Which excerpt from O'Connor's "Good Country People" best reveals the irony of the main character's name,Joy? Mrs. Hopewell thought of her as a child though she was thirty -two years old and highly educated. She would make these statements, usually at the table, in a tone of gentle insistence as if no one held them but her. And when Joy had to be impressed for these services, her remarks were usually so ugly and her face so glum __ She saw it as the name of her highest creative act.

## Step 1<br />The problem asks us to identify the excerpt from O'Connor's "Good Country People" that best reveals the irony of the main character's name, Joy. Irony is a literary device where the intended meaning of words is different from their actual meaning.<br /><br />## Step 2<br />We need to analyze each excerpt to see which one best reveals the irony of the main character's name, Joy.<br /><br />## Step 3<br />The first excerpt, "Mrs. Hopewell thought of her as a child though she was thirty-two years old and highly educated," does not reveal any irony related to the name Joy.<br /><br />## Step 4<br />The second excerpt, "She would make these statements, usually at the table, in a tone of gentle insistence as if no one held them but her," also does not reveal any irony related to the name Joy.<br /><br />## Step 5<br />The third excerpt, "And when Joy had to be impressed for these services, her remarks were usually so ugly and her face so glum," does reveal irony. The name Joy is associated with happiness and positivity, but in this excerpt, Joy's remarks are described as ugly and her face is described as glum. This is a clear example of irony, as the name Joy is associated with happiness and positivity, but the character's behavior is the opposite.<br /><br />## Step 6<br />The fourth excerpt, "She saw it as the name of her highest creative act," does not reveal any irony related to the name Joy.