I believe the story still exists today because it shows a notion that some people like Julian’s mother feel they are superior and always have a contemptuous attitude to other people. Julian’s mother believes that the race need to stay segregated and has a condescending way of treating blacks because of the political and social influence were held by her previous generations of the family. Otherwise, Julian thinks "True culture is in the mind, the mind" (p278) and he consents the progressive ideologies of racial equality that he learned in college. He wants to make friends with black people because he wants to make his mother angry, and tries not to act like his mother because he knows his mother is condescending and clearly racist . To me,
The culture in which we were raised in has a big impact on who we are and how we behave. Our culture effects things such as how we dress, the way we interact with others, and our manners such as what we may or may not find funny or what we may find offensive or weird. In the Ethan Watters Article “Being WEIRD: How Culture Shapes the Mind” we see examples of how being raised in different cultures affects our decisions and the way we perceive things. For example, in the ultimatum game (which is played by giving the first player $100 dollars, he can then offer player 2 any amount of the $100 but if the second player rejects the money they both end up with nothing) we can see how differently Machiguengans and Americans were likely to play. We
Even though his mother is horrifically racist, Julian’s thoughts reveal to the reader that he is no better than she is. He even fantasizes about how he could terrify his mother by marrying a black women. O 'Connor writes, “Instead, he approached the ultimate horror. He brought home a beautiful suspiciously Negroid woman. Prepare yourself, he said,” (10). The lengths Julian goes to degrade his mother say more about him than they do about her. His criticism of her racism identifies him as a complete hypocrite.
According to cultural anthropologist Edward Burnett Tylor, culture is a “complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society.” In other words, culture is a concept that social organizations practice in order to explain certain phenomena in nature whether through mythology, rituals, art, music, and language. However, as explained by Ethan Watters in “The Mega Marketing of Depression in Japan,” culture is not permanent, since it has the ability, and more than ever in the present society, to “move across boundaries of race, culture, class, and nation” (Watters 519). In addition, as demonstrated by Oliver Sacks in the articled called “The Mind’s Eye: What the Blind See,” it is a mistake to think that individuals are bound to behave in a way that culture told them to behave. Instead, individuals are free to create his or her own unique experience of interpreting the world. We might consider the “reality” that we live in to be fiction to the extent that we are willing to use different faculties and analyze what we are witnessing; this gives us the power, as individuals, to think and search for each of us’s unique interpretation of reality. .
It is typical of O’Connor to leave the reader in some suspense by bringing a very dramatic climax at the very end of the story. Julian, similar to Hulga in O’Connor’s story “Good Country People,” is the type of character to treat their mother with a patronizing attitude because they feel their intellect makes such repugnance acceptable. Julian does not like his mother’s values, he has a distaste for her racism and southern beliefs. The irony is in how Julian himself is no better; he talks to blacks on the bus, but has never made an actual friend. His misery and hypocritical ways are shown throughout the story frequently as he purposely tries to upset his mother, shown here, “Meanwhile the [black] woman was bearing down upon the empty seat beside Julian. To his annoyance, she squeezed herself into it. He saw his mother’s face change as the woman settled herself next to him and he realized with satisfaction that this was more objectionable to her than it was to him” (Everything That Rises 495). Julian’s pride meets redemption when his mother hit and his guilt sets in, similar to Hulga in O’Connor’s “Good Country
But what Julian doesn’t realize is that he’s fooling himself, because Julian’s mother and him are no different when it comes to stereotyping and feeling superior from African Americans. Even though Julian and his mother have the same criticizing thoughts about African Americans, they have a difference between them. Julian is more quite and more secretive about his opinions and thoughts on stereotyping black people. On the contrary, his mother is more outspoken on how she feels when she talks about African Americans. Even though Julian is more secretive, he expresses those thoughts by trying to “help” teach his mother a lesson about “race relations and the modern world” (Maida, Patricia Dinneen); without him noticing that “she is the point of view of her son”(Michael L. LaBlanc and Ira Mark Milne). In other words, Michael L. LaBlanc and Ira Mark Milne are trying to say that, his mother’s actions on stereotyping are his actions as well, that there alike. Also like his mother, he felt superior to the people around him in the bus because of his college education (Maida, Patricia Dinneen). Julian as well feels wealthy from others, because of his race and his wealthy families from the past. In Flannery O’ Connor’s story, O’ Connor writes that “he could not bear to be part of what was going on around him” (Connor, O’ Flannery pg. 5). What Flannery O’ Connor is trying to say is that, Julian is not used to sitting and being near African
While culture, in a general sense, can be defined as the collective arts and customs of a population, it is also important to consider the broader collective aesthetic of said community. Being such, it is necessary to understand culture before interacting or entering a society as this allows one to better understand tradition and the attitudes towards various aspects, such religion and customs. When I look at my own culture, there are various aspects that shape my daily interactions with society at large and how I approach a situation. As a white male of a higher socioeconomic standing, I am afforded some level of impunity and status within my contemporaries, this due to the history of America and the culture that has been developed. Being that I wish to attend Lund University for the study abroad experience, there are
When riding the bus by himself he makes “it a point to sit down beside a Negro, in reparation as it were for his mother’s sins.” He embraces the progressive views he learned in college, yet he has difficulty in putting those beliefs into action. At the same time that he speaks with contempt for his slave-owning great-grandfather’s mansion, he secretly desires and daydreams about living there. Likewise, while he decides to sit by a black person, he also makes certain it is a well-dressed, important looking black person. In addition, he has difficulty making conversation with said black man. Throughout the entire bus ride, Julian fantasizes of ways to teach his mother a lesson. When the Carver’s mother punches Julian’s mother, Julian feels obligated to explain the “lesson” she has just received: “Don’t think that was just some uppity Negro Woman. That was the whole colored race which will no longer take your condescending pennies.” Julian and his mother represent two different sides on racial equality. Those who, like his mother, feel threatened by the changing world and still cling to their fast-becoming outdated ideas, and those who, like Julian, want to feel progressive, but are still prejudiced themselves.
