Analysis Of Flannery O Connor's Good Country People
Flannery O’Connor’s “Good Country People” introduces a worldly ideology, that of which derives itself from the teaching of Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, challenging a Christian faith bordering along the line of practical atheism. The story describes the lives of several members of a household located somewhere in the rural farmland of America during the early to mid nineteenth century. Mrs. Hopewell, the head of the house, along with her help, Mrs. Freeman tend to the daily inner workings of the farm along with Hulga, born Joy, the distant daughter of Mrs. Hopewell. It is the introduction of the bible salesman antagonist, Manley Pointer, that shifts the tide of the story and shines a light on the true character of Hulga. The thought to
be unintelligent, simple country boy is rather a sly thief who inevitably reveals himself to be Hulga’s Doppleganger, or rather her worldly self that views the world, and lives accordingly, through a Nihilistic viewing glass. It is through the opposition of the two characters that O’Connor challenges Nietzsche’s “God is Dead” ideology, contrasting a life absent from God leading to destruction with that of a life rooted in grace and mercy.
be unintelligent, simple country boy is rather a sly thief who inevitably reveals himself to be Hulga’s Doppleganger, or rather her worldly self that views the world, and lives accordingly, through a Nihilistic viewing glass. It is through the opposition of the two characters that O’Connor challenges Nietzsche’s “God is Dead” ideology, contrasting a life absent from God leading to destruction with that of a life rooted in grace and mercy.