A story of an old woman whose violent husband has just died.




Her hopes and expectations of growing as a woman have come back to her life today, but everyone around this old woman with a rough appearance that shows her lack of interest for life are given her compassion. They are trying to help and support her in her grief, but Rosaline is not sad anymore. Instead, the frustration and anger she feels now is product of those tortuous years of marriage, and of course, they are reflected in her very blue and vague crystal eyes and no enthusiastic face. Her memories of the most beautiful years of her life that are gone and will never come back to her join in her fragile heart today. After everyone from her house is gone, this is a perfect moment to feel depressing and lonely in her small wood house that is placed in an isolated place far away from the suburbs, Rosaline says to herself. For a while, she instead sees all the colorful and satisfying days of her life before getting married, after that the only lights she can remember were the moon’s lights during the very dark and cold nights and violent daymares that used to woke up her during the days and years her marriage lasted. For the first time, today, after several years of mistreatment, the night that was dark one day is becoming white and brilliant to her. She can inhale the smell of freedom and her eyes blue and crystal are shinning for first time. All her frustrations and sufferings seem to be reaching to its ending today. The feelings and senses of life which gives pleasure, give happiness are still unknown experiences to her because she feels like a baby exploring a new world and meeting intense emotions. The happiness and peace have decided to visit Rosaline today, and they are advising her to put out all kinds of tensions and stress of marriage away from her mind and body. They seem to be saying “Let yourself be my dear Rosaline”. At the moment, she heard it from her friends, the happiness and peace, there was an explosion in her own inner self and a powerful illumination in her mind and heart. Now, her vision of the world is clearer, and a natural and wonderful landscape is approaching to Rosaline’s imagination. Her life has changed and she sees the present time most opportune for a realization in her nature as a woman and to achieve her life's most important matters like truly love and sex which will not only help her to have a happy life but also allow her to live a peaceful and satisfied life. This new beginning has replenished her empty old spirit, and she sees her new start as a heaven where she can live for herself only. In this heaven or landscape, there is not more personal and social obligation like used to be in that hell, but there is a commitment with “Mr. Freedom” to both live her own life and remain single for the rest of her time in the earth if she wants. Rosaline’s vision today is of two clouds but one is resting along the swan mountain and the other cloud is ready to enjoy the goods of life. She says to herself, this is the moment I had been waiting for, ever since I got married, forty years ago, and the fresh and dry air of the mountains is steaming around me and I can feel the breeze of the rivers across my fatigued body and foot fingers and cheeks. Everything around her was new and perfect over the night. She also sees a purpose and mission in this new paradise where the leaves of the trees of sorrow do not exist anymore but trees of life with abundant health and cero violence are everywhere. In this heaven, the water is pure and crystal and the river that look like tears are of life instead, and they flow reaching the eternal happiness in her weak heart, and Rosaline finally tries to keep her spirit alive to enjoy it. Suddenly, she see herself recovering the years lost and takes this opportunity to bring to the surface her true self. 

This long and beautiful summer is almost over. Today, I woke up and I saw trough my windows and the morning was fuggy and blurred. Often, I feel sad when the summer ends because I like to enjoy ice-creams, ride my bike and go out to the beach and have dinner with my husband. Really, it is being an intense and hot summer. At the same time, I am a little excited because the temperature has risen at the end of the afternoon, and it is perfect to spend a few hours on the beach but I cannot do that because I have homework to do :). I can feel the warm and moist air from over the adjacent rivers that are close to my neighbor. I am thinking that after doing my assignments, I could go to relax and take a walk with my dog during the sunset close to the rivers or maybe be just in the forest talking with some friends. I do not know really, but I know that I should take some rest at some time of this hot afternoon.

I just want to share my personal analysis of the story “Good Country People” by Flannery O’ Connor

  

The writer makes of this story a compelling and real piece with his craft, and it moves and engage the reader from the beginning to the end of the story. For instance, Joy’s personal traits seem to be very real in the story. First, the author portrays Joy as frustrated and angered woman of 32 years old, but later, the author by providing details of her personality and using direct and simple dialogues between Joy and the bible sales man, the writer achieves a particular and attractive character with strong personality, but at same time, she portrays a girl who tends to hide her true feelings of the rest of people. One can assume that it is because of her disability and medical condition. To me the writer does a good characterization with Joy and the bible sales man, especially because she gives to the reader a strong sense of her characters' personalities and tells a lot of information about their different views of the world. This makes her characters vivid and fascinating. Flannery O’ Connor does an excellent description of Joy’s behavior and interests and provides a vast of details of Joy way of thinking. When I read that Joy was a disabled person with one leg, I quickly understood the way she speaks and behaves with her mother and her surroundings.

