Illusion vs Reality in “Good Country People” Essay

One of Flannery O’Connor’s most successful stories, â€Å"Good Country People† was published in 1955. â€Å"Good Country People† addresses the of good versus evil, the foolishness of intellectual pretensions, and most importantly the theme of reality versus illusion. An important character Mrs. Hopewell’s daughter Hulga, born as Joy has a Ph. D but seems to have no common sense. She allows her self to be tricked by a â€Å"Bible salesman† and gets her self in to a binding situation. Good Country people deals with illusion vs. reality this is shown when the author discusses Manley Pointer; the bible sales man, Joy thinking she is ugly, and the fact the Hulga and her mother tend to disagree about Hulga’s life decisions. Manley Pointer arrived one day†¦show more content†¦Hulga closes her heart just as she rejects her body. This deals with the concept of illusion vs. reality because, Hulga feels that she is ugly therefore she ch anges her name to fit the way she feels about herself. Finally the last example of illusion vs. reality is the constant disagreeance between Hulga and her mother. Hulga’s mother, Mrs. Hopewell, convinced that Hulga would have â€Å"been better without a useless PhD. degree in philosophy†, has no comprehension of the one true meaning of life to her daughter. Mrs. Hopewell feels that she can not brag on Hulga because, she sees her daughter as unsuccessful in life due to the meaninglessness of her degree. She is also upset with the fact that Hulga, formally known as Joy changes her name to better fit her personality. She feels that joy is a beautiful name and that Hulga is opposite from her view of herself. In final analysis the glass eye relates to the overall theme of the story illusion vs. reality because, the characters in the story see their situations differently than how they truly are. The main character joy has no common sense and struggles to find her own identi ty. Another important aspect of illusion vs. reality is the â€Å"bible salesman† who is truly a con artist and get Hulga into a bind. Hulga’s mothers opinion of her is also seen to be an illusion to what it really is. Good Country people deals with the theme illusion vs. reality when the author discusses the â€Å"bible salesman, the factShow MoreRelatedThe Decision That Should Matter But Don t1521 Words   |  7 PagesThe modern era, politically, has been defined by the right of everyone’s own decision, for who’s in power, what they do in power and how to stop them if they get too powerful. It was the individual’s decision to let one into power. Of course if a country did not do this, we as Americans would see that as backwards and not right to the point of military intervention when in our own nation we do not get full say in who become president. The decision making does not include world leaders but also includesRead MorePaul Nguyen. 20Th Li terature. 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