There have been numerous attempts to analyze Flannery O’Connor’s, “Good Country People” and the true meaning behind this short story. Some scholars specifically focus on the representation of religion, violence, Nihilism, and her place as a Southern writer in “Good Country People.” Scholars mostly use the characters, Joy-Hulga who has only one leg and many personal problems, her mother, Mrs. Hopewell who wants her daughter to be what society expects of her, and the Bible salesman, Manley Pointer, a character that appears to be someone he 's not, to argue their stance on this short story. Three specific scholarly articles notice the mother-daughter relationship presented in the story, the similarities between the story and O’Connor’s personal
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Andrews’ article, “Hyphenated Identity in ‘Good Country People’ and ‘Everyday Use’” focuses on the development of a conflict between mothers and daughters. Andrews compares the similarities between Flannery O’Connor’s “Good Country People” and Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” by pointing out the “shared landscape” and “the shared tensions within the families” in both short stories (133). She also shows how in each story both daughters are caught between two incompatible identities, in which they both become vulnerable to hyphenated identity. Andrews then identifies that both mothers are powerless in trying to not only change their daughters, but in also trying to imprint their personal values on them (134). She also states that both writers emphasize the “imbalance of power in gender and race relations” in the antebellum South during the time these short stories were written, both heavily influenced by cultural differences …show more content…
In “Good Country People,” Mrs. Hopewell cannot seem to accept Joy-Hulga as she is and worries that she will never have any normal good times. The way Mrs. Hopewell views Joy-Hulga is the key to Joy’s outrage and the cause of her emotional vulnerability (136-137). Andrews includes that the reasoning behind Joy-Hulga’s “profound innocence” and her “intense need” during her encounter with her first lover, the Bible salesmen, is in fact Mrs. Hopewell’s fault because she could not embrace her daughter 's individuality. This resulting in Joy-Hulga’s need for acceptance by the Bible salesman, causing her profound innocence to be revealed (137). Andrews also points out that in “Good Country People,” Joy tries to rename herself Hulga in order to prove to Mrs. Hopewell that she can’t control her identity (137). However, Mrs. Hopewell continues to call her daughter by her legal name and Joy-Hulga is never fully able to escape her original name. This making Joy-Hulga vulnerable to the “impasse of hyphenation” because she is caught between two incompatible identities throughout the short story
Andrews’ article, “Hyphenated Identity in ‘Good Country People’ and ‘Everyday Use’” focuses on the development of a conflict between mothers and daughters. Andrews compares the similarities between Flannery O’Connor’s “Good Country People” and Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” by pointing out the “shared landscape” and “the shared tensions within the families” in both short stories (133). She also shows how in each story both daughters are caught between two incompatible identities, in which they both become vulnerable to hyphenated identity. Andrews then identifies that both mothers are powerless in trying to not only change their daughters, but in also trying to imprint their personal values on them (134). She also states that both writers emphasize the “imbalance of power in gender and race relations” in the antebellum South during the time these short stories were written, both heavily influenced by cultural differences …show more content…
In “Good Country People,” Mrs. Hopewell cannot seem to accept Joy-Hulga as she is and worries that she will never have any normal good times. The way Mrs. Hopewell views Joy-Hulga is the key to Joy’s outrage and the cause of her emotional vulnerability (136-137). Andrews includes that the reasoning behind Joy-Hulga’s “profound innocence” and her “intense need” during her encounter with her first lover, the Bible salesmen, is in fact Mrs. Hopewell’s fault because she could not embrace her daughter 's individuality. This resulting in Joy-Hulga’s need for acceptance by the Bible salesman, causing her profound innocence to be revealed (137). Andrews also points out that in “Good Country People,” Joy tries to rename herself Hulga in order to prove to Mrs. Hopewell that she can’t control her identity (137). However, Mrs. Hopewell continues to call her daughter by her legal name and Joy-Hulga is never fully able to escape her original name. This making Joy-Hulga vulnerable to the “impasse of hyphenation” because she is caught between two incompatible identities throughout the short story