O Connor's Good Country People

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In O’Connor’s book Good Country People she explores character development and identity through each character's specific deformity, illness or addiction. These illnesses help to shape how to story moves along by changing how people look at the characters with illness. Helga’s amputated leg, the Hulga’s heart disease, and the Manly Pointer’s addiction for stealing what people need are examples of ways O’Connor has implemented variables to control how the characters interact with their environment. The main protagonist in the story is Helga. The story revolves around her as she interacts with her mother, Mrs. Freeman, and the Manly Pointer. “Mrs. Hopewell excused this attitude because of the leg (which had been shot off in a hunting accident” (2), The story starts of early revealing Hulga’s missing limb. Hulga’s limb effects how her mother views. Hulga’s mom Mrs. Hopewell attributes her attitude, and the way she acts towards her and others to her leg. Mrs. Hopewell does not care as much for Hulga and lets her do whatever she pleases. This shows the effect the leg has on Mrs. Hopewell since she does not give Hulga as much worth due to it.…show more content…
At first her name started out as what her mother had named her, Joy. “Joy changed without telling her mother until after she had done it. Her legal name was Hulga.” (3), Hulga had changed her name from being joy due to how she viewed herself. Her lost limb and her large size made her feel ugly and giant, so she decided to embrace it and name herself Hulga. Her name change correlates directly to her deformity and because of her name change her mother Mrs. Hopewell starts to lose their relationship. Mrs. Hopewell wants to call her child Joy but starts to feel awkward later in the

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