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Good Country People It is known that the title of any book contains the main idea of it. The title of the story "Good Country People" by Flannery OConnors seems to be simple and clear, at the first look. But the question the author is arguing about is not about what people are good or bad; but if there are good people at all. In the work, Flannery OConnors tries to peep into the dark and complex nature of a persons heart.
Her personages are ordinary people but their hearts are corrupted, their thoughts are awful as their desires and deeds. One of the main characters, Mrs. Freeman, is called good country people by Mrs. Hopewell (another main heroine). But her corrupt heart is cruel and unusual. She is corrupted by her fondness for the details of secret infections, hidden deformities, assaults upon children and diseases, of which she preferred the lingering or incurable. (120) She adores stories like about Hulga's, Mrs.
Hopewell's daughter, leg that was literally blasted off. Mrs. Hopewell feels some kind of blame and considers her daughter a child, she thought of her still as a child because it tore her heart to think instead of the poor stout girl in her thirties who had never danced a step or had any normal good times (119 - 120). The woman has a pride of intellect and it helps her to handle people like Mrs. Freeman, using Mrs.
Freemans bad qualities. She was able to use other peoples [bad qualities] in such a constructive way that she was able to make use of even the woman who want[ed] to know all your business (118 - 119). But is not it also a corrupted action? But the worst example is Manley Pointer, or so-called the bible salesman. He embodies intelligence and corruptness together. He seems to be true to the heart and the typical good country person.
The bible salesman says that he wanted to become a missionary because he believed that was the way you could do most for people (123). But then, it has become clear that he is a corrupted thief with a twisted fetish for artificial body parts. He is proud saying, I got a womans glass eye this way. (130) The conflict between Hulga and Mr. Pointer is the conflict of Intellect versus Corruptness.
Hulga has the pride of intellect. She would be in a university lecturing to people who knew what she was talking about (120). But she was tricked by ordinary criminal who craves for Hulga's needed part, wooden leg. Hulga makes a conclusion that there is no such thing as good country people.
Even if a person seems to be good and have the pride of intellect, the deepest corners of his or her heart are unknown and may be a pretty dark place. Flannery OConnor shows the continuous battle between pride of intellect and corrupted hearts.
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