Applying Key Concepts to Text Analysis

1. Read the passage titled (‘Everything That Rises

Must Converge’ by Flannery O'Connor) carefully.

2. Identify the key concepts, with direct quotes/evidence

from the text. - 10marks

3. Explain how these concepts create effects or shape

the content of the text (that is, the subject matter) to deconstruct meaning

Transformation
Representation
Identity
Perspective/Perception
Communication
Creativity
Culture
The story Everything that rises must converge (written by Flannery O’Connor) is about how Julian,
a recent college graduate, prepares to escort his mother to her weekly weight-loss class at the
YMCA, which she attends to reduce her high blood pressure while showing the toxic relationship
the two have with each other .

In the literary text, the character Julian’s mother can be portrayed as one of the most transformed
characters in terms of her beliefs and behaviour to racism and social order as well her text. - status
and influence in the world around her. In the beginning of the text, the writer describes her as a pure
elderly woman “but her eyes, sky- blue, were as innocent and untouched by experience as
they must have been when she was ten.” The writer uses ‘innocent’, ‘untouched’ and ‘when
she was ten’ to make the reader believe that she is almost like an angelic child, naïve and
ignorant of her surroundings; but this doesn’t last. On their way to the bus, she proclaims to
her son Julian that, “I most certainly do know who I am,” she said, “and if you don't know
who you are, I'm ashamed of you.”. The writer displays Julian’s Mother as a wise one in
terms of her understanding of society and her intelligence and no longer as a frail elderly
lady as she advises her son that, “You remain what you are,”.

However, the writer transitions Julian’s Mother’s behaviour to an explicitly racist one when
she proudly states, “Your great-grand-father had a plantation and two hundred slaves.”, and
shares an opinion about Negroes being slaves saying, “They were better off when they
were,” causing controversy with the attitude she originally showed in the beginning of the
text. In modern times, racism is still a very evident issue around (especially in the U.S.A)
of not just black people but Hispanics, albinos, etc.; could the writer been trying to create
awareness about how long racism has existed as well as how bad it can be?

At this point in the story, Julian’s Mother has a strong prejudice that her son, herself, and
white people as a whole are still above the ‘Negroes’ around them and will always remain
that way due to the dominance and control white people had over Negroes during the slave
trade. Moreover, it can be argued that Julian’s mother had an epiphany that white people
are not as important as she once believed and that she herself in the grand scheme of things
is a frivolity and proves Julian's words at the beginning, “You haven't the foggiest idea
where you stand now or who you are.”

The writer portrays the two main characters Julian and his mom as the standard
way people their age would dress, think, and behave, making them quite relatable
to the reader as they are basically the stereotypical age-based characters in present
day. Julian is represented as the youth, and is explicitly portrayed when, “Julian
walked with his hands in his pockets, his head down and thrust forward” and the
goal “to make himself completely numb during the time he would be sacrificed”
display average behaviour of youth.

The reader can already figure that he is a young adult represents Both Julian and
his mother depend tremendously on appearances to differentiate themselves from
society to boost their beliefs and their egos as well. Julian’s mother expects that her
external attitude and clothing will compensate for the fact that she has none of her
ancestor’s wealth anymore and develops a superiority complex to black Americans
to aid her pride as well as boasting about her ancestor’s achievements, “Your great-
grandfather was a former governor of this state,” she said. “Your grandfather was a
prosperous landowner. Your grandmother was a God high.”. Julian also displayed
fraudulent representation due to the fact that, “In spite of going to only a third -rate
college, he had, on his own initiative, come out with a first-rate education” with
this he too tried to compensate with this as an excuse for his failure as a writer.
Julian and his mom as juxtaposed entities with their clashing ideologies of social order, racial
equality, and entirely their view of the world at large. The reader may come to the conclusion
that the writer used oxymoron to portray them as light and darkness. The writer has portrayed
Julian’s mother in the beginning as an elderly woman,” but her eyes, sky- blue, were as innocent
and untouched by experience as they must have been when she was ten.”. The reader may view
her as a pure angel however the writer later on reveals her racist nature that shows her
controlling, fixed minded behaviour and Julian mingling with the Negroes on the bus, changed
his mom’s view and the woman with the protruding teeth, “was looking at him avidly as if he
were a type of monster new to her.” Making Julian despite being a white male seem like the
Moore of the bus, and a monster like the Negros were to his stuck up mother.
The writer depicts the contrast between Julian and his mother’s beliefs in terms of culture,
saying, “True culture is in the mind, the mind,” he said, and tapped his head, “the mind.” “It's in
the heart,” she said, “and in how you do things and how you do things is because of who you
are.” This can enlighten the reader to how people think behaviour, culture and ethics truly come
from and give the reader a question as to really whether it is the heart or the mind that determines
your culture and morals. The reader can also emphasize with Julian’s mother’s claim, “The world
is in a mess everywhere,”, as such is happening in present times. Albeit this, it can be argued that
Julian’s mother and Julian themselves have no concrete perspective that doesn’t not function due
to their toxic family relationship as Julian’s thoughts are paradoxical and Julian’s mothers quite
controversial. The reader can view Julian’s mother’s perspective as outdated and contradictory
and Julian having mixed feelings about his mother from feeling pity and sympathy for his
mother, the writer slowly reminds us that instead of being blinded by love for her as she was for
him, he had cut himself emotionally free of her and could see her with complete objectivity. He
was not dominated by his mother.
Throughout the whole literary text, the writer uses regular vocabulary, appropriate grammar
and paragraphing to effectively allow the reader to find this text relatable. The language the
writer used for the Negro mother is relatable as understandable as Negros use stressed words
“I see yoooooooo!” and creatively aid the reader in understanding how toxic and flawed
Julian and his mother’s relationship was. Julian did nothing but frown upon his mother and
her actions as “Julian allowed no glimmer of sympathy to show on his face.” and “He felt
completely detached from her.” As the lack of communication with each other is so bad that
Julian no longer feels connected to her on any level. The reader can also view this as the
writer teaching a moral about how important it is to have good relationships with family
despite your differences. This theory can be further amplified by Julian believing that,
“Justice entitled him to laugh. His grin hardened until it said to her as plainly as if he were
saying aloud: Your punishment exactly fits your pettiness. This should teach you a permanent
lesson.” and with him displaying strong prejudice of his mother and her opinions like this
may make the reader view this supposed family relationship to be one of strict teacher and
ignorant student.
The writer shows the cultural stereotypes that white people have against Negros and the
dominant nature white people have gained from controlling Negros during the slave trade. The
writer uses Julian's Mother as a prime example of the integrated culture and nature white people
of that time possessed because they had been brought up to believe that Negros are inferior to
them because of the way she racially mentions her nurse Caroline to Julian “And I remember the
old darky who was my nurse, Caroline”