The Irony of "Good Country People"
...y had her daughter Joy to communicate with and Joy is not a polite companion. When Mrs. Freeman comes to visit Mrs. Hopewell acts like she wants her to leave; nevertheless, Mrs. Hopewell adores telling Mrs.Freeman all her story and walking the fields with her. Mrs. Hopewell’s favorite saying is “nothing is perfect”; however, Mrs. Hopewell in some ways does thinks she is perfect similar to how she thought she has no bad qualities. Mrs. Freeman in ‘Good Country People” has a passion for the in-depth details about other people’s lives. An example is when Mrs. Hopewell told Mrs. Freeman the story of how Joy lost her leg in a hunting accident when she was ten years old. Mrs. Freeman listened to every detail and asked to hear it again. The Freeman’s past employer told Mrs. Hopewell that Mrs. Freeman was the nosiest women in the world and that she would want to know everything about everything. Mrs. Freeman is a proud person although it is never stated in “Good Country People”. Flannery O’Connor draws the reader’s attention to this by Mrs. Freeman’s actions. First, the reader learns this by the way she talks about her two daughters all the time Glynese and Carramae. Furthermore Mrs. Freeman thinks she is never wrong and Joy says that one can not be rude to Mrs. Freeman. Joy Hopewell’s character is seriously bitter, unhappy, and wants to prove that she is normal. However Flannery O’Connor uses irony to show the reader Joy truly wants to be normal, pretty and loved. Joy is thirty-two years old and has a PhD in philosophy. Joy is insecure of her looks because of her bad skin and artificial leg. When Joy (Hulga) was ten her leg was shot of in a hunting accident. Joy is resentful of the Freemans girls because Glynese has several admires and Carramae is married. Joy enjoys calling the girls Glycerin and Caramel. When Joy was twenty- one she legally changed her name to Hulga because she liked how ugly it sounded and she thought it fit her. Mrs. Hopewell still calls Joy by her real name because she said Hulga is an ugly name and joy is a beautiful name. Joy in addition has a heart condition that may take her life by the time she is forty-five. This has keep her from pursuing any jobs or moving out on her own. Joy (Hulga) is rude and mean to Mrs. Hopewell, Mrs. Hopewell always tried to urge Joy to walk the field with her but Joy would always make a nasty comment or just walk away when her mother was asking her something. Joy (Hulga) also insisted on wearing an outfit that made her look like she is a child, because it had a red cowboy on it and looked very old. When Joy (Hulga) meets Manley Pointer the Bible salesman she would not even talk to him. Mrs. Hopewell invites him to stay for dinner because he was just a simple country boy. After dinner Manley made it a point to talk to Hulga before leaving and Hulga and Manley make plans to take a picnic the next day. Hulga lied to Manley and told him she was seventeen. All night before the picnic Joy (Hulga) thinks about how she will seduce Manley the next day. Mrs. Hopewell thought Manley was just a good country boy who had the same heart condition as Joy (Hulga) and wanted to devote his life to God and help others find Christianity. Nevertheless Manley Pointer had his own secret personality and agenda. Manley Pointer was the seventh of twelve children and his father died when he was just eight years old. Manley when eating dinner with the Hopewells took notice of Joy (Hulga) and was cheerful when she said yes to walk him to the gate and even more to the ...