Stereotypes in Everything that Rises Must Converge by Flannery O’ Connor

2469 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Racial inequality in education sociology

Stereotype has always been a major situation among racial society, since the 1960’s all the way till today. Stereotype has been used as a separation among other racial ethnicities. Racial stereotyping has actually made humans believe how other’s actions are really supposed to be, and how they should be treated. However, some people from the racial stereotyping societies had disapproved this discrimination and had fought for their rights; because they believed that all humans are equal and must converge together as a unity of equality. Every person has his or her own different mind perspective on stereotyping; that can lead him or her to major consequences or moral lessons. Stereotyping has blinded many people from facing reality and realizing that we are all-equal, and have fought for that equality right. But there are some who won’t accept that change and want to keep things the way they used to be, until they finally realize it with a consequence. Author Flannery O’ Connor for Everything that Rises Must Converge, opens our minds and explains to us how in the 1960’s racial stereotyping was used for superiority and individualism. In addition, she also gives a brief explanation how a group of different races minds work when they are among each other, like for instance in a bus. In Flannery O’ Connor’s story, each character’s actions and thoughts symbolizes a sort of stereotype, that leads to accepting reality about racial equality, moral lesson, and defending oneself for respect and their individual rights. To begin with, In Everything that Rises Must Converge, Julian represents a role of how society has raised and converged; by facing reality and realizing how everyone is equal through the moral lesson that he gets from his... ... middle of paper ... ...ds society, it just depends how the person takes that insult. People will have the tendency to lack the knowledge of stereotyping, until they receive a consequence or a moral lesson. Depending on the class structure in people’s societies, stereotyping will be a problem to some people until they face reality about racial equality, also how everyone is human and equal. There are some societies that will accept reality and do something to change that discrimination on racial equality. Flannery O’Connor’s story opened our minds to understand that 1960’s, racial stereotyping was used for safety and individualism. And still to this day, racial stereotyping is still used for that reason. With this story all three characters symbolized racial equality, and facing reality that we are all human; that there’s no difference among all of us and that we must accept each other.

Show More
Related

  • Stereotyping in The Way We Lie by Stephanie Ericsson

    950 Words  | 2 Pages

    Everyday we experience stereotyping in one way or another. Over the years stereotyping has become such a large part of our society that it is a vital part of our everyday communication. It has caused many of us to not really think about who a person really is, or what they are about, but to accept instead a certain stereotype that has already been created by our society and given to an individual. Stephanie Ericsson makes an excellent point in her essay when she says “they take a single tree, and make it into a landscape.” The statement she was trying to make by saying this is that many times, a stereotype is made by an individual because of something done by one particular person in a certain group, but is then given to the whole group as a result. Our society has given a stereotype to practically every form of human being out there. Some examples of this are the blond that is said to be dumb, the kid with glasse...

    Read More

  • Separate Pasts by author Melton McLaurin

    1165 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...eir lifehave felt and seen themselves as just that. That’s why as the author grew up in his southerncommunity, which use to in slave the Black’s “Separate Pasts” helps you see a different waywithout using the sense I violence but using words to promote change in one’s mind set. Hedescribed the tension between both communities very well. The way the book was writing in firstperson really helped readers see that these thoughts , and worries and compassion was really felttowards this situation that was going on at the time with different societies. The fact that theMcLaurin was a white person changed the views, that yeah he was considered a superior beingbut to him he saw it different he used words to try to change his peers views and traditionalways. McLaurin try to remove the concept of fear so that both communities could see them selfas people and as equal races.

