Good Country People

613 Words3 Pages
Good Country People In Flannery O’Connor’s short story “Good Country People “, the relationship between Hulga/Joy and Mrs. Hopewell is not a good mother and daughter relationship. both could not see themselves as who they really are. Mrs. Hopewell lives in a world of clichés and mottos which she believes as truth and hope with simplicity. Meanwhile Hulga/Joy who is very anti-social and has a cynical attitude toward people believes that her mother is too simple-minded. Both fail to recognize and see each other for who they really are. Hulga/ Joy is bothered daily with her simple-minded mother because she portrays herself as a very kind and patient person towards other people. For example, she gives compliments and tell people that Mrs. Freeman‘s daughters Glynese and Carramae “are the finest girls she knows”, and Mrs. Freeman “is a lady and she would not mind taking anywhere with her.” (51). Mrs. Hopewell is embarrassed with how the way Hulga/Joy behaved and how she would dress inappropriately by wearing worn tattered clothes. Knowing that Hulga/Joy disposition toward those girls was unfavorable and she ignored daughter’s need to be accepted. Mrs. Hopewell does not accept Hulga/Hulga/Joy and do not see her daughter as a highly educated thirty-two year old woman she is. She sees her as a young child coming of age who loses her leg in a hunting accident. She pities Hulga/Joy and defends her attitude due to her disability. Mrs. Hopewell think that Hulga/Joy has missed out on the best things in life and “who had never danced a step or had any normal good time” when she was younger (52). Mrs. Hopewell gave Joy her name because she was the joy of her life. To show retaliate and disconnect her own identity as Joy legally changed her name to Hulga. She choose that name because she did not see her mother giving her joy and needed to show herself that she was not in

More about Good Country People

Open Document