WRI+3+Good+Country+People

Flannery O’Connor: “Good Country People” - Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, who sin is covered. – Psalm 32: 1 “Much savagery, compassion, farce, art, and truth have gone into these stories. O’Connor’s characters are wholeheartedly horrible, and almost better than life. I find it hard to think of a funnier or more frightening writer.” - Robert Lowell

“Throughout the story Hulga claims to believe in nothing, but Hulga’s faith is actually embedded in her prosthetic leg. Even though Hulga considers faith in her wooden leg to be no faith at all, a belief in nothing is truly impossible. Every person has beliefs based on background, environment, and situations: even an atheist decides certain things to believe in. Out of fear of the unknown, Hulga subconsciously chooses an object she thinks of as unchanging and permanent: her wooden leg.”

“Once abandoned in the hayloft, Hulga is left without her faith, pride, and intelligence, and she must humble herself by asking for help. Hulga has discovered she is not as intelligent or independent as she thought. Hulga’s pride has been twisted into humility, and she must decide what to place her faith in now that it has been snatched away. Left in the loneliness of the hayloft, Hulga must learn how to deal with only one leg. Through O’Connor’s use of symbolism, we find that Hulga’s belief in nothing is only veiling her true faith and pride that lay in her sacred leg.”

- “Themes, Ideas, and Symbolism Involving Hulga's Artificial Leg”, ** [|Megan B. Wyatt]  **** ( ****  [|Aug 4, 2008]  **** ) **

These two quotations from Megan Wyatt’s article, “Themes, Ideas, and Symbolism Involving Hulga’s Artificial Leg” place O’Connor’s story, “Good Country People” squarely in the realm of Christian and Catholic themes in literature.

**__Read__** th e quotation from Psalm 32, Robert Lowell, and the two from Megan Wyatt and reflect on the connections these four quotations make to our developing sense of Catholic and Christian themes in literature.


 * __ Write __** a two part assignment:

Part I: Argue for or against these positions of Lowell and Wyatt. Cite sections from the story to support your case. (This is one of those academic writing assignments).

Part II: Write a personal reflection on your reaction, observations, inspirations, etc. to the story “Good Country People” (2 pages).