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Good Country People Hulga Hopewell Analysis

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While reading “Good Country People” there was something that really piqued my interest: Why did Hulga Hopewell agreed to date Manley Pointer? Before I get into that I want to talk about both Hulga and Manley separately. Hulga Hopewell is one out-of-the-ordinary character. Her named was “Joy” until she was 21 years old which is when she decided to change it from “Joy” to “Hulga” due to not living a very joyful life. She lost her leg when she was 9 after a hunting accident which cause her to have a hard time to get connected with people and lead her to have a bad attitude. She was told she has a weak heart when visiting a doctor with her mother and might live to see 45 if taken care of properly. Hulga has a Ph.D. degree in philosophy and is also …show more content…

Hulga and her mother think Manley is unintelligent and below them, but that doesn’t stop Manley trying to get what he wants. Manley does come off as some predatory person as Hulga notice him looking at her as if she’s some new exotic animal at a zoo. Despite the red flags Manley has shown Hulga, she ends up talking to Manley which leads to her going out on a date with him. How this came about is because of Manley’s way showing how much he and Hulga have in common. Manley talks about how he’s a big thinker that have serious thoughts and he does that because he might die. When Manley said that he gives off the impression that he has poor health just like Hulga. Also Hulga look at him in an excited like manner and saying she might die too due to her weak heart. Manley went on to say that it must be fate for people who have things in common to meet and also starts to hold onto Hulga elbow. He then talks about how he doesn’t work on Saturdays and would like to go out to the woods over the hills to have picnics. This is where Manley asks Hulga out on a date and she’s agrees. Now the “Why Hulga Hopewell did agrees to date Manley Pointer?” question comes to

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