    Read More

  • Stereotyping And Discrimination In Boyz N The Hood, Furious Styles

    1142 Words  | 3 Pages

    A stereotype is an exaggerated generalization used to describe a group of people. Discrimination is the unequal treatment of different categories of people. An example of a stereotype would be the generalization that a majority of African American youth are gangbangers or criminals. An example of discrimination would be the mocking of an Asian student’s accent each time they spoke in class. Stereotyping and discrimination still take place today whether in minority communities or in the communities of those who hold the majority, though these incidents are not as prevalent in non minority

    Read More

  • In Flannery O 'Connor's Everything That Rises Must Converge'

    1907 Words  | 4 Pages

    In “Everything that Rises Must Converge,” Flannery O’Connor distorts the world through a lens of false moral righteousness and hypocrisy. In line with her work’s title, O’Connor posits acts of convergence, which I herein define as moments of impact where white and African American cultures attempt to bridge “the fence” of racial separation; but while O’Connor crafts such opportunities for realization, she deliberately conveys a lack of coalescence, the true integration of these cultures with the presence of empathy. Through the misguided motivations and limited vision of her characters, O’Connor dramatizes how social conditioning often confounds equality, with her characters resisting connection and understanding.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Anne Moody's Coming Of Age In Mississippi

    1090 Words  | 3 Pages

    Differing skin color amongst African Americans causes conflict. In Anne’s story, the women that have the fairer skin are viewed as more beautiful than those who are darker in complexion. Notably, Raymond’s confidant is more yellow than the others and as a result she is considered more beautiful. Judgement of people by skin color does not only occur in whites, African Americans do it as well. Moreover, skin color is not the only appearance that matters in society.

    Read More

  • Literary Analysis of “Everything That Rises Must Converge”

    839 Words  | 2 Pages

    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 1960's in which full equality for African-Americans was a new concept.

    Read More

  • Everything That Rises Must Converge Flannery O Connor

    1607 Words  | 4 Pages

    As Julian enters into “a world of guilt and sorrow” Flannery O’Connor persuades readers to address the issue of racial integration using an intergenerational family dynamic in Southern America. In her 1961 short story “Everything that Rises Must Converge”, O’Connor focuses readers’ attention on Julian and his relationship with his mother to expose the complexities of racial perceptions. While many critics attempt to analyze this story solely using O’Connor’s religious beliefs, critic Patricia Dinneen Maida proposes that the story can be explored on a number of levels. In her article “’Convergence’ in ‘Everything That Rises Must Converge’”, Maida critiques Julian’s character while analyzing the variety of factors that influence his identity

    Read More

  • Flannery O’Connor

    1253 Words  | 3 Pages

    The short story "Everything That Rises Must Converge" centers on the relationship between Julian, a young man who has recently graduated from college, and his mother. It takes place in a city in the South soon after integration. Much like Emily Grierson in William Faulkner’s "A Rose for Emily," Julian’s mother is a product of the "Old South." She takes tremendous pride in her heritage due to the fact that her ancestors were people who were once very highly respected. Her grandfather was a former state governor as well as a plantation and slave owner. Julian sees his mother as a dinosaur who is a product of the past and cannot see and accept the realities of the present. The fact that she clings to her old values embarrasses him, and he sees her more as a child who does not know any better.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Sexism In To Kill A Mockingbird

    1655 Words  | 4 Pages

    The novel also portrays numerous examples of racism, sexism, in creative ways. The stereotypes and themes portrayed in this novel have taught its readers not only very valuable lessons but ways to keep from placing stereotypes on people that are different from you before you get to know that person.

    Read More

  • Themes of Prejudice and Tolerance in To Kill a Mockingbird

    816 Words  | 2 Pages

    The novel not only explores racial prejudice, but also prejudice against gender and social status. Maudie is a victim of prejudice agains...

    Read More

  • The Causes of Stereotypes

    940 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the modern era, stereotypes seem to be the ways people justify and simplify the society. Actually, “[s]tereotypes are one way in which we ‘define’ the world in order to see it” (Heilbroner 373). People often prejudge people or objects with grouping them into the categories or styles they know, and then treat the types with their experiences or just follow what other people usually do, without truly understand what and why. Thus, all that caused miscommunication, argument or losing opportunities to broaden the life experience. Stereotypes are usually formed based on an individual’s appearance, race, and gender that would put labels on people.

