The Spiritual Awakening

Always have compassion, be humble in what my assigned duties are, give respect and reverence unto God, and continue to equip myself for mission work unto God. Keep up with my prayer life, daily devotion and meditational times.

In the short story “A Good Man is Hard to Find” O’Conner, tries to make us understand the meaning of grace. The Misfit and the Grandma are the two main characters that show us what grace is and how it can be applied to a person’s everyday life. In Flannery O’Conner’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” the Grandma tries to save her family by convincing them to visit a place she recommends to keep them away from the Misfit, whom with they later come in contact. Neither the Grandma nor the Misfit deserves grace but it is given to them anyway.

In her short story, Good Country People, Flannery O’Connor employs all the elements of humor, irony and, paradox intermingled within the system of Christian belief in evil and redemption. This is no more evident than in the character of Joy, the daughter, who had lost a leg in a hunting accident at the age of 12 and who now has a wooden leg in his place. Throughout the story, it becomes increasingly clear that Joy’s physical affliction is closely paralleled by a spiritual one as well. As the narrative unfolds, the great lengths Joy has gone to recreate her inner self, her soul, are revealed in painstaking detail. It appears she has succeeded in fashioning her own soul into a spirit that is as hard and unyielding as the prosthesis that now takes the place of her missing naturally soft and flexible appendage.

Hulga from “ Good Country People” described as manipulative and compulsive, but at the end she became vulnerable. Mrs. Hopewell stated “ Whenever she looked at Joy this way, she could not help but feel that it would have been better if the child had not taken the Ph.D. It had certainly not brought her out any…” (175) The reason for Hugla’s false view of reality is because she has obtained a Ph.D. degree in philosophy, causing her to misunderstand the true value of life. Early on in the novel for Hugla you can’t find the irony behind her false reality, until she meets the bible salesman who corrupts her beliefs. “ I don’t have illusions. I’m one of those people who see through to nothing.”(183) At this point in the novel she still believes she is a rationalist, through every situation she is in, especially, when she doesn’t tell the bible salesman that she loves him. She doesn’t wish to use

Joy-Hulga does not hope well for the people around her. For her, life is beyond hope, or belief in anything. In her mind this indifference makes her vastly superior to those around her. O’Connor depicts Joy-Hulga as person deformed physically and spiritually. Although she is highly educated, she lives an unproductive and unhappy life. A state she blames on a weak hart and a missing leg. Conditions that can be seen as allegorical to her presumptuous, embittered nature. She is joyless, relegating herself to the company of individuals who she feels cannot, “understand her, because of her superior intellect. She expects that they are inferior because of their “simple ways”, their religious beliefs, and their lack of education. For Joy-Hulga Hopewell believing in nothing is her accomplishment, accomplishment as a philosopher.

Flannery O’Connor believed in the power of religion to give new purpose to life. She saw the fall of the old world, felt the force and presence of God, and her allegorical fictions often portray characters who discover themselves transforming to the Catholic mind. Though her literature does not preach, she uses subtle, thematic undertones and it is apparent that as her characters struggle through violence and pain, divine grace is thrown at them. In her story “Revelation,” the protagonist, Mrs. Turpin, acts sanctimoniously, but ironically the virtue that gives her eminence is what brings about her downfall. Mrs. Turpin’s veneer of so called good behavior fails to fill the void that would bring her to heaven. Grace hits her with force and

Hulga uses her handicap, a leg partially shot off during a hunting accident, as an excuse for stomping loudly around the house in the hope of irritating her mother. Although Hulga sees herself as intellectually superior, her self-esteem and self-image are low due to her handicap, as evidenced by her complete disregard for her appearance. Further evidence of her low self-esteem is her changing her name from Joy to Hulga, a name that her mother, Mrs. Hopewell, felt was ?the ugliest name in any language.? Unbeknownst to Hulga, Mrs. Hopewell grieved for her daughter?s tragic life and excuses much of her behavior ?because of

