Good Country People is a short story that I read for my U.S. Literature class. It is a really short read, only eleven pages, and I recommend everyone to read it. The story is about a mother and daughter who live on a house located on a farm. They of course are Country people and love anyone else who is Country people. One day, while the mother and daughter are home a young man comes to the house to sell bibles. When he leaves, he has a conversation with the daughter. The two of them decide to meet and hang out the next day. What happens when they are together is very upsetting. I will not tell you what happens since it is the ending, but I am sure everyone will be upset by what happens.

I really enjoyed the story because of the way it is set up. Throughout the story there were flashbacks of when the Bible selling boy came to visit the day before. There was also conversation dispersed within the writing. The conversation is between the mother and one of the women who lives on her property. This makes the story more complex and exciting. This way the story does not just have one story to it, and it's not monotone.

Another great part about the story is the character of the daughter. The daughter's name is Joy. She lost one of her legs when she was ten years old by a hunting gun. She has been unhappy ever since, and now she is a thirty-two year old who lives with her mother. Joy has a doctorate in Philosophy but does nothing with it. She is extremely unhappy because of her situation. What is interesting about her is that she legally changes her name. Since she has never been happy, she does not think that her name should be Joy. She changes it to Hulga, which she thinks is one of the ugliest names that she could choose. However, her mother never calls her Hulga. It is interesting how important Hulga's name is for her to explain how she really feels.

If anyone has a few minutes, I would suggest that you read the story. You guys will love it, and you will have true and honest feelings for Hulga or Joy. I would love to hear what you guys have to say about her and about what happens to her!