Pride In The Good Country People

In the stories “Good Country People”, “ The Life You Save May Be Your Own”, and “The Displaced Person” Flannery O’Connor had believed that pride was the root to all evil, and those who had to much would have their pride lead to their utter demise due to temptation. A quote that really ties into what O’Connor had been thinking was one by St. Cyril or Jerusalem. She had written that “ The dragon is by the side of the road, Watching those who pass. Beware least he devour you. We go to the father of souls, but it is necessary to pass by the dragon”. This entailed that one needed to leave their pride at the door and recognize reality and limitations on ones self and not be overtaken by the temptations in life. If one hadn't left their pride at the curb, they were going to experience a rude awakening in Mrs. O’Conner’s short stories. The “Good Country People” had given us the extravagant and elegant Hulga, a girl who was just bursting with pride and self regard. Daughter of Mrs. Freeman, Hulga had thought she was better than everyone. But Hulga hadn't been so perfect, she not only had a heart condition that would slow her down on the farm she had been working on, but she had a wooden leg to delay her even more. Hulga saw past that and did what she could on the farm, and one

McIntyre. She was a rude, inconsiderate, and ungrateful boss who had mistreated her workers, threatened them with being fired constantly, and hadn't gotten them even decent farm equipment to work with, all the while complained that she was poor and the farm hadn't brought her any money. All this would change though when Mr. Guizac would die, her hard ways would turn to fearful grief and leaves her petrified until the end of the story. Pride took over her life until a major event had turned her to fearing her own life because she would no longer be able to live a normal