Everything That Rises Must Converge by Flannery O'Connor
"Everything That Rises Must Converge" is a short story by Flannery O'Connor that explores themes of racial tension, generational conflict, and social change in the context of mid-20th century America. The narrative centers on a middle-aged woman, a relic of a once-prominent family, who is preparing for an exercise class at the YWCA. She insists that her son, Julian, accompany her on the bus, reflecting her anxiety about riding alone in an era of bus integration. Their relationship is fraught with tension; Julian perceives himself as more enlightened than his mother, who clings to outdated and prejudiced views.
As they travel, the symbolic significance of the mother's new hat becomes apparent, representing her sense of identity and social status. The story escalates when both women on the bus—Julian's mother and a black woman—wear identical hats, leading to a confrontation that highlights the complexities of race relations and personal dignity. Ultimately, the narrative culminates in a tragic twist, revealing the fragility of human relationships and the consequences of deep-seated biases. O'Connor's exploration of these themes invites readers to reflect on the era's societal shifts and the personal dynamics that accompany them.
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Everything That Rises Must Converge by Flannery O'Connor
First published: 1961
Type of plot: Realism
Time of work: The 1950's
Locale: The urban South
Principal Characters:
Julian Chestny , the protagonist, a self-centered young manMrs. Chestny , his motherA black woman and child , bus passengers
The Story
A middle-aged working woman, the remnant of a once aristocratic, slaveholding family, prepares to go to her YWCA exercise class, recommended for her high blood pressure. She insists that her son accompany her on the bus, for she is afraid to ride the buses alone as they have become integrated. The young man, superficially educated in liberal ideas, is contemptuous of her racial bigotry and fancies himself vastly more enlightened and intellectual than she.
As the story opens, she is undecided as to whether she should wear the new green hat with the purple velvet flaps she has recently bought or take it back to the store. After all, that seven dollars and fifty cents would pay the gas bill. Julian, her son, whose viewpoint dominates the story, thinks the hat is hideous; nevertheless, he insists that she wear it to expedite their departure. His mother, still doubtful, says that at least she will not "meet herself coming and going"; that is, the hat establishes her uniqueness, as befits a lady of quality. The hat attains symbolic importance as an emblem of her true station in life when, much to her son's amusement, a huge black woman boards the bus with her small son and plops down in the seat facing her. The black woman is wearing the exact duplicate of his mother's absurd hat. Julian exults at this magnificent putdown, even though his mother's red face suggests a sudden rise in blood pressure.
His mother, however, seems to recover. She makes up to the little boy, with that peculiar combination of condescension and sentimentality that considers all small black children adorable. The black woman fairly bristles with suppressed anger as the dumpy little white woman fumbles in her purse for a nickel. Nemesis arrives when both women leave the bus and Julian's mother, unable to find a nickel, offers the boy a bright new penny. The black woman explodes with anger and swings at the white woman with her purse, knocking her down. Julian self-righteously berates his mother for her stupidity and insensitivity, even as she sits stricken on the pavement. His superiority and exasperation quickly crumble to infantile panic, however, when his mother shortly after dies of a stroke on the sidewalk.
Bibliography
Asals, Frederick. Flannery O'Connor: The Imagination of Extremity. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1982. By dropping the prejudicial term "grotesque" in favor of "extremity," this full-length study of O'Connor's work is able to study a distinctive quality of O'Connor's literary imagination without distortion.
Brinkmeyer, Robert H. The Art and Vision of Flannery O'Connor. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1989. A fine general study of O'Connor's work, this book is sometimes limited by its reliance on Russian critic Mikhail M. Bakhtin's theory of "dialogism."
Hendin, Josephine. The World of Flannery O'Connor. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1970. One of the first major studies to suggest a disparity between O'Connor's theology and her fiction, Hendin's book asserts that O'Connor's fiction has it source in rage, not Catholic orthodoxy.
Oates, Joyce Carol. "The Visionary Art of Flannery O'Connor." Southern Humanities Review 7 (1973): 235-246. Though brief, this article focuses exclusively on Everything That Rises Must Converge, which Oates calls O'Connor's greatest book. As a fellow fiction writer, Oates offers insights that other critics who are only critics might miss.
O'Connor, Flannery. The Habit of Being. Edited by Sally Fitzgerald. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1979. This collection of O'Connor's letters to friends, family, editors, and fellow writers is valuable not only for biographical background to the stories but also for the author's analyses of many of the stories in Everything That Rises Must Converge.
Ragen, Brian Abel. A Wreck on the Road to Damascus: Innocence, Guilt, and Conversion in Flannery O'Connor. Chicago: Loyola University Press, 1989. This critical study of religious motifs in O'Connor's fiction explores the psychology of her characters. Its discussion of the stories in Everything That Rises Must Converge focuses on the moments of "revelation" in nearly every story.