Ordinary Folk

A common theme throughout the O'Connor stories we've read is that people--Southern people specifically, with her work--are dichotomous.

On the one hand, her characters subscribe to a loosely defined code of social decency, focused more on meeting these criteria than actually acting decent. On the other, her characters feed off each other like parasites. Exploitation is a common theme, and if there is a character that I believe best fits O'Connor's view of the typical person, it's Pointer.

I say this because he is able to work within this social construct not with an idealistic bent but rather an opportunistic one. He looks after his own best interests while conforming to an acceptable image. In the end, he has it both ways.

Pointer stands in contrast to Mrs. Hopewell and Joy (funny names), who are each idealistic in their own way. In Mrs. Hopewell's case, she subscribes to the social mores, at least superficially. Like most of O'Connor's characters she sees herself as moral and looks down on "trash" who don't subcribe to the mores.

Joy is equally idealistic, though in opposition to her mother. She realizes that the "code" of "Good Country People" is a farce, and she is too intelligent to be aussaged by the contradictions of her mother's life.

Both, however, are subscribing to a moral code: Mrs. Hopewell to one of social mores, Joy to one of truth. This makes them both susceptible to the advances of Pointer, who is equally adept at hocking Bibles to housewives and stealing the limbs from their daughters.

While there are plenty of Mrs. Hopewells and Joys in the world--or at least people who fancy themselves as such--I believe O'Connor believes that there are more Pointers in the world. While Mrs. Hopewell's "Good Country People" are a myth, Pointer is all-too real.