Analysis Of Flannery O Connor's Everything That Rises Must Converge

“Everything That Rises Must Converge” by Flannery O’Connor, is a story of the relationship between a mother and son and their differing views. The story is in third person point of view, which means none of the characters is the narrator, however, it does show Julian’s thoughts during the story. The third person narrator focuses on Julian, his mother, and their relationship which is a “parasitic relationship [that] establishes the prototype for parent and child figures” (Winn 192). Julian, despite being an adult, still lives with his mother and has a childlike attachment to her. His mother has a “deep connection of her identity with the intergenerational ties of family and history, but it also has the effect of eliding her individual identity

completely” (Williamson 750). Their views on African Americans causes a rift between them and creates a grim irony at the end. The story “Everything That Rises Must Converge” shows the narrator’s focus on the relationship between both main characters and how their unyielding views lead to tragic results.
Julian’s behavior is like that of a child which holds him back from succeeding as an adult.

The narrator shows that Julian is a scholar who is partially dependent on his mother and plans to be “a successful writer” (Winn 193). Showing Julian’s thoughts towards his mother, the narrator reveals this in the example: “Julian thought he could have stood his lot better if she had been selfish, if she had been an old hag who drank and screamed at him” (O’Connor 449). Julian is aware of his mother’s delusions of her ancestral home that she clings to and he tries to ignore it. According to Bryan Wyatt, the home represents the “lost for Julian’s sake, the whatever legacy there was to his mother from its sale went to augment the funds . . . to better her son’s welfare” (Wyatt 69). “The house, Julian habitually dreams about, serves as more than a symbol of economic collapse; it is a reminder of the family’s participation in plantation culture and the ownership of slaves” (Williamson 752). Accordingly, the narrator tells of Julian’s view of the African Americans on the bus and he decides to ask one of them for a match. This is to annoy his mother and “teach her a lesson” (O’Connor 453) that they were not living in the past. Despite the fact he still loves his mother, “he severed himself emotionally from his mother and does not return the “blinding” love she has for him” (Wyatt 70). Thus, causing Julian to reject his mother and make him feel that she is a

stranger.
Julian’s mother has a simple personality as the narrator describes her as living in the memories of her past home and wishing the world was like it was, so long ago when she was a child. The narrator shows that the mother is disgusted with the society in her era, which African Americans roam free. In her opinion, the mother thinks they should be a lower class than her. Her signs of disgust are shown when she tells Julian of her Grandfather’s plantation after an African American man enters the bus with a newspaper. When the man sits down and reads, the mother exclaims to Julian that “Now you see why I won’t ride on these buses by myself” (O’Conner 452). She does “feel sorry for. . . the ones that are half white” (O’Conner 449), because they have no place to belong in society. She does get annoyed by her son’s behavior when he loosens his tie and asks the African American man for a match. Julian’s mother does have hope for Julian that he will become a writer and keeps reminding him that “Rome wasn’t built in a day” (O’Connor 448). She is so focused on her past that “she can’t comprehend that depth to which its loss has affected her, and she repeats the narrative in order to re-establish the historical boundaries of her identity” (Williamson 751). The narrator shows that the mother adores young African American children, even though, her son tries to warn her not to give a penny to the boy. After being punched by the African American mother, she is in shock and extreme confusion to why it happened. Wanting to go “Home” (O’Connor 457) where her grandfather’s plantation was, she immediately retreats to her historical fantasy world. The mother’s fantasy world is the only place that she feels safe and happy, however, this shows just how unstable her personality has become.
The parent/child relationship reverses for a brief period of time towards the end of the story with verbal and dramatic irony.

After his mother was punched, Julian gets upset with her and states “You got exactly what you deserved” (O’Connor 456) and “I hope this teaches you a lesson” (O’Connor 457). The dramatic irony can be seen while he is scolding her and he does not realize that both the incident and his harsh words cause his mother to have great pain that her mind reverts to her childhood memories. In a sarcastic tone, he tells her “I hate to see you behave like this” (O’Conner 457) and “Just like a child. I should be able to expect more of you” (O’Conner 457). When she said “Home” (O’Connor 457), Julian thought at first that she wants to go back to their house, but in her mind, she wants to go to her grandfather’s plantation. She acts like she is not aware of her surroundings and sees Julian as a stranger. When his mother asks Julian to tell the people of her past “to come get me” (O’Connor 457), he starts noticing something is wrong. Earlier in the story, the narrator mentions that the mother’s doctor wants her to lose weight to stabilize her blood pressure, which implies the mother is not in good health. When she collapses from a stroke, the narrator describes it as “A tide of darkness seemed to be sweeping her from him” (O’Connor 457). According to Harbour Winn, “Ironically, then, Julian learns that the lesson has proven costly [not only did he lose his mother,

but] his dependence surface in the child manner” (194). This manner is shown when he cries for her like a child: “Mamma. Mamma” (O’Connor 458). When the narrator expresses that “The tide of darkness seemed to sweep him back to her” (O’Connor 458), it means that Julian feels deeply ashamed of what he said to his mother and sorrow for his lost.
This story takes place during the civil rights movement and white people, as well as black people, were having to come to terms with how they felt about each other. Julian’s mother was wrong to treat the African American as if they were below her. It is a tragedy for what happened to Julian’s mother, but the African American mother should have not had a violent outburst over a coin and punch Julian’s mother. Neither of the women were in the right and Julian’s behavior only made the situation worse. The narrator not only shows the relationship between Julian and his mother, but, also, what is mentally going on in their minds. Julian, who is dependent on his mother, has suffered a painful loss and will regret the rest of his life for saying cruel words towards her. His mother has been reliving her childhood memories since she gave up her grandfather’s plantation and suffered a painful and sorrowful death. Ironically, Julian is now living with the consequences of his actions and facing a life without his mother to depend on.