Good Country People

4 Pages 907 Words

Flannery O’Connor’s Use of Irony in “Good Country People”


“Good Country People” by Flannery O’Connor is an excellent example of irony in literature. From beginning to end it has a steady demonstration of irony, much of it implied in the title of the story, “Good Country People.” As the story opens, we meet Mrs. Freeman, wife of the hired hand. She and her husband have been working for Mrs. Hopewell for four years. “The reason for her keeping them so long was that they were not trash. They were ‘Good Country People,’” according to Mrs. Hopewell (396). Ironically one of the first things we learn about Mrs. Freeman is that her previous employer has called her the nosiest woman ever to walk the earth. Then, as the story progresses, we learn she has a special fondness for the details of secret infections, hidden deformities, assaults upon children. It seems that for a good country person she has a vicious curiosity in the macabre. She particularly enjoys hearing all the details of how Hulga had her leg literally blasted off in a hunting accident. In affect, O’Connor exposes a cynical and ironic outlook of Hulga in “Good Country People” that is told throughout the story.
As the story moves on we can see the conflict between Mrs. Hopewell and her daughter Hulga. Hulga treats her mother with disdain, and does everything she can to emphasize her own individuality. She professes to believe in nothing. “My daughter is an atheist and won’t let me keep the Bible in the parlor” exclaims Mrs. Hopewell (400). Hulga is a proud intellectual and has little doubt of her belief in “nothingness.” However, ironically in the end she is proven to be very much like her mother in that she falls prey to the same naïve stereotypes as her mother. Hulga believes Manley Pointer to be “Good Country People,” and is shocked to find out that he is not the good Christian bible salesman she thought him to be.
As we fir...