Good 'Ol Folk

I must start with the end of the first story, A Good Man is Hard to Find, because that is what has left my mind reeling the most at present. I was both shocked, and humored. Perhaps the Misfit wasn’t so bad after all. Though his moral compass was a bit awry, his sense of people was honest nonetheless. O’Conner seemed to have a knack for creating characters possessed with the air of knowing the inner self of people, and wanting to expose it. The moment I heard the quote “ ‘She would have been a good woman’” the Misfit said ‘ if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of the day’”(O’Conner 505). I was like “Oh.”… “Ha! Now I get it. That makes sense, Hmm. How interesting.” It seemed O’Conner’s point had come across without seeming to, intentionally at least. It sort of snuck up on me. At the same time though, through the whole tail end of the story, I felt like yelling at the stupidity, ignorance, and simply, silliness of the characters. I wanted to yell at their stupidity, to preach to all these “good ‘ol folk” of the mistakes we all make or are warned of. I could see the end coming, the gut-wrenching feeling that all the children were going to be shot, that the nice bible salesman was a jerk, though I didn’t quite see his prosthetic fetish side coming.  It was ironic that Hulga, who thought she was doing the seducing, was being played for a fool. Her prosthetic leg went right next to the eye ball which O’Conner so kindly provided a description of.

It was odd to hear an explanation for the details provided, to hear thoughts to satisfy other thoughts, have the curiosity of a character be our own. There were colors, colors, and…more colors. We see the grandmother’s dress and then hear it is so she will be recognized as a woman, in the event of her sudden death. Ironically, she is killed on this trip. Everyone’s appearance is noted with literal imagery, of glasses, blue, green, red, purple, stocky, white organdy trimmed cuffs. People are compared to heavy trucks, caramel, and glycerin, not simply because they have a resemblance in appears, but also in character. Names such as the Misfit have a purpose, one that is explicitly stated. “I call myself the Misfit…because I can’t make what all I done wrong fit what all I gone through in punishment”(O’Conner 505). The Misfit is rather witty indeed.

            This theme was part of the curiousity, in which good characters were rotten, and the bad, well, kind of innocent and reflective. People would see the ‘best’ in everyone, the good man or woman or Christian they knew someone to be, when they were after something. But this optimism, as a kind way to put it, shows the ugly side of people. People are not who they appear to be, who they present themselves to be.  The Hulga’s mother complains about her daughter becoming “Less like other people and more like herself”, in Good Country People. But even this stubborn, bookish, philosophical rebel doesn’t know herself, or the people around her as well as she believed. Although, she finds Christians are the hypocrites she labels them as.

            While the theme of religion seems to follow a pattern of mocking prayer, bibles, and faith, by doing so, it emphasizes religion. The message is mocking people who hide their vile or insincere character behind the good Christian stereotype. “pray, pray, pray”, the grandmother repeats. The older generations reminisce on the past and their youth. The grandmother wants to see her old house, despite its fading glory. Life was as grand then, in her mind, as it is now. In her day, that day, those days, his day… things were simply better in their opinion. But as it turns out, the younger generations do not seem to believe so. The youth see the changing times, yet cannot convince the older generation to let go of their illusions. Though people are deceitful in this way of not facing reality, they must have their reasons of course.

            Overall, I really enjoyed the southern voice with a nice blend of humor and depressing endings, right at the climax of things. But that's okay, to end where it just went bang, because I loved her writing style and just went on to her next story.