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Good Country People Compare And Contrast

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Anne Bradstreet's poem The Author to Her Book (1641-1643) and Flannery O'Connor's short story Good Country People (mid-1950s) both provide insight into life in the North and South during these two time periods. Both pieces of literature portray the struggles of life that women experience. In the North, women had more freedom and were able to express themselves more freely than in the South. Bradstreet was able to express herself through her writing and publishing to a larger audience than women in the South. By contrast, in O’Connor's story, the main character, Joy, is expected to conform to the expectations of her family and the society she lives in. She is not allowed to express her desires or opinions which leads to a sense of hopelessness and frustration. …show more content…

In Anne Bradstreet’s poem, the narrator is struggling with her feelings of self-doubt and is trying to come to terms with her role as a woman in society. She expresses her feelings of being trapped and unable to express herself freely. Bradstreet’s narrator is aware of the limitations placed on her, yet she manages to find a way to express herself through her writing. Similarly, in O’Connor's story, Joy is struggling with her feelings of repression and is trying to find her own identity within the confines of her oppressive family. She is also aware of the limitations that society places on her, yet she is still hopeful that she can find a way to break free from these expectations. Though there are many similarities between these two stories, there are also some differences. In Bradstreet’s poem, the narrator can express her feelings and find a way to have her voice heard. She can take ownership of her own life and make decisions that are right for her. On the other hand, Joy in O’Connor's story is not able to take control of her own life and is instead a victim of her

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In the short story, “Good Country People,” Hulga is the protagonist. Hulga was born with the name Joy, but legally changed her name at the age of twenty-one. The name change served her right because she was anything but joyful. Hulga’s accomplishments and self-proclaimed genius created a blockade between her own personal fable and reality. With the inability to look past her own pride, she was in for a rude awakening.

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1321 Words | 6 Pages

Flannery O’Connor’s success as a writer was indubitably related to her own personal physical and mental failures; without them it is doubtful that she would have become one of America’s greatest fiction writers. It was through her suffering that she was able to relay so much allegorical understanding of her characters and bring them to life (and sometimes death.) Because of her debility with Lupus she became a fearless alliterator that disturbed the entire literary world, even until today. One of her greatest short stories provides insight into her personal life of misfortune above and beyond the others. A biographical and psychological analysis of "Good Country People” is that it was written by the author Flannery O'Connor as an emotional

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1033 Words | 5 Pages

Flannery O’Connor utilizes her character Joy to challenge ideas perpetuated by society in “Good Country People.” O’Connor accomplishes this by giving Joy an unorthodox philosophy to live by. This philosophy is similar to Nihilism due to the fact that Joy believes life is absent meaning. As a result of this Nihilistic belief, she challenges society’s institutions in the form of her mother, Mrs. Hopewell. However, with the introduction of Manley Pointer, Joy betrays her own school of thought by making statements that contradict her Nihilistic outlook.

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724 Words | 3 Pages

The story takes place at the height of the Civil Rights Movement in America, when desegregation is finally achieved. Flannery O’Connor’s use of setting augments the mood and deepens the context of the story. However, O’Connor’s method is subtle, often relying on connotation and implication to drive her point across. The story achieves its depressing mood mostly through the use of light and darkness in the setting.

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543 Words | 3 Pages

Flannery O’Connor, in her short life, wrote one novel and many short stories that impact literature to this day. She wrote two superb short stories, A Good Man is Hard to Find and Good Country People, which have many similarities hidden in the theme of their complex text. While both stories include themes about religion, identity, and the way we view others, the endings are astoundingly different. Nonetheless, O’Connor’s main theme concerning the way we view other people, is the most significant in both short stories. In Good Country People, Mrs. Hopewell repeatedly states that the bible salesman is the “salt of the earth” meaning that he is just a good and simple country boy.

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1228 Words | 5 Pages

Some poems are lengthy, and some poems can be very short, however when analyzed, they all express a deeper message. For example, when examining the poem, "The Changeling," by Judith Ortiz Cofer, the reader can easily spot the important message which the author is trying to reveal to the reader through the use of poetic devices. When closely reading this poem, the language and the terminology applied by Cofer enhances the readers ability to make connections between the theme of this poem and how it can be applied to real world scenarios. The poetic devices incorporated into the poem, "The Changeling," reflect on how young children interpret gender roles in their own way.

