Entry Fourteen: O'Connor

"Everything That Rises Must Converge"
Flannery O'Connor (1965)

"The further irony of all this was that in spite of her, he had turned out so well. In spite of going to only a third-rate school, he had, on his own initiative, come out with a first-rate education; in spite of growing up dominated by a small mind, he had ended up with a large one; in spite of all her foolish views, he was free of prejudice and unafraid to face fats. More miraculous of all, instead of being blinded by love for her as she was to him, he had cut himself emotionally free of her and could see
her with complete objectivity. He was not dominated by his mother."

Every time I read a new story for this class, I feel like my outlooks on life have to change; each piece holds a nugget of truth in regards to our universe as a whole, and it kind of makes my mind explode. And this, like the others, now holds quite the spot in my heart. It might even make my literary favorites list.

The thing about “Everything That Rises Must Converge” is that it all seems very modern, even though it’s set almost fifty years in the past. Julian is very much a modern man, both in his own time and, I believe, ours as well. He’s very much independent, and believes himself to be free of his emotions, which is debatable, by far. But regardless, I find his story to be a coming-of-age one, which many readers could identify with. He’s a young man who’s shaped himself into a intellectual, even though he came from a very closed-minded family. He broke the mold and, in essence, changed himself from what his family might’ve wanted for him.

I also find his mother an interesting character, mostly because she seems to contradict herself, in regards to her beliefs. To be blunt, she is racist, in the extent that she doesn’t believe in equal opportunities for African Americans. But she shows black children kindness – she’s quoted to find them “cute”, even though she finds their mothers and fathers to be unappealing and, to be crude, unequal and perhaps savage. She won’t ride on the bus alone, the fear of a “negro” too strong for her to get over.

This story can easily have a modern application, mostly in how Julian treats his mother, as well as how he feels about her. Even though he doesn’t agree with her morals, and by many respects he does everything possible to shut them down and make her uncomfortable. By doing so, Julian also pushes aside his own feelings – in the end, he acts as if he doesn’t love his mother. In the passage above, he says that he views her with “complete objectivity” – even with all of this being true, he acts out with his emotions. Julian does whatever he can to put his mother on edge, he finds a sense of pleasure in doing so. He, like his mother, contradicts his own beliefs at times.

These two people, emotionally connected and in ways very similar, find their downfall in their emotions. For Julian’s mother, it’s the harsh reality that her beliefs are wrong, and she needs to change – the stress of this, as well as her son’s harsh words, sends her to her possible death. Julian, on the other hand, is shown the reality of his actions and unkind treatment of his mother – he loses her.