able to really tell the difference between “good country people” and Christian or liars and cheats. “Good Country People” can be read as exploiting the idea that one is not able to tell the difference between Christians and non-Christians based on their appearance and actions. The old south puts their trust and hopes into appearances, while the new south is more reluctant and cautious. This is not to say that they cannot be decieved because the reader sees what happens to Joy/Hulga in the end. Joy/Hulga is an atheist who dismisses all Christian beliefs by saying “in my economy ... I’m saved and you are damned but I told you I didn’t believe in God”(O’Connor 286). She compares her realization to the Christian salvation by saying “we are all damned ... but some of us have taken off our blindfolds and see that there’s nothing to see. It’s a kind of salvation”(O’Connor 288). Joy/Hulga believes that she is saved from the hypocrisies of the Christian faith, and she represents the new south because she is open to different interpretations. She feels that she has been saved from Christianity, but O’Connor raises the question: is she really saved at all? Joy/Hulga sets off to seduce Pointer, the Bible salesman, and “she imagined that she took his remorse in hand and changes it into a deeper understanding of life”(O’Connor 284). Ironically, it is Pointer that teaches Joy/Hulga the lesson that needs to be learned. He turns on her and steals her wooden leg. In a fit of rage Joy/Hulga bursts out “‘You’re a Christian!’ ... ‘You’re a fine Christian! You’re just like them all--say one thing and do another.’”(O’Connor 290). Joy/Hulga is not able to tell the difference between him and Mrs. Hopewell and Mrs. Freeman. She feels that by setting herself apart from Christianity ...
