MaKyia Linder

Vannoy

ENGL 1102

10 September 2022

Ego and Review

The two short stories “Good Country People” by Flannery O’Connor and “Everyday

Use” by Alice Walker share a similar theme; the conflict of superiority and entitlement.

Throughout each of the stories, the characters reveal qualities that make them gullible or naïve

on both sides. This can be noted as the characters of these stories can be categorized with the

presence of a sociable manipulator, an "underdog," and having a moment of reflective awareness

in relation to ongoing conflict.

Sociable manipulators are one of the most common character types in stories that deal

with narcissism and arrogance. These traits set the sociable manipulators in both stories, Hulga

(Joy) and Wangero (Dee), on a higher pedestal of egotism. The majority of the conflict present in

the stories is due to these characters lashing out or prioritizing their image over their families.

For example, in “Good Country People” by Flannery O’Connor, Hulga (Joy) is the daughter of

Mrs. Hopewell and has the same sense of superiority her mother has. Her belief that she is above

religion or “good country people” is what ultimately leads to her downfall and her artificial leg

being stolen by a man posing as a bible salesman. (O’Connor, 9). In the second story “Everyday

Use” by Alice Walker, Wangero (Dee) is the eldest daughter of two and believes she is entitled

to anything good enough for her to have such as the quilts set aside for her younger sister as a

wedding gift. (Walker, 7). Another similarity between the characters is how they both had their
names changed. This may symbolize a sort of growth or corrupt individuality that resembles a

worse version of themselves than the way their mother’s intended to raise them. The stories, in

relation to the exploiters, break down into the application of local castes, unethical complicity,

and reflection.

The underdog in a story is usually portrayed as the victim that comes to power. In the

first story, by O’Connor, the Bible salesman is introduced as “good country people” because of

his seeming to be “dull” and “simple” through his devotion to Christianity. This appearance gave

Hulga a feeling of trust for him because of her ignorance to look deeper than the surface. In

Walker’s story, the younger sister of Wangero, Maggie, was burned in a fire and treated as a

small or less valuable person afterwards until the mother, narrator, stands up for Maggie

unexpectedly over a quilt she was promised to receive. The flip of roles where the victims are

favored surprise everyone and strip the sociable manipulator of much of their power. Although a

key difference in the stories is where one character, Maggie, is seen as pure and more honest,

where the other ends up being a thief. In stories where there is a victim and person in control of

them, the characters in power are either overthrown honestly or vindictively.

Reflective awareness is connected to the idea that one can perceive reality in a situation

pertaining to them in which they were in the wrong. This is something that happens in most

stories usually leading up to the climax or resolution of the story. In these cases, both stories

acknowledge a moment of reflection towards the end when the victims have overcome their

manipulators. In “Everyday Use,” Wangero had to accept “no” as it was and was unable to treat

her sister poorly or just because it was “the way she knew God to work.” (Walker, 8). The

ending of “Good Country People” reveals Joy saying “Some can’t be that simple...” after having

her artificial leg taken from “a man of the Lord” once she had been vulnerable and trusting of
him. (O'Connor, 9). Each character is enlightened with the fact that things do not always stay the

same and that no matter how superior someone is over them, there is always someone or

something that can disable that power they cling to.

Conflict involving entitlement and narcissism in short stories will virtually always

include a manipulator and a victim. These two characters usually go through a time of growth or

realization where one or both is faced with reality. This period of reflective awareness can be

used to determine where each character lies morally and how they can be seen as delusional

through their extensive phases of self-importance.

Works Cited

O'Connor, Flannery. Good Country People. ProQuest Information and Learning, 2002.

Walker, Alice. Everyday Use. Rutgers University Press, 2006.