O’Connor, Flannery – The Complete Stories
Stories
Good Country People
A Good Man is Hard to Find
Geranium
Revelation
(Article about Virginia Key)
Discussion questions
Use of the N word
Repetition of elements
Semi-autobiographical
Away at Master’s program // Geranium
Home // other stories
Repetition of theme
Compare the class conflicts involved with the young women in “Revelation”, “A Good
Man Is Hard to Find”, and/or “Good Country People” (and discuss possible connections
with the author).
North v south
How do the stories demonstrate class differences? Are they surpassed?
Repetition of character elements
Compare the young women in “Revelation” and “Good Country People” (and discuss
possible connections with the author).
Repetition of theme
Compare the moments of sudden understanding found in the 4 stories.
Geranium: black neighbor v neighbor with geranium
Good Man: ‘My son’
Good Country: con / Mrs. Freeman comment
Revelation: Job / prodigal son
Geranium: black neighbor turns out to be helpful.
Neighbor with geranium, symbol of his past life, threatens him.
Repetition of theme
If it was intentional, how was the order of the summer reading lists intended to impart a
message?
Problem: Evil in southern? society
Good Country People
A Good Man is Hard to Find
Geranium
Solution: Revelation: Retelling of Job (Haun) + Prodigal Son: pigs
Notes of student discussion
Geranium discussion notes
Symbolism
Why does the geranium upset him?
What does the geranium represent?
Flashbacks: reminds him of where he came from.
His one constant: memories // flower
Ex. AA people not something in S v N
Ex. He was something in the S, not up N
He / neighbor had geranium back home.
Anchor
Symbolized the old man
Uprooted (ending) // him
In the building v in south close to the ground // geranium in pot v in ground in the South
Out of place, didn't fit in
Old man die?
Geranium falls // old man
Shattered truth (Minh)
Change
Reminds him of the crippled young man in S // he’s psychologically crippled?
Represents South? Southern flower?
His breaking point? / Moment of truth?
Gap between himself and neighbor // alienation
Disconnected from memories // Geranium disappeared
Geranium broken // Life in city is broken
Repetition of elements (Checkov's Gun) / Suspense
Committed suicide?
Suicidal ideations
Shotgun
Geranium
Trips down stairs
Elevated train, daughter says, “You’ll kill yourself”.
Uprooted
Shotgun + AA connection
Flashback almost shooting friend
Caught pretending to shoot on stairs by AA neighbor
Represents his frustration about race?
Gun and AA
Everything has changed.
AA owned gun.
Daughter do the right thing?
Alone
Uprooted
Let the old man die where he was happy.
Goes through how he made the decision; Not necessarily her fault.
Characterization
Old man
Stubborn
Defiant
Setting
Transition more from past to present
Miserable present v rich past: climbing stairs, what a life!
Diction: word choices
N-word
Contrast between city & country
Student: Got used to it.
(Article about Virginia Key)
Repetition / Checkhov's gun
Throat nx
Cries at the end.
Repetition / Checkhov's gun
Stare
// feels disconnected
Stares nx (pp. 6, end)
You're no one.
Paranoia
What's the opposite of love? Indifference.
South knew everyone.
Talking about himself. Stares at geranium.
Stares from a distance.
Like the geranium, you are an object to be stared at. Staring at himself, but he doesn’t
realize it.
Characterization: dependent
Took care of old ladies v now being taken care of by his daughter.
Autobiographical elements
Leaving south
In identifying with Dudley, was Flannery a racist or showing it as wrong?
Now he's the N.
He was something in the S
In S, helped others.
Final irony
Insulted the black man who helped him.
Black neighbor turns out to be helpful.
White neighbor with geranium, symbol of his past life, threatens him.
Good Country People discussion notes
Theme
Why did the Bible salesman steal the leg?
What is the deal with his obsession with the wooden leg?
Con man
Wanted to sell it?
Stole people's stuff.
Collector
Power
Prize / souvenir
Selling Bibles + collecting artifacts // medieval salesmen of Jesus cross pieces.
Selling word of God & collecting trophies of the bizarre
morbid curiosities
// Mrs. Freeman collects & tells stories of same)
// Flannery O'Connor's religious feelings?
Mental rape
Left her defenseless
Repetition / Diction
Child nx (287) // Joy?
Theme: religion v goodness
Theme: appearances
Why is he able to trick people so easily?
Appearance
Good appearance
A Man from God
// Mrs. Freeman
Theme, repetition: education v schooling
Characterization
Irony
How is he able to get to her, being so well-educated / schooled?
Fell in love
Insecure - > Stayed in school
Safe in school
Didn't love him.
(Thought she was manipulating him.)
He gave her what she wanted.
Had to grow up real fast.
Never lost her innocence.
She felt like a child.
He was fathering her.
She is the most innocent character in the stories.
