Free Essays on Response To “Good Country People“

As I read Flannery O’Connor’s â€Å"Good Country People† the response that I felt was pity. The character that made me feel that was Joy/Hulga. The basic theme of the story is to not make conclusions about a person’s character before you really get to know them. This is exactly what happens with Joy/Hulga in this story. Mrs. Hopewell, Mrs. Freeman and Manley Porter all treat Joy/Hulga in a manner that can evoke feelings of pity. We assume that Joy/Hulga is a very negative person and not very likable, but in the end we realize that she is just like her mother in that she truly believes in â€Å"good country people.† Joy/Hulga’s mother, Mrs. Hopewell is the first person to do something that causes the feeling of pity for Joy/Hulga. She treats Joy/Hulga like a child. In the following statement from the story, â€Å"Mrs. Hopewell thought of her as a child though she was thirty-two years old and highly educated,† we learn early on how Mrs. Hopewell feels about her daughter. Mrs. Hopewell also like telling people that Mrs. Freeman’s daughters, â€Å"Glynese and Carramae were two of the finest girls she knew.† That had to cause Joy/Hulga to have feelings of worthlessness and probably contributed to her acting the way she did. Mrs. Freeman’s fascination with Joy/Hulga’s artificial leg is the next thing that causes a feeling of pity. She enjoyed hearing the details of the hunting accident that caused her to lose the leg. It would seem that her artificial leg is something Joy/Hulga wants to keep private and doesn’t want everyone talking about it over the kitchen table. As we reach the middle of the story Manley Porter enters Joy/Hulga’s life and seems to be the biggest cause for pity. Joy/Hulga believes that Manley is a Christian Bible salesman with a heart condition. Manley and Joy/Hulga arrange to meet the following day. All the while Joy/Hulga is planning to seduce Manley and then she will be able to console him after... Free Essays on Response To â€Å"Good Country Peopleâ€Å" Free Essays on Response To â€Å"Good Country Peopleâ€Å" As I read Flannery O’Connor’s â€Å"Good Country People† the response that I felt was pity. The character that made me feel that was Joy/Hulga. The basic theme of the story is to not make conclusions about a person’s character before you really get to know them. This is exactly what happens with Joy/Hulga in this story. Mrs. Hopewell, Mrs. Freeman and Manley Porter all treat Joy/Hulga in a manner that can evoke feelings of pity. We assume that Joy/Hulga is a very negative person and not very likable, but in the end we realize that she is just like her mother in that she truly believes in â€Å"good country people.† Joy/Hulga’s mother, Mrs. Hopewell is the first person to do something that causes the feeling of pity for Joy/Hulga. She treats Joy/Hulga like a child. In the following statement from the story, â€Å"Mrs. Hopewell thought of her as a child though she was thirty-two years old and highly educated,† we learn early on how Mrs. Hopewell feels about her daughter. Mrs. Hopewell also like telling people that Mrs. Freeman’s daughters, â€Å"Glynese and Carramae were two of the finest girls she knew.† That had to cause Joy/Hulga to have feelings of worthlessness and probably contributed to her acting the way she did. Mrs. Freeman’s fascination with Joy/Hulga’s artificial leg is the next thing that causes a feeling of pity. She enjoyed hearing the details of the hunting accident that caused her to lose the leg. It would seem that her artificial leg is something Joy/Hulga wants to keep private and doesn’t want everyone talking about it over the kitchen table. As we reach the middle of the story Manley Porter enters Joy/Hulga’s life and seems to be the biggest cause for pity. Joy/Hulga believes that Manley is a Christian Bible salesman with a heart condition. Manley and Joy/Hulga arrange to meet the following day. All the while Joy/Hulga is planning to seduce Manley and then she will be able to console him after...