er waste any time on anyone as simple as Manley. Yet Hulga does. Why? Hulga has an ulterior motive, seduction of an innocent. But who is actually innocent, Manley or Hulga? As the reader comes to find out, it isn?t Manley who is gullible, it is Hulga. Manley is not the simpleton bible salesman Hulga believes him to be, he is cunning and devious. Hulga?s cynicism gets the better of her when she believes herself smarter than Manley. Manley may not be smarter than Hulga?s standards; however, Manley is smarter than she when it comes to ?street smarts.? He cajoles Hulga into thinking he cares for her and thus encourages her into letting down her guard and trusting him. This becomes Hulga?s downfall and the most important theme of O?Connor?s story: people aren?t always what they appear or ?you can?t judge a book by its cover.? Her narcissism allows Manley to talk her into removing her leg. He grabs it and runs off with it, but not before letting her know that he has played her for the fool. O?Connor?s comprehensive character development leads her readers into complacently judging Hulga as superior to the other characters in her story. She takes this a step further in her development of Manley Pointer as an innocent. Through this development, O?Connor lulls her readers into stereotyping the characters into the personas she wants them to see. Hulga?s epiphany is thematic. The ultimate irony is that not only is Hulga duped by Manley, her readers are too....
