. Hopewell, her daughter Joy (renamed Hulga), her hired help, the Freemans, and a bible salesman named Manly Pointer. Mrs. Hopewell believes everything can have some good to it if you just adjust to the situation properly. She believes everything is within her grasp. Her name is ironic because she is hopeful and hopes that everything will go well, but in the end it does not. Mrs. Hopewell’s daughter Joy also has a happy name. Joy thinks that she is leaps and bounds smarter

In Flannery O’Connor’s short story “Good Country People,” O’Connor examines Hugla’s relationship to her wooden leg and the autonomy it gives her. Hugla sees as her leg as the only thing she’s in control of and nothing else in the world matters, and she thinks that she is better than everyone else because she has a doctoral degree in philosophy. O’Connor conveys this through irony begging with the story title.

as normal of a life as possible. Her father was an eye doctor who also ran

Irony in Canadian Culture When comparing the essay “As Canadian as Possible Under the Circumstances” by Linda Hutcheon and the poem “I’m not the Indian you had in mind” by Thomas King, both authors use figurative language to describe the irony that lingers in Canadian culture. After analyzing both pieces of writing it is recognized both authors use stereotypes in their writing to explain irony in Canadian culture. For example, in King’s poem he states, “I’ve seen him, I’ve seen him ride / Rush of wind, darkening tide / With wolf and eagle by his side” (King lines 2-4). Looking at Linda Hutcheon’s essay more stereotypes are shown when she says, “combined national hero and colourful symbol-a policeman in a funny costume? That the language we speak Canadian is in itself an odd beast” (Hutcheon 332).

“The great thing about irony is that it splits things apart, gets up above them so we can see the flaws and hypocrisies and duplicates. ”(Wallace). Wallace is saying irony splits things apart. To illustrate the idea of irony splitting things apart, are three short stories: Sherman Alexis’s “Because My Father Always Said He Was The Only Indian Who Saw Jimi Hendrix Play ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ At Woodstock,” Flannery O, Conner’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” and Gabriel Gracia Marquez’s “A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings: A Tale For Children.”

Good Country People” by Flannery O’Connor is an excellent example of irony in literature. From beginning to end it has a steady procession of irony, much of it based on the title of the story: “Good Country People.”

What is a “Good Country Person?” Who makes the decision in whether a person is good or not. Is there such thing as good person? When a person thinks that they are always good, it probably means that they are are lying because no one person is perfect. Although there is no such thing as a perfect person, often times people are sometimes perceived to be perfect or better than they really are. Perception is the ability to see, hear, or become aware of something through the senses. In her article on the morality of perception, Gayman acknowledges, “Unlike mere recognition, perception requires the work of the intelligence and demands careful observation and engaged attention” (1). Being able to perceive the character of a person is necessary if a person wants to fully trust another person. In “Good Country People” by Flannery O’Connor, irony, symbolism, and characterization are used to prove that one’s perception of something or someone is not always reliable.

In the story “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, the grandmother tells the kids about the secret panel. This sets off a chain of events that, in the end, lead the family into their doom. Telling the very excitable kids about the strange house causes a huge uproar. In the passage it states on page 4 , “The children began to yell and scream that they wanted to see the house with the secret panel.” Then, on page 5 Bailey states, "Will you all shut up?

At the end, the poor miller becomes wealthy because of the diamond inside the fish. This type of literary device is irony, or situational irony in this case, as throughout the story he ends in poverty every time he acquires money. This is the only time the author shows the good side of money, as it brings the poor miller a new lifestyle for himself and his family. The poor miller now lives happily without having to worry about any economic problem, as he now has his own business. He was able to afford a new home and a holiday home, where he encountered the two wealthy men, showed them what he has gained, and showed them that he was truly an honest men. (Anaya 30-31) At the end of the story the poor miller became wealthy and never let money