Essay on O'Connor's "Good Country People

In the short story, “Good Country People”, Flannery O’Connor details the encounter of Joy-Hulga, a woman with a doctorate in philosophy, a wooden leg, and a chip on her shoulder, and Manley Pointer, a door to door bible salesman with a hidden agenda. On the surface, they appear to be as different as night and day, a Christian and an atheist, an optimist and a pessimist. O’Connor also hits the reader with a heavy dose of irony when it becomes apparent that Joy-Hulga isn’t as wise as she believes and Manley isn’t as naïve as he appears, and their stark dissimilarities can be seen on a whole new level. But a careful comparison reveals that they have more in common than immediately visible.
Joy-Hulga is the stories’ protagonist. A hunting accident has left her with a wooden leg, crippled, both physically and spiritually. It could be said that she is the “perfect stereotype of an intellectual”. She studied philosophy and, after receiving her doctorate, change...