O'Connor, "Good Country People" (1955)
Stereotypes
In the introductory discussion of later modern stories we referred to:
Examples of stereotypes in use of language, characterization, behaviour:
"simple": good country people; Pointer a Bible salesman, therefore a good country person; polite, preached Christianity; "for a Christian, the word of God ought to be in every room in the house" (252)
ugliness: deformity of some sort; Joy changed her name to Hulga to reflect this: "ugliest name in any language" (249)
Mrs. Freeman a stereotypical busybody (gossips), involved in everything; brags about her two girls, one of whom is fifteen and pregnant
Mrs. Hopewell: the true good country person; pleasant, hardworking, caring and patient, positive outlook; name reflects this; calculating to the extent of "how she would handle the woman" [Mrs. Freeman] (248)
Hulga/Joy: damaged soul (who yearns for love?); it tore her mother "to think instead of the poor stout girl in her thirties who had never danced a step" (249). Hulga's mother want her to fit into the stereotypical role of a woman, such as nurse or teacher, but she can't refer to her as a philosopher. She is overeducated for her situation in life.
Pointer: stereotyped as innocent and trustworthy, gets into the house, and deceives Hulga because of his position
language in dialogues: Mrs. Freeman typed, lack of educated speech, "ain't," double negatives, etc.
sayings, cliches: Mrs Hopewell's table talk, polite small talk (e.g., 248); Mrs. Freeman's use of catch phrases
class division: the Freemans "were not trash" (248)
3rd person omniscient narrator provides an essential point of view on stereotypicality of characters, who would be unable to make such judgements about themselves
iterative scenes, e.g.: "Mrs. Hopewell would be in her red kimono . . . Hulga always put her eggs on the stove to boil" etc.
Pointer's use of conventions to seduce Hulga: "You ain't said you loved me none . . . You got to say that" (259); and, her supposed uniqueness, flattering her: "You ain't like anybody else" (260)
Hulga's disbelief when the valise is opened: "Aren't you . . just good country people?" (260)
Interpretation:
Male character in the story is the deceiver (suggests issue of concern to a woman writer?)
Christian pose of salesman: thinness of his name and background conceals the real person
Hulga's leg is her strength and vulnerability: in literal terms it supports her, but also reinforces her difference from the others; she is an atheist, has a PhD, and heart disease. Her weakness exposed when her leg is taken, reduces her to the level of the "good country people."
The ubiquitous role of stereotypes: e.g., often repeated conversations which are an exchange of clichés, the limited and fixed views that characters have of one another, the obtrusive class divisions -- point to the story being a tissue of power struggles. The bible salesman who positions himself as the weakest character plays into this, defeating the character who is apparently the most intelligent. "Some can't be that simple," says Mrs Freeman at the end. How true!
O'Connor commentary in "Writing Short Stories":
what is a story: "a complete dramatic action"; "a dramatic event"; shows you "how some folks would do" (366)
detail, that makes you see, feel, smell: "a world with weight and extension"; "for the fiction writer judgement begins in the details he sees and how he sees them" (367)
substantiality: "A good short story should not have less meaning than a novel" (368)
theme -- not: talk about meaning not theme; theme not separable from the story (inexpressible?) (369)
"Good Country People": how the wooden leg works as a symbol; Hulga's wooden soul / "this is never stated" (370)
mystery and manners: the two qualities that make fiction -- texture of local manners (Southern) and mystery of personality shown through idiom (372)
Document prepared September 4th 2002