Everything That Rises Must Converge

In the short story “Everything That Rises Must Converge”, by Flannery O’Connor, the

author creates a struggling relationship between two main characters, Julian and his

mother. Through this relationship the author shows us how Julian and his mother use

racist tendencies in quite different ways to fulfill their interests and to contribute to the

theme of racism in the story.

In the story, Julian’s mother is described as a woman from the “Old South” where racial

tendencies are acceptable and justified. Her son Julian, who grew into the “New South”

expectations is portrayed to be quite opposite of his mother in the beginning of the story

but his true side is shown when he tries to get back at his mother. “He imagined his mother lying desperately ill and him being able to secure only a Negro doctor for her” (p.342). Julian’s mother states to Julian, “Your great-grandfather had a plantation and two hundred slaves” (p.336). Throughout their bus ride Julian’s mother continues to brag about white people being superior to black people while Julian gets irritated and tries to find different ways to get back at her by adding to the theme of racism. As the story progresses we finally see that Julian and his mother are both racists, just in different ways. When the black lady enters the same bus as Julian and his mother it is like a punishment for Julian’s mom. Julian’s dark side is shown when he starts to view all the black people on the bus as items he can use against his mother.

Julian’s mother sees every black person on the bus as her slave while Julian struggles to cope with this and in return treats black people different than white people in order to punish his mother. He tries to start a foolish conversation with a Negro on the bus by asking “Do you have a light” (p.341) despite the fact that he does not smoke.

When the black woman enters the bus wearing the same hat as Julian’s mother with her young son it becomes obvious to the black woman that Julian’s mother hates her. Julian’s mother tries to be nice to the boy by giving him a coin while at the same time degrading the boy and his mother. “I can’t find but a penny,” she whispered, “but it looks like a new one” (p.346). Julian tells her “Don’t do it” (p.346). He fears that his mother is being too generous to the young boy and this would ruin his plan to teach her a lesson. Despite his advice Julian’s mother gives the boy the penny and the black woman hits her and knocks her down. Instead of helping his mother up his first reaction is “I told you not to do that” (p.346). He feels that he has finally succeeds in teaching his mother a lesson. His mother struggles to get up from the ground and keeps saying “home” while Julian continues to add to her embarrassment by stating “Suppose somebody happens by and wants to know why you’re sitting on the sidewalk”(p.346). Before he knows it his mother is on the verge of dying and only then he realizes how much he loves her and how much she means to him.

Throughout the story Julian disagrees with his mother’s old ideas about black people. After all she is just an old woman that grew up with these beliefs because of the way she was raised. Julian on