(Not So) Good Country People

In Flannery O'Connor's short story Good Country People, readers are submerged into the life of Hulga Hopewell, a highly-educated, yet physically disabled character whose domineering personality and seemingly stagnate theological and philosophical convictions lead her to a path of ultimate weakness. While Hulga appears strongly rooted in her beliefs about God and science—beliefs that blatantly defy the morality of the “good country people” around her— readers soon discover that Hulga’s convictions are somewhat empty, and that she is actually starved for a deep connection to humanity and possibly even God. It is through her relationship with a traveling Bible salesman that readers watch as Hulga’s defensive and opinionated persona crumble, as she is tempted into vulnerability and eventually taken advantage of by the seeming harmless character. Taking an allegorical approach to O'Connor's Good Country People, it can be said that Hulga is an example of a lost humanity who pulls away from the truths of God and His Word, is unknowingly tempted by evil, and ultimately falls due to their true vulnerability. 

The first example readers see of Hulga’s attempt to pull away from the common morality of the people around her is when she changes her name. “Her name was really Joy,” the story conveys, “but as soon as she was twenty-one and away from home, she legally had it changed...she had gone and had the beautiful name, Joy, changed without telling her mother until after she had done it. Her legal name was Hulga” (O'Connor 274). The story goes on to describe why Hulga chose her new name, saying that “She had arrived at it first purely on the basis of its ugly sound and then the full genius of its fitness had struck her...one of her major triumphs was that her mother had not been able to turn her dust into Joy, but the greater one was that she had been able to turn it herself into Hulga” (O’Connor 275). Readers can clearly see through Hulga’s choice name that she claims an unconventional connection with the idea of ugliness. Instead of embracing the name her mother gave her, Hulga chooses a name for herself that abolishes the idea of joy and glorifies ugliness and dominance, much like the “ugly sweating Vulcan who stayed in the furnace” that she seems to admire so much (O’Connor 275).

Another example of Hulga’s rebellion against the beliefs and methods of the “good country people” is seen in her religious and philosophical beliefs. Hulga is well-educated, and boasts a Ph.D in philosophy, much to her mother Mrs. Hopewell’s dismay. While Hulga is indeed incredibly intelligent, Mrs. Howell knows that her education alters her daughter’s attitude and hinders her function in society. “It seemed to Mrs. Hopewell” the story explains “that every year she (Hulga) grew less like other people and more like herself—bloated, rude, and squint-eyed. And she said such strange things!” (O’Connor 276). Readers can see how Hulga’s education in philosophy has made her lose a connection to humanity that she might have otherwise claimed, simply due to her attitude and arrogance in her studies. Readers see a further example of Hulga’s beliefs when Mrs. Hopewell discovers a book of Hulga’s. “ ‘Science on the other hand,” the book conveys “has to assert its soberness and seriousness afresh and declare that it is concerned solely with what-is...if science is right, then one thing stands firm: science wishes to know nothing of nothing. Such is after all the strictly scientific approach to Nothing’ ” (O’Connor 277). From this example, readers can deduce that Hulga reveres the study of natural science through a nihilistic approach. Hulga is an atheist and believes that there is no god and that all of science comes from nothing. Her beliefs serve as an explanation to why Hulga is closed off towards society; if the scientific methods she believes are true, and all the world and the people in it are mere nothingness, there would be no true need for social interaction or etiquette.

The story takes a drastic shift, however, and Hulga’s seemingly sturdy nihilistic beliefs are compromised when she develops a relationship with the traveling Bible salesman, Manley Pointer. Upon meeting Hulga, Manley begins to manipulate her with flattery, attempting to break down the prideful barriers that Hulga’s beliefs have created. Although Hulga acts unchanged and with little emotion towards Manley, readers can see that she does, in fact, desire a connection with him. After Manley invites her to an afternoon picnic, the author describes how Hulga imagined that she had seduced Manley and “took all his shame away and turned it into something useful” (O’Connor 284). While the connection Hulga longs for is still one that would allow her to stand her ground in her beliefs and remain in control of the situation, Hulga is indeed curious about building a relationship with Manley, if not for romance, then simply for a tangible glimpse into the world she has, in a sense, closed her eyes to. 

As Hulga and Manley’s relationship deepens, however, Hulga is thrust into vulnerability when Manley pressures Hulga to prove her love for him by showing him her wooden leg. At first, Hulga hesitates to show her leg to Manley and asks why he wishes to see it. “Because,” he said, “it’s what makes you different. You ain’t like anybody else.” (O’Connor 288). Seemingly unaware of Manley’s blatant flattery, Hulga believes that she is “face to face with real innocence” and allows him to remove her wooden leg (O’Connor 288). As soon as Manley removes the wooden leg, Hulga is described as being “entirely dependent” on him, allowing readers to see a deeply vulnerable side of Hulga’s character. Hulga begs Manley to return the wooden leg, exclaiming, “You’re a Christian!...You’re a fine Christian! You’re just like them all—say one thing and do another. You’re a perfect Christian…” to which Manley replies, “I hope you don’t think...that I believe in that crap! I may sell Bible but I know which end is up and I wasn’t born yesterday and I know where I’m going!” (O’Connor 290). From here, readers affirm that Manley is indeed an imposter and has successfully taken advantage of the once confident and prideful Hulga. While Hulga had considered herself in control of the relationship all along, she was in fact being manipulated by the salesman and realizes her weakness before it is too late. 

The allegorical tie in this story can be connected to what happens when we as Christians forsake God. Hulga represents what happens when we pull away from God and attempt to become our own savior, claiming that we perhaps do not need God or that we are strong enough to stand on our own. The truth is, when we decide we are strong enough to stand alone, we become the weakest version of ourselves. Just as Hulga, who thought she was in control of herself and her beliefs, was tricked by a seemingly innocent Bible salesman, we can easily be deceived and taken advantage of by evil when we have forsaken fellowship with the Lord. Flannery O’Connor’s Good Country People is an excellent representation of the pitfalls that await us when we pull away from what we know to be good and true and attempt to live independently from the Lord.