Joy/Hulga in “Good Country People” by Flannery O’Connor and the narrator in “Wenlock Edge” by Alice Munro, both share similar character plot and struggles within their individual stories. More specifically, the two girls use their educational background to justify experiences with other characters they meet. Generally, the plot in each story starts out by noting the main character’s background in philosophy and literature. Later on, that person comes across the antagonist; in Joy’s case, Manly Pointer acts as the rival, and in “Wenlock Edge,” the narrator’s rival is Mr. Purvis, or Nina, arguably. The narrator and Joy both have a meet-up with their adversary which ends differently than the girls’ expectations. In the end of each story, Joy…
In Flannery O’Connor’s short story “Good Country People” she introduces Joy -Hulga. Joy-Hulga is an educated and intelligent young woman who lives within an environment she doesn’t belong. Joy-Hulga feels as if she is not one of those good country people despite her education and intelligence, however, throughout the story she experiences situations that has her reconsider her life. Due to an accident when Joy-Hulga was young she now has a artificial leg, however, the loss of her leg has caused her to distrust other, feel insecure, and taken away her identity.…
First, consider Flannery's theme "redemption through catastrophe" In just a few words, share your thoughts on why Joy-Hulga is or is not in need of redemption? Consider what was she like before her encounter with Manley Pointer? Has she changed?…
In Flannery O’Connors short story, “Good Country People,” the main theme is about a southern family and their faith, identity and education. Another key theme in the story is the concept of reality vs. illusion. The story employs irony and symbolism to portray the main character’s nihilism, immaturity and rebelliousness as well as the other character’s traits and personalities.…
In the poem from Marge Piercy’s If I had been called Sabrina or Ann, she said, the narrator’s tone towards her name and how it affected her life was very mournful and downcast. Her choice of diction portrayed that she was absolutely disgusted with her name. A quote that supports this claim is, “Useful, plain; impossible for foreigners, from French to Japanese, to pronounce.” She is indicating that her name is dull, uninteresting, and unreasonably hard to pronounce. Because of the title of this excerpt, the reader can deduct that the narrator spends a wealth of time speculating on what her life experience would have been like if she had another name, since she feels that the name “Marge” was disgraceful and pathetic compared to other names such…
Scott Fitzgerald, both authors excoriate individuals who form opinions based solely on older traditions and mindsets. In “Good Country People,” Mrs. Hopewell, a middle-aged mother, assumes and concludes that she can trust a Bible salesman who stops at her door because he appears to be from the country. “...[Hopewell and her daughter] had had a nice visitor yesterday, a young man selling Bibles. ‘Lord,’ [Hopewell] said, ‘he bored me to death but he was so sincere and genuine I couldn’t be rude to him. He was just good country people, you know,’ she said, ‘—just the salt of the earth’” (O’Connor 12-13). As Hopewell discusses her encounter with the salesman, her preconceived notions of people reveal themselves; Hopewell assumes the salesman possesses innocent intentions simply because he is from the country and clearly devout in his faith, as seen by his profession. Hopewell’s old-fashioned mindset pushes her to invite a stranger into her home for dinner, which eventually leads to the salesman stealing from and taking advantage of Hopewell’s daughter, Hulga. Similarly, in The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald demonstrates the repercussions that result from chauvinistic thinking through the extremely wealthy and entitled character, Tom Buchanan. Throughout the novel, Tom’s conservatism leads the other characters to ignore his statements altogether as they lose respect for him because of his…
Flannery O’Connor has always liked to use various types of humor and irony in her stories centered around the dark, tragic, and uncomfortable ways of life. She uses these literary techniques to mask what she is truly trying to say. "Good Country People" by Flannery O 'Connor is a prime example of humor and irony which makes fun of the simple, intellectual, as well as the incongruous people in the world.…
(Collins dictionary) or can also be defined as the aggregate of features and traits that form…
What’s in a name? Parents often put a great deal of thought into picking out a name for their children in hopes that others view it as a reflection of their uniqueness and a representation of their future aspirations. Authors also put a great deal of thought into their characters’ names and supporting objects to help the reader understand the meaning of their writings. Nathaniel Hawthorne uses duplicity in the characters of Young Goodman Brown and Faith; and also in the setting of the forest to reinforce the coming of age that is taking in place in Young Goodman Brown.…
Throughout the film Good Night and Good Luck, many character strengths were exhibited. The main characters Edward Murrow and Fred Friendly stand out the most when exhibiting character strengths. Edwards’s courageousness throughout the novel is bar none. To be courageous there is usually a risk involved. For Edward Morrow, his risk was going toe to toe against Senator McCarthey’s attempts to destroy people’s lives and causing a nationwide McCartheyism scare. To fill in McCartheyism is making accusations on an individual of disloyalty or in McCarthey’s time “Communists,” without evidence. There were many incidents where McCarthey was doing this in Good Night and Good Luck, one such as Milo Radulovich. He claimed he was a Communist and discharged him from the Army Air Corps in 1952, “because his father John, had immigrated to Detroit in 1914 from Serbia and was labeled a Communist because he subscribed into a pro-Communists paper from Serbia. The fact that he subscribed to the anti-Communist paper was deemed irrelevant” (pg.17). By putting his neck on the line and challenging the senator he shows justice. He wants equality for everyone; he believes that everyone should be treated equally, even Milo. He also shows extreme wisdom and knowledge while interviewing the senator. Murrow was actually the only one that had it in him to go against his ways and call him out on things that he thought Senator McCarthey was doing wrong, with the night program that he had of See It Now. Murrow has the wisdom and knowledge to not make himself look like a fool on national T.V.…
The topics presented in the media from Character Strengths and Virtues is very important and will definitely impact my behavior when I work with the LEGO kits. The media provided proved to be very useful, but there were several points with which made me realize just how important it was to follow the guidelines that the lectures and and book provided. Patience and taking responsibility for one’s actions are points continuously made. It is important to practice both of these behaviors in order to succeed in life. For example, in the Marshmallow Challenge, young children were given a marshmallow and told that they could eat it, but if they held off for a little while, then they would another. Many of the toddlers took the high road and waited,…
The person that I would say encompass at least one of these virtues would be my aunt Robin. I believe that she is one of the strongest women I know and I feel that she has the ability to help people without even trying. I believe that my aunt Robin possess the transcendence virtue in life. I will start by explaining with the appreciation of beauty and excellence. She is able to notice the small things that others might find unattractive and make an individual see it in a different light. She has also taught me how to appreciate the beauty of life and all it has to offer.…
The mind is a trust from God. The cultivated mind is the measure of the man. The mind is to be educated that the best energies of the soul will be brought out and every faculty be developed. We must not be contented with a low standard. We are to move onward from one advanced line of work to another. The mind is the best possession we have; but it must be trained by study, by reflection, by learning in the school of Christ, the best and truest educator the world has ever known. Because every faculty of the mind shows that God designed these faculties to be used, not to remain inactive. The positiveness and energy, the solidity and strength of character manifested in Christ are to be developed in us through the same discipline that He endured.…
Personality: The dynamic organization within the individual of those psychophysical systems that determine his unique adjustments to his environment.…
National character is an expression that describes the form of collective self-perception, compassion, and behavior shared by those who live a modern nation state. It assumes the existence of a psychological and cultural homogeneity among the people of each country, and the idea that each country could be seen as a collective individual, with features similar to the realistic individual citizens. Characters word intends to illustrate the universal aspect of social life of the people at the same time the existence of the social dimension of the internal and external individuals, who can be seen by the collective behavior. Adjective countries are universal aspects of social life in the particular context of these shares we call a nation.…