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How Does Flannery O Connor Use Physiognomy

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Flannery O’Connor is an American Southern Gothic author who is well known for her novels and short stories. As an American Southern Gothic writer Flannery O’Connor often includes physiognomy, which is the art of judging character based on physical characteristics, within her works. Two of her short stories in particular, “The Life You Save May Be Your Own” and “Good Country People,” use physiognomy to further their respective themes. Although both Flannery O’Connor’s “The Life You Save May Be Your Own” and “Good Country People” exhibit physiognomy to further their overall themes, the usage in “The Life You Save May Be Your Own” is far more effective for a variety of reasons at proving its theme of things are as they seem to be. For starters, …show more content…

Because the characters in this story are described in more detail than the characters in “Good Country People” it is reasonable to believe that there is also more physiognomy that can be used to further …show more content…

For example, the cross that Shiftlet makes with his body is an allusion to Jesus because Jesus died on the cross, and like Jesus, as soon as Shiftlet arrives, he begins to resurrect parts of the farm that the Crater’s live on. The morning after he arrives he begins to fix the roof on the garden house and by the time he has stayed there a week he “had patched the front and back steps, built a new hog pen, restored a fence, and taught Lucynell, who was completely deaf and had never said a word in her life, to say the word ‘bird.’” which furthers the allusion in this story (O’Connor). Because the cross he forms is crooked, however, he cannot be an entirely good person and this is fully revealed later on in the story when he abandons his sleeping wife in a restaurant and steals her mother’s car. The cross he forms is clearly symbolic and gives the reader a good picture of what will happen much further on in the story. “Good Country People” does have some symbolism but it is less clearly indicative of what will happen later on in the story. The artificial leg that Hulga “was as sensitive about the artificial leg as a peacock about his tail” symbolizes her vulnerability and her dependence on things despite what she may think, but from this it would be nearly impossible to guess that Manley was

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Flannery O’Connor’s “Good Country People" uses diction and characterization to establish the message of the story. This point is best exemplified by the characters names. For example, the name "Hopewell" characterizes not only the mother but also her daughter. Both of the women appear to be simplistic and believe that what is wanted in life can be achieved. Similarly, both of the women appear to be blind to the true world.

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In Flannery O’Connor’s “Good Country People”, O’Connor utilizes the analogy of good country people as a representation and critique of the ignorance of society. To do so, O’Connor presents the sense of superiority certain characters possess, resulting in them becoming ignorant to the truth of the world that is around them. In doing so, O’Connor challenges common perceptions of society in never questioning those who appear inferior to one, yet are still capable of unimaginable things. Through the examination of the characters of Mrs. Hopewell and Joy, or Hulga, and their interactions with good country people in Mrs. Freeman and Manley Pointer, superiority will be shown to cause one to become ignorant of the true nature of others; hence, leading

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Symbolism shows up again later on in the book providing context/background information as they cross the Soldier’s Bridge. The symbolism that shows up here isn’t exactly the Soldier’s Bridge, but how people were identified based on if they had a car, what type of car they had, and what color they were. An example of this is the Soldier’s Bridge. “More than once when I had been in the wagon with Mama or Big Ma, we had to back off the bridge when a white family started across after we were already on it.” (pg 138)

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All her mother sees is an immature woman. Mrs. Freeman considers her an interesting anomaly. Hulga's willingness to expose herself to Manley because he accepts her with the leg. There is part of her that is drawn to that level of infatuation. "Kissing him again and again as if she were trying to draw all the breath out of him" (O'Connor).

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Have you ever heard of the story the “Drummer Boy of Shiloh?” If you have you know the story. If you haven't then you should read it it's a good story. This story was written by Ray Bradbury .

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Hulga is presented as a child by the way she is dressed, and this helps to demonstrate her lack of reality of the evil in others that are supposed to be "good country people." Hulga is vunerable and is allured into the sweet talk of Pointer, her pride leads her to lose the most precious thing she owns, her wooden leg. Her pride disables her from seeing the reality and is left on the floor unable to move. At the end Pointer tells her the truth, but she still remains ignorant and does not accept the fact that she was manipulated when it was her plan to seduce

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The theme is that you cannot just judge a person by things that you hear about them. 12. One major symbol is the mockingbird; it represents good people that just try to help. Another symbol is the snowman made of snow and dirt; it represents racism in the town. 13.

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It is not until the very end of the story that readers are shown the true character of Manley Pointer. It is possible that the motive for stealing Hulga’s leg is that Mrs. Freeman hired the Bible salesman to steal the artificial leg from her. “Something about her seemed to fascinate Mrs. Freeman and then one day Hulga realized that it was the artificial leg” (O’connor 436). It is interesting that

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“During the night she had imagined that she seduced him” (180) Hulga concludes that Manley will be easily persuaded by herself and that she is truly superior than he is intellectually. “True genius can get an idea across even to an inferior mind.” (180) Hulga’s relationship with Manley continues to grow as they learn more about each other. While walking towards their picnic Hulga expresses to Manley that she does not believe in God which shocked Manley. After

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When reading a few of Flannery O’Connor’s stories, one cannot help but make a connection with her intensive stories and those of a television show. Both take mostly everyday people and exaggerate them into an absurd nature. Her stories and television shows use shock factors to draw in readers and viewers, respectively. While television shows tend to vary in themes and messages, Flannery O’Connor’s short stories tend to be focused on a few limited messages and themes. Television shows are mostly mindless channels of entertainment, Flannery O’Connor uses her characters not only to entertain, but to also cause readers to reflect inward and think.

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“Without the leg she felt entirely dependent on him” (O’Connor 17). When Hulga has her wooden leg she is seen as this person who has stability and is strong, but it all goes away when her leg is taken. However, Hulga is unable to embrace her true identity and instead tries to escape it through her intellectual pursuits and philosophical beliefs. She must re-evaluate her values and beliefs as she grapples with the complexity of her own identity and the masks she wears to fit into society's expectations. Through this journey, she discovers the true nature of her own character and comes to understand her place in the

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In How to Read Literature Like a Professor, Thomas C. Foster teaches readers the meanings behind commonly used symbols, themes, and motifs. Many readers of all ages use this book as a guide to understanding messages and deeper meanings hidden in novels. The deeper literary meanings of various symbols in Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale are explained in How to Read Literature Like a Professor. By using Foster’s book, readers can better understand the symbols in The Handmaid’s Tale.

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Symbolism is when the author uses objects to add deeper meaning to the story without mentioning it in the story. In Flannery O’Connor’s story, “Good Country People”, she uses symbolism to illustrate the antagonist and protagonist with more insight; for example, Manley’s hollow Bible signify how he really does not believe in Christianity, Hulga’s wooden leg portrayed her personality, and her name change represents how she is not the same girl she once was. First of all, the author introduces Manley Pointer as a young man that goes around homes selling Bibles, but little did she know that was not the case. When Manley Pointer goes on a date with Hulga the truth is revealed. Hulga has the impression that Manley is a young nice man that sells Bibles

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One of the most important symbols of this story is Harrison; he symbolizes the revolution that everyone wants ad needs, he also symbolizes independence and doing what you think is right. We know this because he is the only one in the story who at least tries to gain independence and freedom. Another important symbol are the handicaps; which symbolize the oppression, conformity and the false equality. The handicaps show this because they are the tools the government uses to oppress people and stop them from being themselves. Symbolism shows the tone of foreboding because every symbol relates to something that could happen like the handicaps are like chains that hold us back and Harrison is like the revolutionist with a new idea or

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To start-off,

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