Good Country People

In Flannery O'Conner's "Good Country People," the symbolism of the chosen names is very apparent. In the story, certain names seem to hold some sort of meaning.

One example is Joy and when she changed her name to Hulga. After loosing her leg at the age of ten, she didn't feel as though she deserved such a name as Joy. Joy considered her name a personal affair. Originally, she had chosen the name based on the pure ugliness of it, but then she realized it had a deeper meaning. "She had a vision of the name working like the ugly sweating Vulcan who stayed in the furnace and to whom, presumably, the goddess had to come when called" (1215).

Another example of symbolism is through The Freeman's name. The Freeman's last name is ironic because they are not in fact free. Their social status represents the exact opposite of free. Oddly enough, The Freeman's work as tenant farmers for Mrs. Hopewell and are referred to as "good country people." Even though we read that Mrs. Freeman rests her elbow on the refrigerator every now and then, she is by no means a free woman.

As we look at the name Hopewell, we recognize that it's very fitting for Mrs. Hopewell. In the story, she portrayed a very patient woman who always looked at things optimistically. She had a few favorite sayings that she repeated throughout the story. These included "Nothing is perfect," "That is life," and "Well, other people have their opinions too."

Manley Pointer's name is also ironic. Flannery depicted this character as a tall gaunt youth named Manley, yet he was only nineteen years old.