Flannery O'Conner's Everything that Rises Must Converge
A diverse Point of View in literature is what produces the story. In each story the author shows you what they think is important by giving you a certain point of view. Whether it is a first person or a third person point of view, there is always a motive behind why the author chose that view.
“Everything that Rises Must Converge”, by Flannery O’Conner, deals with contentious issues of racism and the questionable validity of what is racism after the civil rights movement. In the portrayal of these sensitive issues, O’Conner utilizes a unique narrative point of view in order to maneuver the reader’s response to characters, situations, conflicts and issues. Through these different levels of narration, from the third person narration of Julian’s point of view, and the limited periods of other first person narrations from the minor characters, readers are influenced and manipulated to question their own attitudes towards the racial issues presented. O’Conner uses third person limited by explaining the describing the events that were occurring on the bus: “Julian rose, crossed the aisle, and say down in the place of the women with the canvas sandals”…..”Do you have a light?” he asked the Negro.(pg914) O’Conner allows us to see the tension between Julian and his mother, which gives readers an insight into her character’s inner thoughts and motivations. As viewing the anger in Julian’s mother and his despiteful ways of...
The juxtapositions of text and image, the places where text shifts from short prose passages to more traditional poetic line breaks, and the works of art draw readers to their own understanding of the unconscious prejudice in everyday life. Thus, Rankine has the capability to push her readers with the use of the second person, where the reader is really the speaker. This method helps establish a greater unity of people, where she chooses to showcase her work as a collective story for many. In this way, she guides the reader with the second person toward a deeper understanding of the reality of a ‘post-race world’, allowing the reader to experience the story as if it’s their own. The final section, focuses on the themes of race, the body, language and various incidents in the life of the narrator. In the end, Rankine admits that she, “…[doesn’t] know how to end what doesn 't have an ending” (159). It is what her audience chooses to do with the newfound self that they find, where their standing on the reality of differences
The novel The Garies and their Friends is a realistic examination of the complex psychology of blacks who try to assimilate through miscegenation and crossing the color barrier by “passing as white.” Frank J. Webb critiques why blacks cannot pass as being white through the characters Mr. Winston and Clarence Jr.
The central ideas of: Racial tensions, racial identity, and systemic oppression, all assist in revealing the author’s purpose. As Malcolm changes throughout the story, his wordhoard and usage of various terms changes as well as the structure of sentences. From half-sentences to long blocks of text, Malcolm’s status also affected the style and structure of his writing; If Malcolm was in a party, the structure would consist of small half sentences as opposed to if Malcolm was telling scenery of a bar in which he would use long descriptive sentences of the setting. Throughout all the chapters, the author was capable of placing vivid images and allowing the reader to experience all the problems and threats Malcolm had to deal
Point of view is one of the single greatest assets an author can use. It helps to move the plot along and show what is happening from a character’s perspective. An author can make the plot more complex by introducing several characters that the reader has to view events through. The events can then be seen through different eyes and mindsets forcing the reader to view the character in a different light. From one perspective a character can seem cruel, yet, from another, the same character can seem like a hero. These vastly contrasting views can be influenced based on the point of view, a character’s background, and the emotions towards them. The novel Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich showcases some examples of events seen from different points
The main character is completely alienated from the world around him. He is a black man living in a white world, a man who was born in the South but is now living in the North, and his only form of companionship is his dying wife, Laura, whom he is desperate to save. He is unable to work since he has no birth certificate—no official identity. Without a job he is unable to make his mark in the world, and if his wife dies, not only would he lose his lover but also any evidence that he ever existed. As the story progresses he loses his own awareness of his identity—“somehow he had forgotten his own name.” The author emphasizes the main character’s mistreatment in life by white society during a vivid recollection of an event in his childhood when he was chased by a train filled with “white people laughing as he ran screaming,” a hallucination which was triggered by his exploration of the “old scars” on his body. This connection between alienation and oppression highlight Ellison’s central idea.
One of the symbols used in this short story is the hat that Julian’s mother and the black woman on the bus wear. Ironically, these hats represent both women sharing the same rights and equalities; both races ride the same bus, sitting in the same seats; and both like the same fashions. Another symbol is the penny that Julian’s mother gives to the little black boy, representing th...
