Critical Analysis of "Good Country People"

Society’s Fear of Inadequacy

This post uses a sociological lens, which we haven’t studied, to analyze the short story “Good Country People.” The sociological lens draws on aspects of the cultural studies lens and the psychological lens. I would be interested to see if anyone can find other methods this analysis touches on.

The reason I chose this story is because the issues faced by Joy and Mrs. Hopewell are similar to the mother-daughter problems faced by Eunice and Mrs. Park in Super Sad True Love Story. Eunice and her mother both struggle with acceptance of each other, fear of failing at their familial roles, and general anxiety about their self-worth.

Flannery O’Connor’s short story “Good Country People” suggests that fear of inadequacy is common issue faced by society. As a whole, the human race is united in the quest to be accepted by others, especially by family. Comparing oneself to others often creates feelings of jealousy that leave insecurities behind. Analyzed through a sociological lens, O’Connor’s “Good Country People” suggests that Mrs. Hopewell’s insecurities and feelings of inadequacy when confronted by her intellectual daughter, Joy, represent the struggle faced by many mothers: the deep-seated fear of failing to raise their children correctly.

Mrs. Hopewell does not understand the way Joy’s mind works; consequently, she feels alienated from her educated daughter. Mrs. Hopewell’s limited intelligence is restricted to commonplace ideas such as clothing. In her mind, useful skills are those which will enable Joy to find a husband and keep a home. Joy, on the other hand, prefers to devote her time to studying philosophy alone. Joy is a step ahead of her mother, however, in the sense that she doesn’t care what she looks like because her life is devoted to learning philosophies regarding “nothing of Nothing.”

Her strange sense of fashion is simply another way that Joy attempts to distance herself from the “good country people” her mother values. Philosophy is something that Mrs. Hopewell is incapable of understanding; the intelligence displayed by Joy causes Mrs. Hopewell to belittle her daughter’s education. The idea of her daughter learning and studying philosophy with other intellectuals makes Mrs. Hopewell uncomfortable. In Mrs. Hopewell’s world everything is taken at face value; she does not understand why anyone would pursue knowledge simply for the sake of knowledge.

Because she feels that her own education is inadequate compared to that of her daughter, Mrs. Hopewell degrades Joy’s Ph.D. By referring to thirty-two –year-old Joy as “the child,” she makes Joy’s education seem little more than a pastime. Mrs. Hopewell harbors a deep fear that she has been a bad mother. By refusing to think of her grown daughter as an adult she denies the fact that she was unable to heal Joy’s physical handicap and give her a normal childhood.

She fears that day when Joy will no longer be dependent on her. Mrs. Hopewell will then be forced to come to terms with the knowledge that her daughter will never have the chance to make up for the missed opportunities experienced by other children. She also blames herself for the way Joy has turned out: rude, sullen, and introverted. Now, however, Joy is an adult, and Mrs. Hopewell must deal with her own embarrassment and regret.

Flannery O’Connor addresses the issues of fear, insecurity, and inadequacy in the short story “Good Country People.” After viewing this literary work through a sociological lens it becomes apparent that Mrs. Hopewell’s various insecurities stem from her fear of having failed as a good mother. To make up for her inadequacies, she belittles her daughter and refuses to acknowledge Joy as an educated philosopher.

Mrs. Hopewell still sees Joy as an incompetent little girl. This makes Mrs. Hopewell feel better about herself; it takes the blame off of her imagined poor parenting skills and obvious lack of intellect by instead focusing on Joy’s peculiarities.

Society as a whole is caught up in the fear of failing to fit in; acceptance of others is crucial to the human psyche. This is evident in “Good Country People,” America today, and the futuristic dystopia of  Super Sad True Love Story.