    Read More

  • Being Biracial-Personal Narrative

    891 Words  | 2 Pages

    I was late for school, and my father had to walk me in to class so that my teacher would know the reason for my tardiness. My dad opened the door to my classroom, and there was a hush of silence. Everyone's eyes were fixed on my father and me. He told the teacher why I was late, gave me a kiss goodbye and left for work. As I sat down at my seat, all of my so-called friends called me names and teased me. The students teased me not because I was late, but because my father was black. They were too young to understand. All of this time, they thought that I was white, because I had fare skin like them, therefore I had to be white. Growing up having a white mother and a black father was tough. To some people, being black and white is a contradiction in itself. People thought that I had to be one or the other, but not both. I thought that I was fine the way I was. But like myself, Shelby Steele was stuck in between two opposite forces of his double bind. He was black and middle class, both having significant roles in his life. "Race, he insisted, blurred class distinctions among blacks. If you were black, you were just black and that was that" (Steele 211).

    Read More

  • "Everything That Rises Must Converge" Analysis

    801 Words  | 2 Pages

    Flannery O’Connor outdoes herself in her short story “Everything That Rises Must Converge”. This story has a title that, at first, does not make sense, making the reader want to learn more. On top of that, the title portrays what the point of the story is and helps the reader to understand the major theme of the story, while using symbols and other methods to further illustrate the lesson. Through the title and the underlying theme, Flannery O’Connor shows the struggles between generations and society in her short story “Everything That Rises Must Converge”.

    Read More

  • Stereotyping of Car Club Members

    1806 Words  | 4 Pages

    Everyone has heard the saying don’t judge a book by a cover. Sadly every minute of the day someone gets judged because of assumptions that are not correct. These assumptions overtime eventually lead to stereotypes. A stereotype is an image or idea of a particular type of person. Stereotyping a person is seen in many differents aspects such as race, groups, beliefs, appearance, etc. An individual may ask why people are stereotyped or stereotype. In reality stereotyping helps people categorize the different type of people. It narrows down the options of who one might want to associate with. Stereotyping can have its negatives, it makes people ignore how others really are. It may lead to a person not wanting to hang out with another person because of the stereotype that persons group has. Everyday the general public use cars for the means of transportation. But what about when people use their car for more than transportation, car enthusiasts often modify their cars to their likings. Enthusiasts often join car clubs to share their common interests with other car enthusiasts. Often the people in car clubs have a stereotype of being juvenile, racing a lot, low-life bums, and ghetto when actually most do not have those characteristics.

    Read More

  • Language, Gender, and Culture in Society

    1684 Words  | 4 Pages

    In many circles of the world, various groups of people distinguish themselves from one another through religion, language, culture, and sometimes gender. People also develop stereotypes about a particular group of people in order to identify them. However, most of the time, these stereotypes hold true for only some members of a group. Sometimes, these stereotypes are just plain misconceptions that do not even apply to the group it claims to. Stereotypes are placed on people because it is a way to easily identify what type of person or ethnicity an individual is. At one point in time, these stereotypes may have been true; however, in today’s modern society, most of these stereotypes are outdated and false, which leads them to turn into misconceptions. Usually, stereotypes are utilized to humiliate and degrade the person or group; they also do not provide any beneficial outcomes. Stereotypes focus on how a particular group acts because of the radical ideas and actions of the few, how a particular group looks, or how that group is physically lacking in some way. These stereotypes often lead to conflicts because the group does not appreciate the way it is being perceived. Seldom are the stereotypes placed on a group of people truthful and accurate. Some hardly even apply to the particular group people it claims to. It is true that how people are perceived has a big impact on how other individuals interact with them; however, people are not perceiving these groups correctly.

    Read More

More about Stereotypes in Everything that Rises Must Converge by Flannery O’ Connor

Open Document