Good Country People Literary Analysis

Moments of Grace “All human nature vigorously resists grace because grace changes us and the change is painful.” These words of Flannery O’Connor perfectly depicts the events that the grandmother of “A good man is hard to find”, Hulga of “Good country people”, and the mother of “Everything that rises must converge” undergo that ultimately changes their viewpoints and forces them to accept the reality that they are not who they think they are. In the three short stories O’Connor uses symbolism and irony to establish a satiric tone as the characters that are viewed as superior fall from grace. In the short story “A good man is hard to find” the grandmother views herself as a “southern lady” she presents herself as a lady by dressing
O’Connor states “if it had not been for this condition, (artificial leg & weak heart) she would be far from these red hills and good country people. She would be in a university lecturing to people who knew what she was talking about.” (557-558) Hulga does not feel that anyone around her matches intellectual capacity which creates a sense of superiority within her. However, Hulga acquiring a vast number of degrees is a façade to hide her insecurities. Hulga’s artificial leg is symbolic because it represents Hulga’s vulnerability. O’Connor states “she was as sensitive about her artificial leg as a peacock about his tail. No one touched it but her. She took care of it as someone else would his soul.”(566) So when Manley asked her where her “wooden leg joins on” (O’Connor566) , Hulga instantly becomes uncomfortable and refuses to show Manley where her wooden leg joins on. Eventually, Manley is able to convince Hulga by toying with her emotions by stating “it’s (the artificial leg) what makes you different. You ain’t like anybody else.”(O’Connor 566) When Manley tells Hulga that she isn’t like anybody else he confirms what she always knew, Hulga due to her numerous degrees never felt that she fit in with the country people that she was surrounded with. Manley stealing Hulga’s artificial leg is an example of situational irony because Hulga went on the
Julian’s mother feels that she is superior to Negros which is why she refuses to ride the bus by herself once the buses are integrated. O’Connor states “she was one of the few members who arrived in a hat and gloves.” (569)By including what Julian’s mother is wearing, O’Connor gives insight on how she (Julian’s mother) places herself on a higher standard than everyone else. The hat and gloves that Julian’s mother is wearing are symbolic because by dressing this way to the reducing class she creates an aura of superiority this is proven when she tells Julian “most of them in it are not our kind of people.”(O’Connor570) The mother’s hat is also an example of situational irony because Julian’s mother wears her hat to the reducing class to claim a sense of dignity that she feels is rightfully bestowed on her by her grandfather but on the bus to the reducing class a colored woman is wearing the same hat. This is ironic because the hat that she wears to establish a sense of dignity is being worn by someone she deems as