Everything That Rises Must Converge

Flannery O' Connor's short story “Everything That Rises Must Converge” is about racial judgment in the south in the 1960's. O' Conors main focus in this story is how the white middle class viewed and treated people from different races in the 1960's. The story is an example of irony, redemption as well as a struggle of identity among the characters. The main characters in O'Connor's story are Julian an aspiring writer, who works as a typewriter salesmen, and his mother who is a low-middle class racist white woman who has strong views about thvxe African-American race. Both Julian and his mother are great depictions of the white mindsets of racial integration in the

The conflict in this story is shown by the Julian's point of view on society, who as a young man doesn’t believe in racism and criticizes his mother's fanatic opinion on society, her dis??? behavior with neighborhood, and the passengers on the bus. He is not agree and dominated by his mother at all. His mother truly believed that she is a member of the upper class and quite unwaire of condition of social values and human equality.

The protagonist fears, she may be forced to socialise with the inmates ‘smelling of pee’. Additionally expressing her feelings and obsession concerning hygiene. Unearthing Doris‘s neglected period of life, the saddest era of her being. In which recollections of Doris’s past history are triggered by present day objects such as; the wedding photograph of Doris and Wilfred represented to be a strong symbol, of the implication, in which Doris’s endless campaign against dust, has cause the glass to crack. Representing the destructive nature of Doris’s cleaning mania, and the separation of herself and Wilfred. Doris initial reminisces of the past, begin with thoughts like many of the elderly, of the golden days through coloured spectacles, in which the protagonist ruefully looks back upon the era where ‘people were clean and the streets were clean and it was all clean.’ The present for Doris lacks what she values and sees as important, and does not at all appreciate what the present has to offer – that is, a home- help; Zulema, and the prospect of care in an old people’s home. Doris perceives these interferences within her strictly controlled life as an adversary to challenge – if possible – demolish the remaining control the protagonist withholds within her life.

The character grandmother in O’Connor’s story has grounds the reality of the events and drives the family into tragedy. She is a central character in O’Connor’s story and is depicted to be a dynamic character stuck in the old ways. Through her actions and the idea of being stuck in the old ways of thinking, she leads her family into tragedy. Being the main character in the story, Grandmother significantly adds to the development of the plot. The author manages to win the attention of the reader from this character owing to the manner in which she shapes the storyline. Grandmother’s reminiscing of the old ways claims a distinctive curiosity from the reader and helps in

In Everything that Rises Must Converge, Julian and his mother experience a moment of clarity in terms of contemplating on their actions and thoughts. Julian has always hated his mother for her traditional southern beliefs and ways. She even goes as far as to wish that she lived back in the past when she was a girl. She embodies the traditional pre-civil rights southerner who believes in being superior to someone else in terms of race, money, or any other factor. When she sees a black woman on the bus wearing the same hat she is wearing, she realizes that someone regarded as inferior by her standards, a black woman, is suddenly equal to her. She shows great discomfort and disapproval of this new ideal. When the black woman and her son are getting off of the bus, she approaches them and gives the child a penny as a sign of humiliation and inferiority. The black woman then hits her which causes her to fall to the ground. Julian’s mother falling to the ground shows a change in actions and thoughts for both her and Julian (Moore). Julian begins to tell her that she got what she deserved for giving her insulting pennies to black

2. Wiseblood can be described as hopeful throughout the novel and movie because of Hazel's struggle to wrap his mind around Christianity. In the first scene of the movie version of Wiseblood, "Hazel asks the lady sitting across from him on the train whether or not she thinks she has been saved by Jesus. He then launches into his spiel about why she can not be saved and that Jesus never washed everyone's sins away with his blood" (Wiseblood). While this may not seem hopeful, it is made clear that Hazel is trying to convince himself that Jesus did not save him from his sins. The fact that Hazel is trying to convince himself that Jesus can not wash sins away is why the book is described as hopeful. His struggle with religion shows that Hazel still

p. 82). Therefore, the adult narrator’s ability to comment and reflect on his child-self effectively emphasizes the naïve and vulnerable nature of youth, and contributes to the mood of foreboding and suspense throughout the novel, ‘now I was over confident. I expected things to go my way’ (Chapter 1. p. 28).

"Everything That Rises Must Converge" also uses its setting to explore place and heritage to give us better insight into the actions and feelings of the characters. Julian, living in a poor neighborhood with his mother, shortly after the integration of blacks to public transportation, struggles to get his mother to understand that the world has changed. No longer are there huge plantations with hundreds of slaves, in fact "there are no more slaves." Once fashionable neighborhoods, like the one in

In a response of no less than 5 sentences, explain how this quotation applies to Julian at the end of the story and why it is ironic.

O’Connor employs the grandmother’s selfish and manipulative character to reveal the true definition of justice. In the very beginning of the short story, the grandmother’s real nature evinces through her actions. The

“Everything That Rises must converge”, by Flannery O’ Connor is sometimes considered a comical but also serious tale of a grown man named Julian, who lives with mother, who happens to be your typical southern woman. The era unfolds in a couple years after integration begins. Throughout the story, O’Connor impresses us with her derived message in which people often resist to growing away from bigotry towards self-awareness and love for all humankind, which is so necessary for life to converge in equality. O’Connor has a distinctive style of writing that expresses this message through characterization, conflict and literary devices.

       As the tale begins we immediately can sympathize with the repressive plight of the protagonist.  Her romantic imagination is obvious as she describes the "hereditary estate" (Gilman, Wallpaper 170) or the "haunted house" (170) as she would like it to be.  She tells us of her husband, John, who "scoffs" (170) at her romantic sentiments and is "practical to the extreme" (170).  However, in a time

Flannery O 'Connor’s works are nothing short of extraordinary. They frequently step into the realm of the extreme to make a statement or prove a point. The result is that her messages are stark and vivid, and O 'Connor is able to make bold positions on controversial subjects. She achieves this effect through a number of means, which consist primarily of Christian symbolism, character foils, and literary irony. Combined, they create rich, intense environments in which radical events push and twist characters. As a result of this stress, the characters are defined more clearly. In many instances, they achieve a kind of self realization, and their revelations usually come with an ironic factor or consequence. O 'Connor’s stories, notably

Readers can find that “ Everything That Rises Must Converge” and “A Good Man is Hard to Find” are Southern American literature. “Everything That Rises Must Converge” was written in the midst of the movement of American Civil rights. In the story, the settings such as ” bulbous liver-colored monstrosities of a uniform ugliness” and the “dying violet sky” make people feel moody and uncomfortable. The main character Julian’s mother has an unchangeable opinion of racism and refuses to accept the racial integration

In Flannery O’Connor’s “Everything That Rises Must Converge”, Julian Chestny, a young white man struggles to accept the ignorant beliefs and actions of his elderly mother in a post-civil rights era. The point of view plays an important role in this story and how readers interpret it. A point of view is the vantage point of which the story 's told. O’Connor uses point of view to help illustrate the central idea of the story.