Characterization of Joy in Good Country People Essay

Joy Hopewell is the thirty-three-year-old maimed child of Ms. Hopewell in Flannery OConnors short story, Good Country People. Joy is characterized throughout the story as an ungrateful, childish adult with a bad temperament. Joys leg has been shot off in a hunting accident over twenty years ago, and it can be presumed that at least some of her behavioral issues can be attributed to the accident. Ms. Hopewell, the eternally helpful and kind character, wakes up at seven each morning to light the heaters in her and Joys rooms. Joy shows her gratitude by stomping her artificial leg unnecessarily on the way to the bathroom and then slamming the door upon her arrival. She often has outbursts when her mother asks her to walk to the†¦show more content†¦Joy finally meets her match in what seems like a good country person selling Bibles, a boy named Manley. Initially (and not surprisingly) rude at dinner, Joy eventually opens up to the boy as he is walking towards the gate. He tells a simple joke and she doesnt laugh, but the conversation turns philosophical and her interested is peaked. Joy agrees to meet him for a picnic the next day. She imagines during the night that things come to such a pass that she very easily seduces him and then turns his guilt into something useful and philosophical (371). The real picnic turns out much different. On the way to the picnic, Joy notices that Manleys valice isnt as heavy as it was when he carried the Bibles, and he even swung it, but she doesnt think much of it (371). Despite all her degrees, Joy cant sense that something is amiss. Her character judgment doesnt set off any alarms when it comes to the boy. She has no idea that he isnt even close to what he says he is. The two decide to rest from their walk in a barn--in the loft, no less. Joy is so eager to prove that she can get around just fine on her artificial leg that she doesnt even realize that the boy needs her up there so he can take what he wants. Joy doesnt sense any misguided thoughts at all in his apparent reverence for her. Her bad temperament and lack of common sense have left her with so little worldly knowledge that she had no ideaShow MoreRelatedIrony in Good Country People748 Words   |  3 PagesIrony in â€Å"Good Country People† Flannery O’Connor uses characterization, and the themes of good versus evil and the psychological and physical problems of the characters, to create irony in the story. The characterization of both Mrs. Hopewell and Joy/Hulga creates irony, which begins with their names. Then the theme of good versus evil, demonstrated by the belief that country people are â€Å"good†, also creates irony. The story is about a farm owner, Mrs. Hopewell, her onlyRead More Irony and Characterization in O’Connor’s Good Country People942 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"Good Country People,† is a classic example of the use of irony as a technique for imbuing a story with meaning. 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