ChristinaC+O'Connor

Christina Caamaño ENGL 337-01 Dr. Nicosia April 24, 2010

Notes from April 19th’s Class

Flannery O’Connor’s “Good Country People”:


 * Flannery O’Connor focuses on writing on these grotesques, and people’s weird obsessions.
 * Several students described “Good Country People” as “disturbing”—but why? The story reveals the weird, twisted obsessions people can have—and that does not settle well with many readers. Dr. Nicosia also presented the idea of an attraction/repulsion dichotomy: can these two emotions be caused by the same qualities? It is almost as if a mirror has been held up to either us, as readers, or society as a whole; in turn, what does that say about //us//?
 * Some students also found the story to be disturbing because unlike the other characters in the short stories our class read, Joy (or “Hulga”) doesn’t die; however, what happens to her affects the readers on a much deeper level.
 * In the time “Good Country People” takes place, Joy/Hulga is a thirty-two year old woman who is highly educated, and even earned a PhD. The readers concluded that although Joy/Hulga has a highly developed level of intellect, she is still arrested in her emotional development, and struggles a great deal.
 * Joy, during adulthood, legally changes her name to Hulga—a harsh, and, for lack of a better word, ugly sounding name. Perhaps she changes her name because she views herself as “ugly” because she only has one leg, which she lost in a hunting accident when she was twelve years old. Several students worked through the importance of her age at the time of her appendage loss, and resolved that the age of twelve is when a young girl begins to become a young woman. At this crucial period of confusion and change, Joy/Hulga is not only struggling to find a sense of her identity, but also loses herself in trying to identify with what she lost (her leg). It becomes apparent to the reader that the thing she is missing (her leg) is what identifies her as an individual.
 * Manley, an assumed Bible salesman, seduces Hulga in the loft area of the barn, then takes her wooden leg and puts it in his Bible briefcase. What he says to Hulga doesn’t matter, but she craves this type of attention, and he is able to identify what it is that she wants: Manley tells Hulga he likes her leg because that’s what makes her “different”—he spins the negative to say it is what makes Hulga “special”. (This scene is located on page 288 of the O’Connor collection)
 * As alluded to earlier on in the class discussion, Hulga’s mind is the more developed aspect of her being; unfortunately, she is unable to see through Manley’s false persona, and unable to realize that he is not an innocent “boy”, but in fact, a scam artist.
 * Throughout the course of events in the loft of the barn, the reader is fooled into the assumption that Manley will rape Hulga; however, what he did do to her is perceived as worse than rape, and a total violation of Hulga’s self. In the eyes of the reader, Manley has done worse in some ways because now Hulga is paralyzed and has no way to leave the barn.
 * The story is warped, and the characters are twisted.
 * Hulga wants sex, but she gets double-crossed because Manley is really out to get her leg—he’s purely perverted. Can you, as a reader, blame him?
 * //Why do they call Hulga a “girl”?// Hulga is an innocent person, despite the fact that her mind is highly developed. Hulga’s desire for hope in her situation with Manley makes her vulnerable, and she is taken advantage of by another character (Manley) who pursues her and preys on her vulnerability. In other words, Hulga is blinded by desperation, and does not anticipate the course of action Manley takes.
 * Hulga’s disdain for Manley when he first visits is a form of foreshadowing; she is “playing hard to get”.
 * When trying to sell Mrs. Hopewell a Bible, Manley mentions that he has a heart condition, and doesn’t have much time to live—is this true? Or will we do or say anything to make the sale?
 * //Was justice served?// Hulga preaches her philosophy of “nothingness”, but has an artificial leg, which could represent the absence of nothingness. When Manley steals Hulga’s leg, it is almost as if he forces her to encounter a moment of truth, and she must confront “nothingness”. In other words, Manley forces Hulga to confront her own hypocrisy.
 * On page 288 of the text, Manley tells Hulga to prove her love for him, and then requests to see her wooden leg. Could this be some type of sexual fetish? Showing Manley her wooden leg is a far more intimate experience for her than sex because it is what defines her; Hulga’s wooden leg is more personal than giving up her body to him—it is an extremely exposing, raw moment in the story.
 * Hulga’s loss of her leg is more than just a physical loss, because she can no longer rely on it, but it is also a loss of her self-identity.
 * Hulga’s vulnerability is wrapped up in this artificial item. By showing Manley how to attach and detach her leg, she enables him to commit the offensive and hurtful act he does.
 * Is Manley a liberator because he forces her to face that fear? Is it some type of spiritual action?
 * //What happens next?// There must be some form of communication, because someone will have to help Hulga down from the loft, and she will have to explain what happened. Hulga will also have to admit that she needs help, which is a huge lesson that she has not learned yet.
 * Manley is a strategist; he “played” Hulga perfectly. He is not “simple” as he presented himself to be—he is a manipulative person with a complexity that seems simple. A member of the class also pointed out that it is ironic that the narrator refers to Manley as a “boy” because it implies innocence—a quality in which he does not possess.
 * Mrs. Hopewell is blinded to appearances and clueless to her surroundings//.//

//Lolita// – Introduction:


 * Background information on Nabakov: butterfly collector, mathematician, chess player, loved finding numerical patterns
 * Doppleganger: balance/foil of a character; example: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In //Lolita//, Quilty and Humbert.
 * The first paragraph is extremely poetic. By writing out the three perfect syllables of Lolita (Lo – lee – ta), Nabakov allows the reader to recognize the sensuality of the name itself.
 * Humbert is in jail writing a memoir telling his crime/story. He is an unreliable narrator because he is telling the reader that he committed these acts, but that they should not be considered wrongful acts.
 * Debasement of sex with a little girl
 * Theory of pedophilia: some little girls are actually “nymphets”—they are not innocent, they are teases.