At one point of the story, there is a heart breaking dialogue between Mrs. Hopewell and the bible sales man. It was a very appealing to senses dialogue I guess. She invites him to dinner because she realizes that Joy and the Bible sales man have same heart condition and she wants to cry but she holds herself of doing that and instead she invites the sales man to have dinner with her and Joy. To me this part of the story is so real and complex to achieve. I think that the writer portrays her character’s thoughts and motivations using this dialogue and also allows the reader to immerse in the character’s ideas and the reader is able to understand whether the character’s words reveal something important about her or his personality. Also, the writer gives her characters names that are funny, but at same time, they are meaningful names and these names are related to her characters way of thinking and behavior. For instance, in the case of Joy or Hulga, these names seem to have an oppose meaning to me. I think that Joy means happiness or enjoyment, but the reality is that Joy does not honor her name because she behaves rude with her mom and the Bible sales man and looks unhappy to the other characters of the story. At first, it is truth that she does not seem to care about herself, but at the middle of the story her behavior changes and the reader meets a different girl. Hopefully, the author uses some adjectives to indentify her characters, so the reader can easily know who is who. In the case of Mrs. Hopewell, the writer conveys the message that she is a friendly and open mind person and with a genuine kindness toward her daughter Joy, I guess. Like I said before, this story really touches me. A very nice and interesting piece!

This is a fictional story I wrote last week

What I could never tell you when we were in our honey moon trip in New York, and we were eating fresh grapes and waiting for the wine at the balcony of our hotel room was that I was two months pregnant. You avoided me and did not look at me when I was trying to tell you my secret. At one point, I thought that you may not be interested in hearing the truth. When this happened, I felt relax and it was like you had released myself from a huge and heavy dark shadow I was carrying on my back for two months. So, I said to myself it‘ll be easier if we do not talk about it tonight. I had the perception that he was telling me with her face gestures and eyes “I know what you want to talk about” and I said what to him? Umm…. he murmured in his mind! For a moment we were talking through our minds and eyes and after that, I felt that he wanted to say something to me, but he did not know how, so he remained in silence all night. I wanted to say to him that I was ready to talk, but I did not know if he was ready to listen my big truth. Then, for a moment, I found myself thinking about his reaction after telling him my secret, and I thought it can’t be that bad if I tell him this, but then I said what I’m going to do if he for some reason decides to leave me or get divorce from me after I reveal to him that I am pregnant!! Then I realized that I was no ready to say nothing never to him, so I chose to keep this secret with me forever and enjoy the night with him like it would be our last night together.

Armand, a successful architect, but with identity problems and a shy man want to sell his properties after getting married with a sensual but strong woman named Larisey.

One night, Armand come back from his office as usual and directly went to his bedroom and when he was hiding some pictures and a woman dress, her wife opens the door slowly. Immediately, Larisey asks him what are you doing, Armand? What are you hidden there? Show it to me! she says. Armand turns around and with a lower and panicky voice says to her “NO” I won’t show you or say to you nothing tonight.

Armad, An insecure and fragile man with low self- esteem and embarrassed for what he was hiding from her on that moment.. Say to her, Please let me alone just for tonight….. I am not hiding anything. Larisey, a woman of strong individuality and with higher neuroticism, respond to him.

Larisey: I won’t leave from this bedroom until you show me what you are hiding in that closet. Open it right away, she says. After luck the closet, he runs away from the bedroom leaving her wife alone in the marital room. Since she was a strong woman, she follows him outside of the house, and he was there close up to the front door of the house, but he was afraid like child hiding himself in a small rock.

Armand : When you came to me you were almost a girl, and I could not tell you my secret because you maybe could not understand it….I could not hurt you by telling you my truth at that moment.

 Larisey, A woman with enough confidence, and loudly voice, says….

Larisey: I am not a girl anymore…. You can say anything to me now.

Armand stared at her and begin crying in an incessantly way.

Armand: It is not that easy …You know I have been keeping this secret for long time with me, and I thought I will die taking it with me.

Larisey: Don’t be stupid are you a man or what? Stop crying and tell me what’s going on!

Larisey, an intolerant woman with a dark past with his stepfather, want to show rudeness and strength in front of Armand even she also suffers inside of her for what his stepfather did to her when she was a child.