Book smart v street smart
She thinks she’s is smarter than everyone.
She thinks he's an idiot.
She says, “What do I have to lose?”
Never going to get an opportunity like that again.
Education / schooling doesn't help her.
(Leg = crutch // education / schooling)
Theme: loneliness
She knew there was some danger.
(Wanted some excitement?)
Felt special.
Someone giving her attention.
Theme: innocent-seeming people backstab you (Dairon)
Freeman & Salesman
Feel sorry for Bible salesman
Heart condition // Joy (?)
Dairon, people with disabilities
Oddballs in family
(Fun to talk about Flannery stories)
Theme: Morbid interest
Ms. Freeman likes that sort of thing.
Bible man
Human nature
About things not run of the mill
ex. Ripley's
ex. Online videos (of cannibalism?)
As long as it's not you.
Remind you of mortality (Jose).
Good and bad in each of us.
(Language?)
Characterization, cont’d
Hulga invites
Nothing good happened to her.
Atheist v Bible salesman
Ugly / fat
Ego
Thinks she's taking advantage of Bible salesman.
He takes her down a peg.
PhD made up for not having a leg (Michelot).
Thought he could take advantage of her.
Joy: Lack of attention.
Did not care about anything. Disconnected.
Irony
Who else needed to get taken down a peg (no pun intended)?
Mom
Referring to Bible salesman / Freeman as ‘good country people’.
Bitterness, resentment, class conflict
Lower class people get a leg up on the upper class people.
Theme, title
Is there such thing as good country people / good people?
All characters + and So keep your eyes open
Recognize people are good and bad
Title ironic
Everyone has own definition of good (Anthony)
(Watts, Zen: people who live by simplified formulas can be fooled.)
// Revelation
Mother does things that she criticizes.
Good / evil
Con: good at conning
Why is Mrs. Freeman mentioned in the beginning of the story?
Frame narrative
Freeman / Mom / Joy, end reversed
Effect: everybody watching Joy.
Joy seems most affected / damaged.
Joy acts out. Dresses like a girl.
Freeman ruins this game when she calls her “Hulga”.
Good Man is Hard to Find
How can the family have survived?
Recognizes the misfit.
Grandma's fault?
Responsible for going down the dirt road.
Grandmother brought the cat to keep it from dying
Cat causes the crash
NT: He who saves his life will lose it.
Road to hell paved with good intentions
Being selfish.
She who tries to save her cat will lose it.
Why does she say that Misfit is her child?
Religion
Deeper connections
Religious debate.
(Jesus hung out with sinners).
Eyes: Saw the good in him.
Make him reconsider?
Selfish?
Serial killers intimate act (Ana)
Misfit needs to kill.
Intimate
Jesus
Hung out with people who betrayed him, denied him.
(Parties: water to wine)
(Thieves)
Prostitutes
Lepers
Blind people
Diseased
Why wouldn't she be selfish?
Misfit realizes philosophy is flawed.
Why does the Misfit leave the GM last?
It was her fault.
Would have been a good woman if shot every day.
(Torture made her see).
Was it her fault?
Random
Wrong place at wrong time.
Warned family
Manipulated
Brought her cat even though son didn't want it.
Misfit didn't have to shoot them.
She who tries to save her cat will end up being killed by her.
She who tries to save her cat will lose it.
Acts like a good Christian - > Becomes a good Christian
Irony: Title
// Good Country People
No good people?
Misfit?
Playing on goodness theme.
Misfit blames Jesus // We blame the GM for deaths.
Pd. 5
Geranium just a flower?
No good people at end of story?
(Bookmark pd. 7 10/3)
Both
Eyes = Checkov's gun
Paradoxes
Is a good man hard to find?
(Maybe you have to open your eyes).
Based on one's morality.
Some have a morality.
(GM a widow looking for a good man?
Morbid fascination with Misfit // sexuality // Good Country People)
Revelation
Theme: schooling v education
Irony
Why did the girl attack the old lady? (Michelot)
Angry about how ignorant the lady seemed.
Schooled
“Human Development”
Wires crossed
Realizes that the South is not great (Flannery? Student? Both?)
Schooled, but an animal // woman: good, but racist (Theme good / evil, everyone +/-)
Girl and the pigs connection?
Image at end?
Why does it bother her so much being called pig?
Mentally disturbed?
Cared about social status
(College girl knows how to hit where it hurts.)
(Fat?)
Why is she so obsessed with social status?
Social order mentioned
What role did the people in the waiting room play?
Medium of the transmission of her revelation (Trabanino).
What is her fault?
Considers herself better than others.
Stubborn? Took her a long time.
Blind?
Biblical references / allusions
Prodigal son
Hard-working son complains // woman.
Sinners should be saved.
Everyone's a sinner.
Son worked with and had revelation with pigs // main character.
Job