Both Mrs. Hopewell and her daughter Hulga are judgmental, but for different reasons. Mrs. Hopewell is middle class and has tenants on her farmland. She only wants "good country people" as tenants. In her estimation, "good country people" are stereotypically poor, "salt of the earth" types with no pretensions about them. They are not educated, but they do not behave in ways Mrs. Hopewell would find embarrassing. For this reason, she is happy with her current tenants: "Mrs. Hopewell liked to tell people that Glynese and Carramae were two of the finest girls she knew and that Mrs. Freeman was a lady that she was never ashamed to take her anywhere or introduce her to anybody…" (p. 1991). Mrs. Freeman is acceptable company because she is someone who readily agrees with Mrs. Hopewell while entertaining her, and Mrs. Hopewell can feel superior to her, which O'Connor exposes in a bit of dialogue. Mrs. Hopewell flatters Mrs. Freeman by telling her she is the smart one in the marriage. Mrs. Freeman agrees, saying she's always been quick. Mrs. Hopewell responds with, "Everybody is different," and Mrs. Freeman answers, "Yes, most people is" (p. 1992). Hulga and her mother are at odds for more than one reason. Hulga has a doctorate in philosophy, while Mrs. Hopewell sees girls going to school to "have a good time" (p 1994), not to necessarily get a degree. In the mid-1950's, it is still unconventional for women...
Hulga would like to be a professor if not for her poor physical condition. While Mrs. Hopewell sees herself as enlightened in her attitude towards the poor "good country people," Hulga sees her mother as vapid: "Woman! do you ever look inside? Do you ever look inside and see what you are not?'" Hulga, in her own mind, is the only intelligent one. She is highly educated, and she is enlightened enough to be an atheist.
Flannery O�Connor: Annotated BibliographyCiuba, Gary M.�Desire, Violence & Divinity in Modern Southern Fiction: Katherine AnnePorter, Flannery O\\\'Connor, Cormac McCarthy, Walker Percy. LSU Press, 2007.This book is helpful in understanding the role that violence plays in O�Connor�s fiction. There is a violent confrontation in �Everything That Rises� and there is a moment of passion in �Good Country People� that ends with theft. Both stories leave the reader with many questions, and
Everything That Rises Meets Good Country PeopleThe characters and situations of Flannery O�Connor�s stories give a unique glimpse into a grotesque world of the South�a world that O�Connor used to draw meaning about the moment of grace that touches and changes characters� lives forever (Fitzgerald). To do this, she often focused on the relationship between mystery and manners in everyday Southerners� lives, but did so in a way that relied
Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O'Connor. Specifically, it will focus on the use of comedy/humor, foreshadowing, and irony in the work. Flannery O'Connor is one of the South's most well-known writers, and nearly all of her works, including this short story, take place in Southern locales. Her work embodies the Southern lifestyle, which includes close family ties, attention to family roots, and a more laid-back and
This is because the revolutionary leaders are no better than the current government, where they are engaging various activities of corruption that is delegitimizing the revolution. To illustrate this, Porter uses the character of Braggioni; he is a revolutionary leader that is supposed to represent the promise of the new leaders (strong, young and idealistic). Yet, Braggioni is: fat, out shape and unkempt. Clearly he is incapable of redemption, evidence
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