Good Country People paper 
English 102-18
Literary Analysis
22 October, 2014
A Mother’s Love
Flannery O’Connor was an author born in the south in 1925. She was an author who “wrote from her experiences as a Roman Catholic raised in the Protestant South” (Flannery O’Connor). She is the author of the story “Good Country People”, published in 1955. O’Connor tells the story of a young girl named Hulga “Joy” Hopewell who is a well-educated girl, with a degree in philosophy, but is a very shy person and keeps to herself. Hulga is also a very misunderstood girl, mainly by her mother who in no way relates to Hulga. Hulga’s mother, Mrs. Hopewell, is a very self-centered person who seems to surround herself with and pity the people that she believes she is better than. Mrs. Hopewell is a judgmental person towards everyone she comes into contact with, even towards her own daughter. The relationship that is visible to the reader between this mother and daughter is not one that the reader may be accustomed to seeing. Love is not an easy thing to define, but some may say that a mother shows her love through her concern, her compassion, and her understanding towards her children. Mrs. Hopewell makes it clear to the reader that she does not understand her daughter and at the same time makes a solid case for the reader to infer that she does not love her daughter either. In many instances, Mrs. Hopewell shows that she is incapable of reasoning or understanding the situations her daughter goes through and why. Mrs. Hopewell refuses to accept the fact that her daughter is no longer a young child anymore because ‘it tore her heart to think instead of the poor stout girl in her thirties who had never danced a step or had any normal good times’ (O’Connor, 3). Mrs. Hopewell is too concerned about what others may think of her because of Hulga’s “not so normal life”, rather than trying to find ways to help her daughter adjust. It seems that Hulga never receives any positive feedback from her mother; all Hulga
Literary Analysis
22 October, 2014
A Mother’s Love
Flannery O’Connor was an author born in the south in 1925. She was an author who “wrote from her experiences as a Roman Catholic raised in the Protestant South” (Flannery O’Connor). She is the author of the story “Good Country People”, published in 1955. O’Connor tells the story of a young girl named Hulga “Joy” Hopewell who is a well-educated girl, with a degree in philosophy, but is a very shy person and keeps to herself. Hulga is also a very misunderstood girl, mainly by her mother who in no way relates to Hulga. Hulga’s mother, Mrs. Hopewell, is a very self-centered person who seems to surround herself with and pity the people that she believes she is better than. Mrs. Hopewell is a judgmental person towards everyone she comes into contact with, even towards her own daughter. The relationship that is visible to the reader between this mother and daughter is not one that the reader may be accustomed to seeing. Love is not an easy thing to define, but some may say that a mother shows her love through her concern, her compassion, and her understanding towards her children. Mrs. Hopewell makes it clear to the reader that she does not understand her daughter and at the same time makes a solid case for the reader to infer that she does not love her daughter either. In many instances, Mrs. Hopewell shows that she is incapable of reasoning or understanding the situations her daughter goes through and why. Mrs. Hopewell refuses to accept the fact that her daughter is no longer a young child anymore because ‘it tore her heart to think instead of the poor stout girl in her thirties who had never danced a step or had any normal good times’ (O’Connor, 3). Mrs. Hopewell is too concerned about what others may think of her because of Hulga’s “not so normal life”, rather than trying to find ways to help her daughter adjust. It seems that Hulga never receives any positive feedback from her mother; all Hulga