Critical Analysis- Good Country People Flannery O'Conner - Research Paper Example

Despite being a PhD holder, Joy stays at home reading philosophical books in isolation since she is afraid to face the real world as a result of her poor sight and prosthetic limb. The philosophical assertion that ‘No man is an island’ can be used to explicate vital issues and events in the story. The short story is interesting in that Flannery OConner laid emphasis on isolation by employing the use imagery, conflict, setting, as well as characters (flat and round) mixed within the systems of Christian beliefs in redemption and evil.

To begin with, the story is set in a Georgian farm. The farm is based in rural Georgia. This is a clear indication that the area is cut off from the big urban areas which are densely populated (Steep 303). The rural setting gives an isolation setting necessary for O’Conner to express her ideas easily and with ease. Additionally, the rural setting gave Joy the chance to go about her family’s farm in a yellow sweatshirt and six-year old skirt with a faded cowboy (O’Connor 313). Mrs. Hopewell’s house, especially the kitchen is also another important setting aspect.

This is ascribed to the fact that it is where the two women, Mrs. Hopewell and Mrs. Freeman, conduct their insipid talks (Bosco 291). Kitchens are normally considered to be the site of female domesticity, and this story is about women without men, till the appearance of Manley Pointer. Pointer’s aggressive intrusion into female isolation is demonstrated when O’Conner asserts that, ‘he falls forward into her hall.’ The barn also depict isolation in the manner in which Manley Pointer hid Joy from other her mother and Mrs. Freeman. O’Conner has managed to use the isolated barn to show the Manley pointer’s true colors (Hubbard 64).

Secondly, O’Conner has used imagery in the basic names assigned to her characters. The names are of importance since they clearly point out the stereotypical function assigned to