Julian is not obnoxiously racist, however, Julian becomes racist when he uses African American’s as leverage to gain the upper hand over his mother. On the bus, Julian takes to his mind and begins plotting ways to “teach her (Julian’s mother) a lesson” (453). Julians even goes on to create a plot that he will “make friends with some distinguished Negro professor of lawyer” (453). Moreover, Julian’s thoughts even trail him to thinking that it would be a grand idea if he brought over an African American woman as his girlfriend, only to create a situation where Julians mother would have to accept what he has done. Julian does not see that he is only using African American people to get back at his mother. Julian truly does not try to befriend them because of his own morals but instead tries to use them as an object only to show his mother he is more educated and more open minded than she is. On the other hand, Julian’s mother makes a point of being very out right with her racist remarks. Julian’s mother grew up the granddaughter of a well-to-do plantation owner and who was the governor of the state. Julians mother at the beginning of the story makes it clear she is not a fan of integration by saying, “it’s ridiculous. It’s simply not realistic. They should rise, yes, but on their own side of the fence” (449). In spite of her son, Julian’s mother is still stuck in a time where she had the
Julian’s mother belonged to the famous, wealthy family, but their money was squandered long time ago, but, the mother always acted as an aristocrat and tried to maintain the image of an important person. Her father owned plantations with slaves, and despite the fact that slavery was abolished, and the black population got the same rights and freedoms as the whites, mother treated them as people of lower grade.
The mother is insensitive towards African Americans and the Civil Rights era. She often reminds Julian throughout the story many times about his great-grandfather, governor who “had a plantation and two hundred slaves,”(275). He reminds her “there are no more slaves,” yet she does not show any sympathy. “They were better off when they were,” she replies (275). Julian does not like talking about these types of topics. In the beginning of the story, we see how the relationship is very uneven between the two. Julian is open minded and his mother is still stuck in the old slavery days. “They should rise, yes, but on their own side of the fence”(275). She wants nothing to do with African Americans. From this we can perceive that the surroundings they had when they
Cross cultural psychology and cultural psychology are two fields of psychology that are often confused. Cross-cultural psychology and cultural psychology have many similarities and they differ in a few areas. Cross-cultural psychology is a comparative field of psychology that studies the cultural effects on human psychology. A cross-cultural study draws its conclusions from at least two samples of at least two different cultures and compares them in order to examine underlying reasons for diversity between the cultures, as well as the universals that each culture shares with another. Cultural psychology seeks to find the meaningful links between a culture and the psychology of the individuals living within that culture. Cultural psychology's main message is that human behavior is only meaningful when you're studying the behavior of individuals within the particular sociocultural, or in the culture in which the behavior occurs. The comparisons that cross-cultural psychology makes about each culture must begin with cultural studies.
The mother is unsympathetic to Blacks and the Civil Rights Movement. She reminds Julian commonly about his incredible granddad who was the representative and "had an estate and two hundred slaves," then he helps her to
Many people have different views on culture and what it includes. I think culture is a mix of many things that become a norm for a group of people over a long period of time. I think that culture is a mix of music, food, traditions, and relationships. Cultures also bring together a group of people who hold the same values and beliefs, an example of this would be any religion. Culture affects all areas of a person’s life as it affects the way they view people, make relationships, make decisions and in general how they live their life. While most cultures have existed for many years, they are not static. Many traditions are held to but there are still changes as more generations are joining and the older ones are passing away.
The world culture has many different meanings depending on the person you ask. Each person has their own view on what they think culture is. To me, culture could be defined as different puzzle pieces that come together to create a person socially, physically and mentally. According to Chapter Three, Culture and the Culture-Learning Process, authors Cushner, McClelland, and Safford (2009) talks about culture and defines it as “Culture determines, to a large extent, people 's thoughts, ideas, patterns of interaction, and material adaptions to the world around them” (p. 61). This definition of culture explains that everyone culture is different based on their environment and influences around them. Culture starts at home and can then branch
What is my culture? This is one of the most difficult questions that I have had to answer. To me, my culture comes from where I was raised, and where I am from. I am an American. I was born and raised in Pennsylvania. My ancestors are from Germany, Hungry, and Ireland. My culture has been built around my family. My family has helped me identify my beliefs and traditions through teaching me what our ancestors have believed.