Good Country People Hulga Summary

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. During a hunting trip, at the age of ten, Hulga was scarred for life. One of her legs had been accidently shot off. As if she had not been through enough, she suffers from a weak heart and was expected to live only until the age of forty-five. These tragic events certainly took a toll on her and she makes it known. Hulga “stumped

She refused to give in and deflects the conversation to her actual age. He quickly dismisses this new information, asks her again, and bombards her with kisses. She responds, “Yes, yes.” (8) Manley now has her hook, line, and sinker. He insists that she proves her love and Hulga continues to slip further away from her “genius.” At this point, Hulga believed that she accomplished seducing Manley without even trying. How could this be when she is the one succumbing to his requests and not the opposite? Manley asks Hulga to show him where her wooden leg joined her amputated leg. “[Hulga] took care of [her artificial leg] as someone else would his soul, in private and almost with her own eyes turned away,” so she refused (8). Manley begins to pout and tells her that she was “playing [him] for a sucker.” Going against herself, she gives in and falls right into his trap. Simply telling him where it joined was not enough for Manley. He uses his charm and wit to butter Hulga up. By telling her that her artificial leg sets her apart from others and that is the reason he wanted to see it, she surrenders. His persistence has finally hammered away the wall between the two completely. Hulga then detaches and reattaches the leg for him. Now, Manley feels as if it is his turn. He takes the leg off himself and never gives it

That being the case, Hulga could not take it. She is the one that was supposed to be in total control. Without her leg, she was weak. She had given her soul to Manley and she needed it back immediately! She demands her leg to be put back on, but Manley has other plans. He brings out one of his Bibles and reveals it’s hollowed out insides. The Bible contained whiskey, cards and condoms. This alarmed Hulga and she began to ooze with irony. Hulga was physical defeated, so she resorts to the one thing that has been letting her down all night, her intellect. She uses it to shame Manley’s character and faith, “You’re a fine Christian! You’re just like them all – say one thing and do another…” (9). If Hulga is an atheist, why would she care about this? Why is she so hurt all of a sudden? Simply put, she wanted to be the one to do the hurting. She wanted to manipulate what she thought was an inferior mind and further prove her belief that she had the most superior mind of all. Her words does not have any effect on Manley because he in fact does not believe in God. While packing up his belongings and Hulga’s artificial leg, Manley reveals that his name isn’t even Manley and he cons people like this all the time. Finally, he strips Hulga of the little she had left, her feeling of intellectual superiority. “And I’ll tell you another thing, Hulga,” Pointer says, “You ain’t so smart. I been believing in nothing ever since I was