Blog 5: Good Country People

   

     Reading Good Country People by Flannery O’Connor makes you think of and reflect on relationships you have with people. Do you really know who they are? Or are they putting up a good front just for show? Mrs. Hopewell and the bible salesman are very similar in that they act very differently towards strangers than they do to their family or those that they are close to. Towards the end Hulga says, “You’re a fine Christian! You’re just like them all- say one thing and do another” (1353).

     Hulga is a good example of how no matter how strong you act or appear there are always those that will push you down. As the reader we can sympathize with Hulge for many different reasons, including her fake leg. Even with this major setback Hulga acts independent and strong. She wants to show the world that she does not need any help. After discussing this story in class I can see how O’Connor relates this story to her own life. As a grown woman she was forced to go back and live with her mother, which must have had a huge toll on her life. I think the main point O’Connor was trying to portray is that there are struggles in life where you are on your own and people can be very deceitful.

O'Connor, Flannery. The Norton Anthology American Literature: Good Country People. 8th ed. Vol. 2, 2013. Print.

Blog 4: A Streetcar Named Desire

In A Streetcar Named Desire Blanche is so focused on appearing to have a perfect life. She never brings up how she is poor and needs help. Going to visit her sister is a cover up because she seems to have run out of options. Her sister, Stella, seems to have the perfect life with a baby on the way and a husband. Part of trying to appear that there is nothing wrong in her life Blanche hides the fact that she has a drinking problem.

By the end of the play, when Blanche is taken away by the doctor, it leaves the reader wondering if the only thing she was trying to hide was her drinking problem. It seemed like extreme circumstances the way the doctor and matron had come in and almost forcibly removed/restrained Blanche. At one point the matron asks, “Jacket, Doctor?” (1176) referring to a straight-jacket. Reading this I automatically think of a psych ward for the mentally insane. Which makes me wonder if Blanche was mentally ill or if this was just a common procedure back then, since Blanche did eventually leave voluntarily with the doctor.

After watching part of the film I thought there were also hints that Blanche could be mentally ill. In the film they chose to leave out the scene where Blanche calls her friend Shep. Could this mean that they left it out because they interpreted that scene to all be happening in Blanche’s mind? It would also be interesting to see if the film left out the other scene towards the end where Blanche again tries to call Mr. Shep. Although, they may have just left this scene out so that the film would not be too long or they could have decided the scenes were unimportant.  

Williams, Tennessee. A Streetcar Named Desire: A Play. New York: New Directions, 1947. Print.