Good Country People

“Good Country People”

• Genre: Fiction; Southern Gothic short fiction
• Originally Published: 1955
• Reading Level/Interest: College/adult
• Structure/Length: Short story; approx. 17 pages; 1,499 words
• Protagonist and Central Conflict: Hulga (née Joy) Hopewell, the well-educated unmarried daughter of an intelligent Southern woman who makes a point of championing “good country people,” usually rejects her mother’s outlook but finds herself drawn in by the innocence of a Bible salesman who she thinks is in love with her, but who ultimately steals her wooden leg and leaves her stranded, mocking her for believing in him.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Passing mention of “Negroes” who exist on the margins of the white characters’ world

Flannery O’Connor, Author

• Bio: 1925-1964; born in Savannah, Georgia; attended Catholic schools as a youth, in keeping with her family’s faith; finished an accelerated undergraduate program at Georgia State College for Women and studied fiction at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop; went on to publish two novels and two short story collections; known for her sharp social critiques of affectation, triviality, and religious hypocrisy, O’Connor has sustained criticism in recent years for the racist attitudes displayed in her letters; had and died from lupus, the same autoimmune illness that had killed her father, at 39 years old; posthumous recipient of the 1972 National Book Award for The Complete Stories
• Other Works: Wise Blood (1952); A Good Man Is Hard to Find (1955); The Violent Bear It Away (1960); Everything That Rises Must Converge (1965); The Complete Stories (1971)

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

• The False Sense of Moral Superiority That Comes with Dogmatic Belief
• The Conflict Between Mother and Daughter
• The Hypocrisy of the Old South

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will:

• Gain an understanding of the cultural and social contexts around the Southern Gothic genre and how different belief systems can lead to conflict between generations.
• Study brief resources to make connections via the text’s theme of The Conflict Between Mother and Daughter.
• Plan and construct alternative narratives building on the author’s use of third-person omniscient point of view to explore the thoughts of only Mrs. Hopewell and Hulga.
• Compare and contrast character growth and change through the use of visual aids and charts.
• Analyze the significance of textual elements such as character, genre, dialogue, and theme in structured essay responses.