Monday, March 12, 2012
"Humor"
" 'I've gotten a lot of interesting things,' he said. 'One time I got a woman's' glass eye this way'...and then the toast-colored hat disappeared down the hole and the girl was left, sitting on a straw in the dusty sunlight. When she turned her churning face toward the opening, she saw his blue figure struggling successfully over the green speckled lake." (205) When I neared the end of Good Country People and read that quote, I couldn't help but let out a few uncomfortable laughs. It was a very unexpected and odd ending to the story and reminded me of Faulkner's Pantaloon in Black not because of the plot but rather the subtle "humor" that is shown in both. In Pantaloon, Faulkner uses humor when describing Rider's appearance and describing the dinner scene with the sheriff and his wife for the purpose of laying out the divide between black people and white people in a different way. To what purpose does O Connor use humor in this story? At first, I interpreted Good Country People as comic relief after multiple sad stories. What are you thoughts? Is this story inserted just because it's a change in mood, or is there a more subtle use of this humor?
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I completely agree; I, too, saw the humor in this story, and I think it was a mix of both sarcasm and what Merilla said above: "uncomfortable" humor. For instance, Mrs. Freeman's daughters are named Glynese and Carramae, and I laughed aloud when it was said that Joy calls them Glycerin and Caramel. I also thought it was funny when Manley refers to good country people as the "salt of the earth", and when he wouldn't leave, Mrs. Freeman says "Get rid of the salt of the earth . . . and let's eat". In addition, the whole image O'Connor sets up is funny; Mrs. Hopewell is a pretty ridiculous woman, and it is humorous to think of the contrast between her and her daughter. Manley Pointer, and the name "Manley Pointer," are also humorous; he reminds me of Kenneth in 30 Rock (right Anna?) And I do agree that the last scene is uncomfortably funny, especially when Manley whips out his deck of sex cards, along with the mere fact that he has a collection of prostheses. In addition, I thought O'Connor might have used this uncomfortable humor when she keeps repeating that characters would be standing up; "she would stand" was used multiple times, along with other variations, and one of the main characters literally cannot stand very well with a prosthetic leg.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both Merilla and Katherine. O'Connor's humor is dark and borderline sadistic and provides a substantial amount of shock-value for her reader. I was most struck by this in The Life You Save May Be Your Own when Mr. Shiflet abandons a sleeping Lucynell in a diner on the side of the road. Whether it was out of direct malice or not, there is a definite sense of dark humor in the fact that this newly married man leaves his deaf wife asleep in a strange place with no means of getting home. "Before he could dish up the food, she was snoring gently. 'give it to her when she wakes up,' Mr. Shiftlet said. 'I'll pay for it now.'.....and Mr. Shiftlet left." After reading this, I was struck with the question,"what kind of man does that?!" and the answer "not a good one" because- a good man is hard to find.
ReplyDeleteI think Flannery uses humor in this story to ridicule the moralities of her characters, and in a larger sense, illuminate the title "A Good Man is Hard to Find". The porn, whiskey, and condoms inside the hollowed out bible, although humorous, are direct challenges at the corruption of the religion and moral standards of the 'good country people'. The last few lines of the story "Then she returned her attention to the evil-smelling onion shoot she was lifting from the ground. 'Some can't be that simple,' she said.'I know I never could'"(205) are also in this vein, as Flannery shows through this story that the "Good Country People" don't exist, and that "A Good Man is Hard to Find".
ReplyDeleteI can't believe I'm saying this, but I think I actually agree with Maddy here. Wow. Aside from comic relief, Flannery uses "humor" to illuminate traits about characters or to underline established themes. In this story in particular, yes, she uses "humor" to show that you can't judge a book by its cover, or a person by the fact that he's a bible salesman. All of that, in turn, points to the corruption of moral standards, etc as Maddy pointed out. However, I do want to say that I definitely have never lol'ed when I've been reading these stories. I appreciate good humor, but this dark humor is not necessarily something I would call funny. Like I've said before, if you look hard enough, you can find humor in anything. When Manly (or whatever his real name is) left Hulga up in the barn, I didn't laugh at all, I thought it was really sad. When he said he collects prostheses, I didn't laugh because it was weird, I instead made a weird face and thought, "this guy is one sick, twisted man." I guess what I'm getting at is that what everyone above me has said is true, I'm just not sure I would classify all this as humor.
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid I have different thoughts on this Merilla. What I thought the point of this quote wasn't for the humor (although I now realize it can be a little humorous) but to really stomp on the the pride of Hulga. Even though she thinks she has a high sense of importance, and judges this “bible salesman” to be below her, she goes from independent to dependant when she loses her leg. Good Country people was also apart of the multiple sad stories, no one dies, but It seems like a sad ending, for Hulga at least.
ReplyDeleteI think in pretty much all of the stories we have read that there is a lot of "darkness," whether it be humorous or not. In "A Good Man is Hard to Find," the Misfit kills the whole family. In "The River," Harry/Bevel kills himself. The grandfather betrays the grandson in "The Artificial Nigger," and Mr. Shiflet abandons his bride in a diner. Similarly, "Manly Pointer" abandons Hulga in the loft. I could go on and on, but it's obvious that O'Connor has a very depressing side in all her stories.
ReplyDeletegood observation, Mari--now the trick is to try to determine what the effect of this darkness is? Does it 'enlighten' us? Depress us?
ReplyDeleteO'Connor seems to take situations and magnify them so much that it is so unrealistic or so dark that it could be taken as humorous. I think there is definitely dark humor throughout but there is also a more subtle lighthearted humor. In “The River” when Bevel goes to get baptized it is a very serious and religious moment for the preacher and the onlookers but Bevel laughs and jokes while the ceremony unfolds. “Bevel rolled his eyes in a comical way” (40) during the baptism. This simple act seems to humanize the situation. It is not his disrespect for religion that causes him to act in this manner but instead his love for the feeling of community that he is accepted into while he undergoes the baptism. O’Connor seems to be saying that it is not the ceremonies and the strict practices that make for a good person, but instead the open, accepting, and humorous disposition of human nature.
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