In her last work, Judgement Day, Flannery O’Connor depicts the reality of the struggle in change of social hierarchy and race relations of her time. She fully utilizes all characterizations of the people in that time, including the use of the decretory word ‘nigger’. O’Connor displays the biases and constructs of the time through context clues and within analysis of dialogue. Judgement Day shows the hierarchy of race and structure of power in the north compared to the south. The main character, Tanner, a white old man from Georgia, wants nothing more than to go back to his social normality in the south, where he is in control and holds power over the blacks because of his white skin color. Tanner is insistent upon returning, “retreating”,
Her life seems like it has been so long when in reality it has only been a short twenty-three years. The book ends with Annie on a bus with other, young protesters singing. "We shall overcome, We shall overcome, We shall overcome some day. I WONDER. I really WONDER." (Moody, 1968, p. 424). While Annie is still determined to close the racial gap, she ponders whether or not if blacks really will overcome racism. I believe the youth and enthusiasm of the other passengers represent the hope for the future, that one day they will overcome.
In conclusion, point of view is very pertinent to telling the story. It is how the story is told, and who the story is told by. All of these factors go in to point of view.
While it is clear that there is a generation gap due to the changing times, Julian’s main objective seems to be in separating himself from anything representative of his mother’s era. He prides himself on being educated, “free of prejudice and unafraid to face facts” while his mother is stuck in a past that has not prepared her for the present times of integration and racial acceptance (O’Connor 5). Julian’s mother attempts to retain some dignity from the upper class status she once was associated with but this often leaves her with a superiority complex. She often says, “’if you know who you are, you can go anywhere.’ She said this every time he took her to the reducing class. ‘Most of them in it are not out kind of people,’ she said, ‘but I can be gracious to anybody” (O’Connor 2). Maida claims that Julian is a representative of his generation and the response that follows thus expresses the feelings of his contemporary young Americans, “Julian sums up the attitude of his generation: ‘They don’t give a damn for your graciousness…knowing who you are is good for one generation only. You haven’t the slightest idea where you stand now or who you are”’ (Maida 27). Although Julian is addressing his mother here, he fails to realize how this statement applies to his search for his own identity. While his opinions about his mother’s superior attitude can be seen as progressive, it is his attitude toward her that makes readers question his motives. Julian believes he is superior over his mother because of his acceptance when in truth he is equally or more racist in his objectification of the African-Americans he encounters.
What would literature be had every author used the same perspective for every single story? Literature would not be as well received as it currently is received. Take three American short stories, “Hills Like White Elephants,” “A Rose for Emily,” and “The Yellow Wallpaper,” for example. These stories, by Hemingway, Faulkner, and Gilman respectively, each utilize a different a point of view. The perspective of a story heavily influences the impact of the story on a reader and that impact varies based on the content of the story.
Racism has been a huge dilemma over the years. Flannery O’Conner’s short story “Everything That Rises Must Converge” explains the different views of Julian and his mother. Julian 's mother was born during the times of slavery. Therefore she has a strong dislike for African Americans. With Julian 's mothers racism it disconnected her from her son.
Julian tries to treat everyone equal on the bus and be welcoming of all types of people while his mother engages in racial activities. When a well dressed black man gets on the bus, Julian’s mother tells Julian that he’s the reason she doesn’t ride the bus alone. The other white woman on the bus sitting down got up and moved away from the negro when he sat down near her, and Julian’s mother “leaned forward and cast her an approving look” to say without words that she did the right thing. However, Julian got up and sat near the well dressed negro to show his sympathy for him. He tried to start a conversation with him but nothing worked, except the fact that he succeeded in making his mother angry at him for trying to talk to the negro. She gave Julian death glares and signs to tell him to stop, but this just encouraged him to keep at it. Julian does this again when more negroes get on the bus, and his mother begins to “rumbl[e] like a volcano,” showing her disgust with her son trying to sympathize with the negroes. She didn’t like the idea that her son supported integration, and Julian doesn’t like that his mother supports segregation and treating people unequally based on the color of their
Flannery O’Connor’s “Everything That Rises Must Converge” is a short story that centers around the irony created through the twisted and volatile relationship between a young man, Julian, and his mother. The story deals with an intense element of hypocrisy and conceit within this relationship, and uses the tension to explore conflicting social perspectives. The point of view in a story is the vantage point from which a writer tells that story. O’Connor employs a specific point of view throughout the story to better convey its central idea to the reader and the purpose of this paper will be to explore that notion.
It is not until Celie is an adult that she finally feels content with her life and understands her capacity to be a completely autonomous woman. The concept of racial and gender equality has expanded greatly throughout the twentieth century, both in society and in literature. These changes influence Walker's writing, allowing her to create a novel that chronicles the development of a discriminated black woman. Her main character, Celie, progresses from oppression to self-sufficiency, thereby symbolizing the racial and gender advancements our country has achieved.