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…
According to Turner, the hardships required to perpetuate social evolution along the frontier had shaped the political process in America at the time. His theory, being from a Westerner’s perspective, did not receive much acknowledgment at the time. However, many thinkers of this era were of a post Darwinism understanding. Political and socioeconomic evolutions are due in part to the settler mindset that is deeply instilled into the western frontier of America. To Turner, America imposes a Composite nationality. The people who inhabited the frontier early on were primarily servants. This promoted a population of people from various cultures around the world. Not only did this promote individualism, but it also allowed communities to redefine themselves and become something new. Turner believes that it is from here, and not European influence, that we found our economic and political voice as a nation.…
Turner’s article overviews the American past as it were in a transition period of expanding west. He reviews the significance of this move and evaluates the various results of the expansion on different groups in America.…
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.…
In this passage from The Horizontal World, Debra Marquart shows her love for the upper Midwest despite the common negative opinions that most would first think about the region. While others would say that the region is dull and monotonous, Marquart finds her hometown as a place of great significance to her life. By her use of similes and allusions, she attempts to overcome the common negative first impressions of the Upper Midwest to show the reader its unique characteristics in a more positive way.…
Throughout post World War II American society developed a new modernity based on their beliefs, gender roles, and the so called American way of thinking. These aspects of everyday life influenced the new American culture through movies, television shows, advertisements, as well as other events occurring during a fortunate economic time after the World War II. The post war lead to an economic boom that created events such as the automobiles, fast food restaurants, and the thoughts and ideas Americans believed were to be a true American. One in fact, was the beginning of a despairing mindset Americans based their beliefs about women, and who the ideal woman should be. Lynn Peril analyzes in her novel, “Pink Think: Becoming a Woman in Many Uneasy…
Hulga, the daughter of Mrs. Hopewell, is everything opposite of a Southern Belle. Although her mother would love for her to be a definition of a true lady, she wants to cut anything tying her to the tyrannical clutches of her mother’s ideals of a lady. Hulga has a Ph.D. in philosophy and with her degree came her…
American culture thrives on being ‘the land of the free’. The rags-to-riches story to the immigrant success story, seem to define the American Dream. We are told that these achievements can be done by adapting to America’s ideals and cultural norms. The ‘American Dream’ is attainable for those who fall in step with the majority. This conformity is illustrated in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. In the novel, Guy Montag becomes disillusioned with the illiterate ignorance of his society. Through a series of tragic events, Montag finds the vapid world must be changed. This change will be the only way to attain true knowledge, thus freedom. This society, based in ‘fiction’, echoes many of the same values encouraged by the American Dream. By considering the values of media influence, ideal appearance and importance of the nature, it is clear that the American Dream in Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 makes its occupants ignorant and selfish. .…
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.…
The author, Hoagland has lived a long life, writing for over fifty years and has seen and written essays on many things. He fears that our country is deteriorating. It used to be a place where people stood up for what they believed, and if someone or something stood in their way they would make sure they were heard. Also, if our American way of life was threatened we would find a way to succeed and defeat our oppressors, like in the American Revolution. Examples of this include the undoing of Communism and the 1960's protests which showed that the American people and government were a force to be reckoned with. The author thinks that our country is currently in a state where we are in an economic recession where we live in fear of the future, instead of being enthusiastic for it and how we can fix it…
The United States of America has for a while been referred to as “the melting pot”. In the city of New York, there are many nationalities which may be cannot be compared with any other part of the world. Many of these people left their motherlands in search for better life in the American soil considered the land of the free. Well, writers have in the past shown interest and have in fact written about the issues people fought with in America both in the past and in modern days. Good writers have ensured a constant supply of good reading material. This is particularly such like pushes that make better the craft of the writer. Bruce Watson’s Bread and Roses certainly is among this category of books. The exposition of the American Dream by Watson is meant to be a learning lesson. There is an old saying that states that there is a likely to repeat history only because they did not learn the lessons of history. There are many people who have ruined their lives in pursuit of happiness and the American Dream. In this critique of Bruce Watson’s Bread and Roses book, I will discuss the plight of individuals chasing the American dream.…
The author uses symbols to bring out a variety of aspects touching on the American dream. According to the Author, the dream of Americans is dead .It is through his narration that the audience comes to terms with how modern values have…
Cited: Tindall, George Brown and Shi, David Emory. America: A Narrative History. Vol 2, 8th ed. WW Norton:New York, 2010. Print.…
When it comes to American literature, most people think of only the stories that Americans have written throughout American history. They do not think of the Native Americans or the European explorers and settlers that lived in and explored the land. Many of their stories and literature are hard to find, translate, and research since it was a long time ago. However, the natives, the settlers, and the explorers have literature that is just as much of a big part of American literature than any other groups. In these stories the three different groups talk about their social, religious, and economic aspects and through these three things, how they lived their lives in America.…
Generally considered that the American Dream consists of a healthy family, a well-paying job and a sturdy home. A lot of people dream about it and use all their opportunities to achieve it. However, the socioeconomic situation of the United States is an obstacle to this ideal. The characters who inhabit Raymond Carver’s Cathedral are blue-collar Americans confused and illusioned by the hollow image of an American dream they see on the TV screen every night. Denis Johnson’s protagonists, however, have never heard of an American dream, and are certainly not devoted to achieving it; their lives slip by a state of alcoholism and drug use and futures become brutally shapeless. Their despairs and disappointments are displaced instead through drug addiction, alcoholism, infidelity and unemployment. Nonetheless, there are rare but genuine pulses of hope in both authors’ stories. (Carvarian people find their own ways to communicate and affect each other in order to survive in this brutal world. Johnson’s character is influenced by his own experience and surroundings; his sparks of hope occur while he is on his journey to recovery.) Despite the fallacy of the American Dream, the characters of Denis Johnson and Raymond Carver have occasional moments of hope, either in the struggle to achieve the American Dream, or in spite of it.…