Wayne Doerscher
In this essay I argue that you can't be blinded by ones word and how ones word can trick even the smartest people. The short story, "Good Country People", by Flannery O'Connor is based around a mother, Mrs. Hopewell, and her thirty-two year old daughter, Joy. Who have a hired women by the name of Mrs. Freeman who helps Hopewell with work on her farm. But it's not until Manly Pointer shows up that the story starts to get uncanny.
The story takes off by talking about Mrs. Freeman, specifically concerning her interactions with Mrs. Hopewell. She has been working for Mrs. Hopewell for four years, and the two women often communicate over breakfast in the Hopewell's kitchen. The narrator depicts Mrs. Freeman to be the nosiest women alive. Mrs. Hopewell heard from a reference when she was looking to hire the woman, "She's got to be into everything," the man said.
Hopewell Rocks at low tide
Wooden Leg
made during a summer day in the Museum of the Poli..."If she don't get there before the dust settles, you can bet she's dead, that's all. She'll want to know all your business."(page 1). But Hopewell hires her anyways because she was the only applicant.
It seems odd with the focus of this story being on Joy, who had her named legally changed to Hulga because of the ugliness of the name, starting with a description of Mrs. Freeman and her interactions with Mrs. Hopewell. But this characterization is important, since Mrs. Hopewell believes that Mrs. Freeman is "good country people." Later, she decides that Manley, who is disguised as a bible seller, must also come from "good country people," which turns out to be a rather bad judgment.
The idea of what Mrs. Hopewell considers "good country people" is connected to the disgust with the world in general. Mrs. Hopewell tells Manley, "I...