Good Country People

Page numbers in this Teaching Unit refer to this linked online edition of the text.

Reading Check

1. Joy (Page 3)

2. Philosophy (Page 4)

3. It was shot off in a hunting accident. (Page 3)

4. Manley Pointer (Page 6)

5. Vomiting (Various pages)

6. Her wooden leg (Page 16)

Short Answer

1. The characters use the phrase “good country people” to refer to people they deem decent and trustworthy. Mrs. Hopewell also uses it to show that she is not a snob but appreciates and accepts people of lower socio-economic status. (Page 1)

2. She doesn’t know how to tell people her daughter is a philosopher because she believes that philosophy “ended with the Greeks and Romans.” (Page 4)

3. Manley uses one of the Bibles to conceal and carry items considered unholy: liquor, contraceptives, and pornographic images. (Page 16)