“Good Country People” illustrates that dismissing sin instead of accepting it leads to great loss. Hulga believes she is much more intelligent and cultured than her mother and those around her, especially because of her choice to be atheistic. When a good country Bible salesperson, Pointer, arrives, she believes she can easily trick and corrupt him, yet even when he tricks her, she attempts to reaffirm her spiritual position by criticizing his, stating “‘you’re a fine Christian! You’re just like them all - say one thing and do another. You’re a perfect Christian” (184). Her narcissism is apparent as each description is laced with sarcasm. By critiquing a nonexistent straw man Christian, she is able to dismiss her loss as the fault of someone
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In order to ignore her sin, rather than face the consequence of being wrong and admitting error, she instead chooses to shift all blame onto another person, and is thus able to retain her narcissistic view of herself. However, she loses her fake leg, a symbol for her ability, as a result of refusing to accept that she may have been wrong in any form. Pointer, unlike Hulga, does not deny any wrongdoing. Pointer is an amoral atheist that steals prosthetics from girls he tricks. His inability to judge his actions morally or consider sin empowers him and allows for him to control others and ignore his own person wrongdoing, such as manipulating Mrs. Hopewell, Hulga’s mother, through social convention, into inviting him in. He then asks why she did not have a Bible in her parlor. Upon hearing her excuse of having an atheist daughter, he still maintains power by stating “‘Lady…for a Chrustian, the word of God ought to be in every room in the house besides in his heart. I know you’re a Chrustian because I can see it in every line of your face’” (177). …show more content…
However, there is always a cost. In becoming consumed by greed, Uncle Oscar, and Paul’s mother, received material wealth, but lost the moral character to truly mourn a life lost. The Misfit and grandmother, both knowing of Christianity’s values and believing in them to some extent, were able to distance themselves from their sins and people around them. Hulga and Pointer, in being atheists and dismissing their sin, lose what makes them human, morality and a literal limb. In all cases, anything sin did or would have allowed people to obtain was massively outweighed by a corruption or complete failure of morals or faith. This is markedly different from biblical sin, which would claim that “[a]ll of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away", and reflects a society where sin is taken less seriously and encountered more often (Bible, New International Version, Isaiah 64:6). This worldview, that sin will consume us, is rejected by these authors, who instead favor lenient portrayals of sin over absolute. Thus, the stories recognize that sin can indeed bring benefits to people, but consistently illustrate that these benefits will never outweigh the cost. I feel that sin is just one form of where a line is drawn between good, and evil, and that this form is outdated,
In order to ignore her sin, rather than face the consequence of being wrong and admitting error, she instead chooses to shift all blame onto another person, and is thus able to retain her narcissistic view of herself. However, she loses her fake leg, a symbol for her ability, as a result of refusing to accept that she may have been wrong in any form. Pointer, unlike Hulga, does not deny any wrongdoing. Pointer is an amoral atheist that steals prosthetics from girls he tricks. His inability to judge his actions morally or consider sin empowers him and allows for him to control others and ignore his own person wrongdoing, such as manipulating Mrs. Hopewell, Hulga’s mother, through social convention, into inviting him in. He then asks why she did not have a Bible in her parlor. Upon hearing her excuse of having an atheist daughter, he still maintains power by stating “‘Lady…for a Chrustian, the word of God ought to be in every room in the house besides in his heart. I know you’re a Chrustian because I can see it in every line of your face’” (177). …show more content…
However, there is always a cost. In becoming consumed by greed, Uncle Oscar, and Paul’s mother, received material wealth, but lost the moral character to truly mourn a life lost. The Misfit and grandmother, both knowing of Christianity’s values and believing in them to some extent, were able to distance themselves from their sins and people around them. Hulga and Pointer, in being atheists and dismissing their sin, lose what makes them human, morality and a literal limb. In all cases, anything sin did or would have allowed people to obtain was massively outweighed by a corruption or complete failure of morals or faith. This is markedly different from biblical sin, which would claim that “[a]ll of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away", and reflects a society where sin is taken less seriously and encountered more often (Bible, New International Version, Isaiah 64:6). This worldview, that sin will consume us, is rejected by these authors, who instead favor lenient portrayals of sin over absolute. Thus, the stories recognize that sin can indeed bring benefits to people, but consistently illustrate that these benefits will never outweigh the cost. I feel that sin is just one form of where a line is drawn between good, and evil, and that this form is outdated,