Good Country People Symbolism

Not only did Hulga’s wooden leg have a symbolic meaning in the story “Good Country People,” but also the imagery of her spectacles has a symbolic meaning as well. Her glasses symbolically represent the loss of vision and gaining of insight. At the beginning of the story, Hulga is wearing these glasses, which many of us tend to associate with being smart. However she does not gain insight until Manley removes her glasses. It is stated in “Good Country People”, “When her glasses got in his way, he took them off of her and slipped them into his pocket” (O’Conner 1350). At first Hulga does not notice Manley taking off her glasses; however she still carries on trying to seduce Manley. This signals her acceptance to her new vision, and it also demonstrates

In Good Country People by Flannery O’Connor, Joy (later renamed Hulga) becomes blinded by her pride due to a bible salesman that turns out to be less than adequately stereotyped. Duped into succumbing to his tricks, the main character Joy allows her pride to keep her from seeing the truth until it’s too late. Joy’s pride contributes to her downfall because she hides behind a wall of intelligence to accommodate for her wooden leg. Her wall of intelligence makes her believe that she is smarter than Manly Pointer, this opens her up to the chance of being blindsided. Another contribution is the fact that she does not observe her surroundings because of her overconfidence of abilities, this allows Manly to play to her weaknesses and be the person he knows she needs. Her

Symbolism is when the author uses objects to add deeper meaning to the story without mentioning it in the story. In Flannery O’Connor’s story, “Good Country People”, she uses symbolism to illustrate the antagonist and protagonist with more insight; for example, Manley’s hollow Bible signify how he really does not believe in Christianity, Hulga’s wooden leg portrayed her personality, and her name change represents how she is not the same girl she once was.

There are 7 deadly sins, they are lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride. These deadly sins can be related to almost any novel. There are 4 books that show resemblance to the 7 deadly sins. The books are Silas Marner, The Great Gatsby, Julius Caesar, and Frankenstein, to relate to 4 sins, greed, lust, pride, and wrath. In almost any book, the seven deadly sins are present.

The short story “A Good Man is Hard to Find” is revolved around many distortions that the author O’Connor creates to build meaning within the story. The novel presents characters that are characterized through many different symbols that result in an uncanny feeling for the reader. O’Connor’s “place” is the distortion in the story that causes conflict, creating the uncanny feeling in the story. O’Connor’s “place” also represents a different variety of symbols, creating the necessary meaning of the psychological realism. O’Connor utilizes distortion to create meaning in the story within her characters who represent the conflicts within the Catholic Church and dramatizes it with a complicated sense of humor.

Flannery O'Connor was a devoted Catholic, and , as exhibited in most of her stories, "The Life You Save May Be Your Own" has Christian themes of redemption and grace. Lucynell Craters, the only innocent character in the story, symbolizes purity and is described as "an angel of Gawd." Her character acts stop the shifty, self-serving Mr. Shiftlet and help him reach redemption. In “The Life You Save May Be Your Own,” O’Connor uses religious symbolism to emphasize spiritual struggles between good and evil and how humans are only looking for their own advantage.

Flannery O’Connor is one of the greatest Southern writers during the twentieth century. She is considered as a faithful and a good Christian writer. In her fiction, she never neglects her Catholic concerns. The large respect for O'Connor’s religion appears in most of her literary works. Thus, this paper intends to investigate how the Catholicism of Flannery O'Connor is visible in the characters, plot, and themes of Wise Blood.

We even see this theme again in Good Country People. Hulga’s pessimistic view of the world is central to the story, allowing her to quickly judge the salesman for what he truly is when he pulls a flask out from inside the bible. This reoccurring theme, concerning our background and the way we judge people, must have been very important to O’Connor. Skillfully, O’Connor knits the theme into both short stories, miraculously basing the entire plot and characters around this central

When comparing and contrasting the two short stories “A Good Man is Hard to Find” and “Revelation” written by Flannery O’Connor, many similarities are noticed between the main characters as well as many differences. The author of the short stories based them on rejection and redemption in the modern world and it is shown in both stories. The Grandmother and Mrs. Turpin are similar and opposite when comparing being selfish and hypocritical, as well the amount of grace in each character’s life’s.

In Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find” she writes, “If you would pray,’ the old lady said, ‘Jesus would help you.’ This particular quote shows how Flannery O’Connor combined two themes into one concept, by taking the theme of God and Religion and Good vs. Evil and adding that into one character’s personality. O’Connor also shows, in this quote, the theme Good vs. Evil for how the grandmother attempted to convert the misfit to her religion instead of going through with his evil scheme. O’Connor’s writing style was very unique and one of a kind. She carefully drew out every character and theme to match perfection. Flannery O’Connor

In two southern short stories “Barn Burning” by William Faulkner, and “Sweat” by Zora Neale Hurston, the main characters resolve conflicts in an ironic manner. In “ Father’s and Son’s: The Spiritual Quest in Faulkner’s “Barn Burning”, Oliver Billingslea briefly discusses the irony within Faulkner’s “Barn Burning”. Irony in a persistent theme within southern gothic literature.

Humans eventually fall from grace. How they respond to this can either strengthen their character or lead them to ruin. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne vividly portrays the different ways people can deal with their failures. The story gives insight to each of our struggles between good and evil. Although failure is part of human nature, also is the ability to redeem

"The Life You Save May Be Your Own,” written by Flannery O’Connor, tells the story of a handicap man, Tom Shiflet, who is searching for salvation and redemption. O’Connor incorporates symbols and historical context to create a vivid description of the the selfishness and greed of Americans during this time period. He came upon Mrs. Carter, and offered to fix her automobile. As the story progresses, he was introduced to Mrs. Crater 's mute daughter, Lucynell, and decides to marry her. He begins to drive off with the automobile, wedding money, and Lucynell. With that being said, he is more interest in the material goods (the automobile and the money), which leads him to abandon Lucynell at the diner. By abandoning Lucynell, he comes upon a road sign that says, “Drive carefully. The life you save may be your own.” In "The Life You Save May Be Your Own," Flannery O 'Connor uses the journey of the character Tom Shiftlet to illustrate themes about the

What are the seven deadly sins? The seven deadly sins are a list of sins everyone will do at one point in their life. Pope Gregory I compiled the sins around the year 600. The sins are pride, greed, lust, wrath, gluttony,

The Good Earth is set in China in the early twentieth century. As warlords and robbers hungrily roam the land for women and riches, Wang Lung tends to his land. Day after day in the sweltering summers Wang Lung’s back drips with sweat as he works his fields, bending over them in exhausted agony. In the frigid winters Wang Lung feasts on the rice his land produces, as the wind that beckons to scourge even the most miniscule piece of human flesh traps him inside of his home. Through each new season Wang Lung lives away from all of the political chaos, only caring for his land. Wang Lung, at his father’s request, accepts a wife from the House of Hwang who is fit for labor rather than beauty. Her name is O-lan. She, like the land, becomes a blessing to Wang Lung. In this novel by Pearl Buck, O-lan symbolizes the earth.