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Luke feels guilt after witnessing a crime that results in the death of one of the Siscos. Feeling of guilt affects the protagonist despite the fact that he did not do anything immoral: “Suddenly, I felt the urge to sneak back into the sanctuary and start praying. I knew I was guilty of something” (Grisham 40). Even though he does not know why he feels guilty, Luke still feels anxious, despite not being the one who participated in the fight. The fight affects Luke and he is probably more affected by it than many of the other spectators, and the fact that Luke knows Hank and that he works for the Chandlers also contributes to Luke’s condition and mental state.

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Bradstreet uses an AABBCC rhyme scheme which makes the poem seem to be written in a calm and relaxed state. It is also important to notice that she uses end rhyme which makes it seem as if she was trying to have some control over her life, probably because she lost it due to the fire. The style of the text is really simple because Anne Bradstreet uses what is known as “Puritan Plain Style” makes clear and direct statements and meditate on faith and God with simple sentences and words. It usually contains few elaborate figures of speech.

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939 Words | 4 Pages

Temptation is an occurrence in all daily routines, accompanied with pride and selfishness, due to our lack of knowledge. In “Good Country People”, “The Life You Save May Be Your Own”, and “The Displaced person” written by Flannery O’ Connor, temptation, pride, and selfishness are common themes. Each short story shows the weakness people have and how easily they are able to give into the sins laid before them. Many famous people have been quoted or have written about how easily temptation, pride, and being selfish can come about, including St. Cyril of Jerusalem. Temptation, pride, and selfishness are unavoidable evils, and they are brought about by our human weakness, each of these short stories, exposed each characters flaws.

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751 Words | 4 Pages

Flannery O’Connor made her stories meaningful to her and did that by making religion a key part of the story being told. In both “ A Good Man is Hard to Find,” and “Good Country People,” O’Connor can transform her religious beliefs into a gruesome story with lessons being taught in both. O’Connor pushes her belief that those who do not follow God will be unfortunate their entire lives, and does so by telling the story of her misfortunate characters. In Flannery O'Connor's “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” and “Good Country People,” both characters “The Misfit,” Hulga,” and the “Bible Salesman” symbolize people who don’t believe in God, and the evil and karma the characters face reflect O’Connor’s personal beliefs. “Good Country People,” is a unique short story.

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612 Words | 3 Pages

The expectations of the narrator are affecting her mentally and physically. The narrator feels controlled and restricted; her doing what everyone else wants her to do builds her

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1091 Words | 5 Pages

Furthermore, by using end rhyme, Bradstreet symbolically shows restraint. In the same way that a poet controls oneself by specifically using end rhyme, the poet is controlling her emotions when dealing with a sad experience and accepts her mortality. Similarly, in “Verses Upon the Burning of our House,” proof of Bradstreet’s faith is indisputable. After being initially distraught at her house burning down and losing all of her belongings, Bradstreet recounts how she reorients herself and blesses “His name that gave and took,

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1121 Words | 5 Pages

Anne Bradstreet (1612 – 1672) has been a long-lasting leading figure in the American literature who embodied a myriad of identities; she was a Puritan, poet, feminist, woman, wife, and mother. Bradstreet’s poetry was a presence of an erudite voice that animadverted the patriarchal constraints on women in the seventeenth century. In a society where women were deprived of their voices, Bradstreet tried to search for their identities. When the new settlers came to America, they struggled considerably in defining their identities. However, the women’s struggles were twice than of these new settlers; because they wanted to ascertain their identities in a new environment, and in a masculine society.

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151 Words | 1 Pages

The narrator is motivated by a strong sense of romanticism deep inside her, a desire to search for meaning in life, and an ambition to display that meaning to others.

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904 Words | 4 Pages

As well as comparing the child to nature on how trees over time will rot, and that her absence is like a vacant spot were a flower should be. In the second poem, Bradstreet writes as if she is more shaken and broken. She uses symbols of things that are easily broken. Much like glass and bubbles in her writing.

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