e. If she had, she would have realized that there was more to them than meets the eye. Hulga?s lack of interest in the other characters effectively isolates her character from any meaningful relationships with other people. Her superior attitude towards the other characters is manifested in her disrespect for all of them. It never occurs to her to do unto others, as she would have others do unto her. Another theme emerges from her contemptuous behavior: Treat others with disrespect and eventually you too will be treated that way. This might also be stated through two well-known clichs: ?you reap what you sow? or ?what goes around comes around.?Hulga uses her handicap, a leg partially shot off during a hunting accident, as an excuse for stomping loudly around the house in the hope of irritating her mother. Although Hulga sees herself as intellectually superior, her self-esteem and self-image are low due to her handicap, as evidenced by her complete disregard for her appearance. Further evidence of her low self-esteem is her changing her name from Joy to Hulga, a name that her mother, Mrs. Hopewell, felt was ?the ugliest name in any language.? Unbeknownst to Hulga, Mrs. Hopewell grieved for her daughter?s tragic life and excuses much of her behavior ?because of her leg.? Hulga?s weak heart also evinces her mother?s sympathy; ?the doctors had told Mrs. Hopewell that with the best of care, Joy might see forty-five.? Hulga lets her mother know that she would be far away from these ?good country people? if not for her condition. Here, once again, the author shows the reader how Hulga?s lack of insight keeps her ignorant about the other character?s motivations.Hulga?s navet about the other characters? motivations leads her into meeting Manley Pointer, a door-to-door bible salesman, for a picnic on his day off. Mrs. Hopewell?s description of Manley as ?salt of the earth? and ?good country people? leads the reader to believe that Hulga would nev...
