Good Country People
“Good Country People” Questions
1) My initial response to the story’s title is that the short story was going to be about a happy family that lived in the country and drama to make the story interesting. At the start, it seemed as if anybody that was from the country were “good” and never did anything wrong throughout their entire life. The story basically begins right after Mrs. Hopewell says, “the reason for her keeping them so long was that they were not trash. They were good country people” (185). That’s when I realized that I was completely wrong about what I thought this story was going to be about. Mrs. Hopewell, is the main character, and rents out part of her house to the Freeman’s. Throughout the story, Mrs. Hopewell’s daughter, Joy/Hulga ends up falling in love with a boy. He ends up playing her, and takes her wooden leg away from her, leaving her stranded and alone in a barn. My impression changed by the end of the story, because in the beginning good country people were made out to be basically angels that never did anything bad, but by the end the reader realizes that is not the case at all.
2) The relationship between Mrs. Freeman and Mrs. Hopewell is that Mrs. Freeman’s husband works for Mrs. Hopewell and they are friends and every morning they sit and gossip and eat breakfast together. Mrs. Hopewell likes to call Mrs. Freeman a “lady” and that her family is a bunch of “good country people” (185). This might just be because Mrs. Freeman agrees with every single thing Mrs. Hopewell says, and also says, “I always said so myself” (186).Their names are significant because Mrs. Hopewell likes to hope for new things in her life. “Nothing is perfect!” is one of her favorite sayings that she says constantly (185). Mrs. Hopewell doesn’t like to think that her daughter will ever grow up, she has thought this way since her daughter had a bad accident; “she thought of her still as a child because it tore her heart to think instead of the poor stout girl
1) My initial response to the story’s title is that the short story was going to be about a happy family that lived in the country and drama to make the story interesting. At the start, it seemed as if anybody that was from the country were “good” and never did anything wrong throughout their entire life. The story basically begins right after Mrs. Hopewell says, “the reason for her keeping them so long was that they were not trash. They were good country people” (185). That’s when I realized that I was completely wrong about what I thought this story was going to be about. Mrs. Hopewell, is the main character, and rents out part of her house to the Freeman’s. Throughout the story, Mrs. Hopewell’s daughter, Joy/Hulga ends up falling in love with a boy. He ends up playing her, and takes her wooden leg away from her, leaving her stranded and alone in a barn. My impression changed by the end of the story, because in the beginning good country people were made out to be basically angels that never did anything bad, but by the end the reader realizes that is not the case at all.
2) The relationship between Mrs. Freeman and Mrs. Hopewell is that Mrs. Freeman’s husband works for Mrs. Hopewell and they are friends and every morning they sit and gossip and eat breakfast together. Mrs. Hopewell likes to call Mrs. Freeman a “lady” and that her family is a bunch of “good country people” (185). This might just be because Mrs. Freeman agrees with every single thing Mrs. Hopewell says, and also says, “I always said so myself” (186).Their names are significant because Mrs. Hopewell likes to hope for new things in her life. “Nothing is perfect!” is one of her favorite sayings that she says constantly (185). Mrs. Hopewell doesn’t like to think that her daughter will ever grow up, she has thought this way since her daughter had a bad accident; “she thought of her still as a child because it tore her heart to think instead of the poor stout girl