 Larisey: You are mine and I am yours… You know it very well, no, Armand? Tell me are you okay or are you messing with me?

 Armand: I do not understand you….. You treat me rude and also bad sometimes and now you say you love me ?.... and at the same time, you are accusing me that I’m messing with you !

Larisey: Yes, for the last two months, you have been so weird, and I do not want surprises from you, so you’ll better tell me your truth now.

Armand: Why do you love me? I am a mess like you say …

Larisey: Well, I love you are a mess, she says. Armand stared at her for a while and smile and give to her a small box with a ring.

 Larisey: What is it? What it means

Armand: This is all I can give you before I left the country… You know I am selling my properties… I’m sorry, sorry.. Sorry… thousands of times I ‘m sorry for it …. You do not deserve this … , but this feeling is strongest than me, so I have to leave you, Larisey.

Larisey: Look at me, Armand. Have you lost your mind? … What it is the matter with you?…… Please tell me…. Do you still trusting me or not.

 He moves down his head and could not look at her directly.

Larisey: What a woman should do when her husband want to leave her without saying nothing? Can you respond to me? Can you be in my shoes for a moment, Armand?

Armand: Raised her head and says I am sorry again, but I have to go, now, and we will talk about this tomorrow early, I promise you…. You have suffered a lot already, and I do not want to hurt to you.

Armand: You never ever told me what did you stepfather did to you anyway…. And what were the reasons you have to take many pills for depression in your adolescence and run away from your home at very young age.

 Larisey: Do not talk about my past okay!! … I hate that… You know that I hate that…. And stop with this, now.. My stepfather did nothing to me okay. Please do not change the subject … Do not be so smart…And put my past in the past.

Armand: I can’t, he says to her. When I met to you…… You were having a hard time with him… I know you need help, as well.

 Larisey: Do not be ridicule and an emotional man..…You are the only one who needs help hereeeeeeeee!!!... Now, we need to come back to you, Armand… Tell me…. What do you want to leave me????

Larisey: I thought we were friends and also a couple…. Yes, we do, he says to her. But, but , but talk to meeeeee, now, she says.

Armand: I promise to tell you about it but tomorrow… And let me alone now, please.. I need to be alone to think how I’m going to tell you my tortuous secret.

Larisey: You are scary me really but okay, we will talk tomorrow about it… I am going to sleep now.

 Armand: Okay , he says.

 Larisey, left the room and not happy with what Armand said to her, she could not sleep that night at all. So, she came back to her husband room again, and he was not there anymore. She took advantage of Armand absence to check closets and the whole marital bedroom. Sadly, she found a lot of sexy women’s clothes, women‘s make ups, women’s underwear, women’s shoes and women’s wigs. She went downstairs quickly thinking that Armand was cheating on her. Happily, she could not get on him. On the following early morning, Armand, comeback to his home to talk with her wife and tell her his secret, so he get in the house thinking that her wife was sleeping , but she had been awake all night waiting for him. Larisey, hardly could see the shadow of a woman throughout her bedroom window , and she got in shock when seeing a tall woman with a familiar face entering in her house, she could not believe what she saw on that morning. Her husband was getting in the house alone but very happy like ever before. Larisey, asked to herself I can’t understand in what he has became!!!! For the first time she met the other side of her husband face and personality!

Armand: Went upstairs to look for her wife and called Larisey !... Larisey…. where are you… You have to see my secret now…. Where are you, Larisey? He called her wife’s name many times, but she did not answer to him ever. After forcing the bedroom’s door, Armand found her dead in their marital room. He blamed himself, and after crying on her wife’s shoulders, 

Armand took all his women’s clothes her wife found in the closet and set on fire all his belongings and his own house with him and her dead wife inside. His last fate was.. We will be together forever!

 Armand: You are mine and I am yours like you said, Larisey.

When I was doing this assignment, I have discovered an interesting and useful web application that let you manage and make your own online projects and magazine!!! The name of the web application is formatpixel. It is a publishing tool that allows you to create catalogues, portfolios and more. I am so exciting with this web application because one of my short term goals is making my own magazine and with the formatpixel editor, one can write texts and design page based projects and upload and customize many types of images. Tonight, I signed up and did my first project about psychological topics. It was an incredible new experience for me using this application. I really enjoyed inserting my images and moving my project to other pages of formatpixel. I am also very interested in doing some research about other web applications mentioned in the class.

http://www.formatpixel.com/go/en/index.php