In the short story "Good Country People" written by American author Flannery O'Connor, it provides a perspective on people's attitudes towards the concept of faith and religion . The author is a woman of the Catholic faith and uses this fictional work to write about people's modern beliefs towards philosophy with morals and beliefs that bring the work to life through the two main characters Hulga Hopewell and Manley Pointer. He expresses his feeling that if you don't have that faith in a higher power and don't put faith in modern philosophies, you will face repercussions. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay As the story progresses, the main character, Joy “Hulga” Hopewell, demonstrates a great deal of change and character development, as shown through her changing her name. One of the reasons she changed her name to Hulga was because when people thought of Joy Hopewell they associated the broken, sick girl. Hulga was actually considered arrogant, arrogant and felt like she was smarter than everyone which continually grew as she got older. The name Hulga truly identified her in her philosophy and moral conviction; O'Connor probably chose this name because he felt it fit the ugliness of people who have no faith in God and place their faith elsewhere. She writes: “Her name was really Joy but at just twenty-one and away from home, she had it legally changed. Mrs. Hopewell Hulga was sure she thought and thought until she came across the ugliest name in any language… Her legal name was Hulga.” Hulga also took the opportunity to change her name as an act of rebellion against her mother because she felt she was better than Mrs. Hopewell. The author is of the Catholic faith and shows people who deny God through Hulga Hopewell. O'Connor creates an arrangement between having faith in God and believing in "nothing" by using characters like Hulga and Manley Pointer to show different degrees of faith and question morality. He uses Hulga as a symbol of people who have no faith in God and believe in existentialism, denial of God, and modern philosophy. Hulga feels as if she needs to free herself from the delusions and falsehoods of religion, furthermore with her belief in nothingness she feels that there is no such thing as good and evil or right and wrong. When the other main character, Manley Pointer, is introduced to the plot, he questions his beliefs. Manley invites Hulga on a date and she agrees because she feels she can change his ways away from God. At the end of their date Manley reveals his true nature by stealing Hulga's wooden leg and opens her hollowed out Bible only to show ungodly things; Finally confronting her by shouting “I haven't believed in anything since I was born!” This shows O'Connor's feelings towards those who are not believers, making it seem like those who do not put their faith in God will ultimately suffer. The author uses the title "Good Country People" to refer to people who believe in God, since Hulga and Manley do not believe in God they are not considered such. O'Connor writes “Good Country People” to attempt to poke fun at modern philosophy through the main characters. Uses the character of Hulga to express how the author believes that people who act this way will receive what they deserve, Manley being the one who delivers it to them..
tags