Feminism and Historicism play a major part in Flannery O’Connor’s short story, “Good Country People”, first published in 1955. The story focuses on the importance of identity and the parallels between truth and deception. In “Good Country People”, the Hopewell family, maintain a small farm in rural Georgia with the help of tenants the Freemans. The pious Mrs. Hopewell’s mottos ‘nothing is perfect’ and ‘it takes all kinds to make the world’ are manifested in her unmarried thirty-two year old daughter, Joy who later changes her name to Hulga, wears a prosthetic wooden leg because of a childhood accident. Hulga who has a Ph.D. in Philosophy, cannot advance her academic aspirations because of a weak heart; because of this she must live in her

Firstly, the main character in this short story is thirty two year old Joy who is now known as Hulga. Her character is described as vulnerable to other people but in her eyes is seen as superior to every other character. The feeling of superiority plays a role with her numerous degrees in philosophy. The perspective of Hulgas identity to other people is indebtedness, this is because of her hunting accident when she was

In “Good country people”, Hulga believes in nothing, therefore she is one of the non-religious people. Mrs. Hopewell’s words is a good

Spiritual disciplines will prepare us for our journey in Christ. I feel if understanding correctly, the classical Christian Pilgrimage remind us that we all have issues requiring regular examination. In chapter eight, the classical Christian Pilgrimage tells us we are at different stages on the path of wholeness in Christ. However, in my thoughts some areas of our Christian journey we may be doing well, but in other areas we have not touched at all. Not to mention, these are the place we are not ready or capable of handling yet, however, as we mature in God and He knows what we can handle, then we are awakened. God awakens us to our true selves which have not been completely revealed. In reality, once we reach maturity to God, he reveals all that is hidden deep inside of us (the real us/you). By the same token, he let us see the inner behaviors, attitudes, desires, in fact how we measure up in them being Christ-like. I feel the awakening stage deals with the comfort of being set free of these issues that are holding us back also causing detours on our path to wholeness in Christ. Equally, the threat is being afraid to see who we really are; also how far from Christ-like we really are. We must first be awakened from our separation also alienation from God (Mulholland 79-82).

In her short story, Good Country People, Flannery O’Connor employs all the elements of humor, irony and, paradox intermingled within the system of Christian belief in evil and redemption. This is no more evident than in the character of Joy, the daughter, who had lost a leg in a hunting accident at the age of 12 and who now has a wooden leg in his place. Throughout the story, it becomes increasingly clear that Joy’s physical affliction is closely paralleled by a spiritual one as well. As the narrative unfolds, the great lengths Joy has gone to recreate her inner self, her soul, are revealed in painstaking detail. It appears she has succeeded in fashioning her own soul into a spirit that is as

God expects individuals that call themselves “Christian” to grow spiritually. The Word of God encourages personal examination as a part of the growth process, as found in Psalm 139:23-24: “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns. See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the everlasting way.” Becoming more Christ-like focuses on how He works in us and not on our work for Him. The Cycle of Works demonstrates that regardless of work we complete, the acceptance of others, the sustainability of our works and the significance it brings, we cannot compete with God’s Cycle of Grace that show us that we are significant in His sight and that brings us sustenance and acceptance

Knowing Flannery O’Connor’s religious conviction, one cannot overlook this underlying tone in both of her regarded stories “A Good Man is hard to Find” and “Good Country People”. It is often said of those who stand outside of religious conviction that faith seems to come in handy to people only when it is valuable to get them out of a predicament, of which they have likely placed themselves through insensitive behavior and decisions. In such a desperate attempt to appeal to faith, one only finds emptiness and a fate that leaves them hopeless or even dead. O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find” and “Good Country People” illustrate that the inability to see the flaws in one’s self lead to substantial consequences, where an appeal to faith

“As a blind man might find a jewel in heaps of rubbish, this Awakening Mind has somehow appeared in me. This is the elixir of life, born to end death in the world. This is the inexhaustible treasure…. The supreme medicine, curing the sickness of the world”. What is the Awakening Mind? It can be described to be a source that is produced for the welfare of the world. Sometimes described to be a tree that constantly produces fruit, never withering. It is the only existence that is eternal amongst the emptiness of the universe. The Awakening Mind offers sanctuary and immeasurable expertise like unique caravan leaders to those who seek it. This limitless “jewel” is sought after by the mind, which is only possible when the mind understands the truth