Good Country People written by Flannery O’ Conner has symbolism and metaphors that are used and that reinforce the major ideas of the story. O’Conner uses Mrs. Hopewell’s daughter Joy and her name change as a symbolism. A few others that add to the main idea is Joy’s wooden leg, her last name Hopewell, the Freeman’s, Manly Pointer, his briefcase, the hollow bible, and even the gate to the Hopewell’s house is symbolic to the story. Metaphors that take place are Mrs. Hopewell’s saying Good country people are the salt of the earth and many other sayings that Mrs. Hopewell believes to be true about life.
Joy changing her name is symbolic to Good County People, she finds herself superior to those who are less fortunate than her or what her mother calls good country people. Joy changing her name to Hulga and having her leg be a false wooden leg symbolizes her fractured identity and vulnerability. Joy has the
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His briefcase symbolizes identity as well, Manly carries the briefcase to display his act of being a good county person when in reality he is not and his hollow bible is even a symbolism of emptiness and deceit which is the life that he lives by. One of Mr. Hopewells sayings “good country people are the salt of the earth” is a metaphor that adds to the meaning of the short story. Mrs. Hopewell refuses to see the world as it truly is filled with good and evil instead she chooses to the simpler areas in life. She has other metaphors she says that expresses her simplistic view of life such as “Nothing is perfect”, and “Everybody is different”, and “That is life. These symbolisms and metaphors that are placed in the story help to add to the point of the story that life does not always have good country people only people who refuse to see the world how it truly