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| Neb English Support Class 12 |
Everything That Rises Must Converge
ABOUT THE WRITER
Name: Mary Flannery O'Connor
Birth: March 25, 1925 Savannah, Georgia, US
Death: August 3, 1964 (aged 39) Milledgeville, Georgia, US
Nationlity: American
She was a writer mainly known for her novels, essays and short stories. She had written two novels and 32 short stories during her lifetime. She was the writer from the South of the United States. She mostly used a style called Southern Gothic, which is dark and ironic. She had won the US National Book Award in 1972.
HER NOTABLE WORKS
A Good Man is Hard to Find (1955)
Everything That Rises Must Converge (1965)
Wise Blood (1952)
The Violent Bear It Away (1956)
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
During the African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968), laws were passed in the favour of all the black people especially to stop prevalent racial discrimination. This brought the prime concept of the Racial Integration between Black and White people. After that, all were able use the same public buses, schools and other services.
STORY DETAILS
It was first published in 1961. Later on, it was included in the collection of the same name in 1965.
SETTING
Place: Julian’s home and a bus in the South of the United States.
Time: The story takes place during the time of racial integration (late 1950s and early 1960s).
Narration: Told from a third-person point of view, with a focus on Julian’s thoughts and feelings.
THEMES
Racism, Hypocrisy, Generation gap, Class discrimination, Reality vs. perception, Family conflict, Social order and disorder
MAJOR CHARACTERS
Julian:
He is the main protagonist of the story. He is a recent college graduate who works as a typewriter salesman. He wants to be a writer but feels stuck in his job. Julian dislikes his mother’s outdated views on race and social class. Though he says he is against racism, his actions show some hypocrisy. He accompanies his mother to her exercise class at the YMCA.
Julian’s Mother (Mrs. Chestny):
An older woman who holds onto outdated views and is condescending towards Black people. She remembers her family’s wealth and high status from the past. She wears a purple hat that symbolizes her pride and attachment to the old social order.
Carver:
A 4-year-old Black boy traveling on the bus. He plays with Julian’s mother, but his mother scolds him.
Carver's Mother:
A Black woman who is angry when Julian’s mother tries to give her son a penny. She hits Julian’s mother when she offers Carver the penny, teaching her a lesson.
The Well-Dressed Black Man:
A Black man traveling on the bus. He reads a newspaper and gives Julian matches when Julian asks for them.
The White Woman with Protruding Teeth:
A white woman Julian’s mother talks to on the bus.
FULL PLOT SUMMARY
Everything That Rises Must Converge
Julian is the protagonist of the story. He has recently finished his college. He lives with his mother. He wants to be a writer in his life but works as a salesman of typewriters. When the story starts, Julian is getting ready to take his mother to her weekly weight-loss class at the YMCA. His mother takes this class to help lower her high blood pressure problem. Julian takes his mother to the class every week because she doesn't like to ride the bus alone since integration. While moving out, she fixes her bright new purple hat and thinks about returning it. By returning it, she actually wants to pay the gas bill for the month. As Julian walks through their run-down neighbourhood, he starts imagining living his life in a house in the countryside. In the meantime, he announces that he'll earn money one day, even though deep down, he doesn’t really believe it. His mother encourages him to keep dreaming and reminds him that success takes time.
The mother keeps on talking. She says that her grandfather was so prosperous. He once had a big farm with 200 slaves. Julian feels embarrassed to hear his mother’s words. He says that slavery is long gone. His mother replies that Black people should have the freedom to rise and succeed in their lives, but she also thinks that they should do it quite separately from white people. Both of them remember their grandfather’s house. Julian starts feeling jealous. He only saw the ruins of the house when he was a boy. When his mother starts talking about her Black nurse, Caroline, Julian decides to sit next to a Black person on the bus to make up for his mother’s unfair opinions.
At the bus stop, Julian teases his mother by removing his tie. He tries to make her say that he looks like a thug. Julian replies that real culture is in your mind, not how you look or act, unlike what his mother believes. While both argue, the bus arrives, and they get on. Julian’s mother starts talking with other passengers. She is relieved to find only white passengers on the bus. Another woman on the bus joins the conversation. They start talking about Julian. Julian’s mother says that he works as a salesman of typewriters but wants to be a writer. Julian stops paying attention towards their conversation. He drifts into his own thoughts. He judges his mother for her opinions, thinking that she lives in a world of fantasy and pretends to be kind and proper to others. Although he feels only dislike for her, he knows she made sacrifices in her life so that he could get a good education.
When the bus stops after some time, a very well-dressed Black man gets on. He takes a seat and starts reading a newspaper. Julian decides to talk to him just to bother his mother. He asks the man for a light, even though there are no smoking signs and even he doesn’t have any cigarettes. The man provides him with the matches. The Black man glares when Julian hands them back awkwardly. Later, Julian thinks of new ways to make his mother learn a lesson. He plans to ignore her when she gets off the bus so she will be worried that he might not pick her up after her exercise class.
Julian gets lost deeper in his thoughts. He starts imagining about bringing a Black lawyer or professor to his home for dinner or his mother at the time of sickness requiring care from a Black doctor. Although he wouldn’t really want to harm his mother, he fantasizes about bringing a Black woman home and making his mother accept that woman. Despite all these fantasies, he remembers that he has struggled a lot to connect with African American people he has tried talking to in the past.
The bus stops again. A serious-looking Black woman gets on. She is with her young son Carver. Julian feels like something familiar about her, but can’t figure out why. The boy climbs into the seat just beside Julian’s mother. The black woman sits next to Julian. Julian’s mother loves all children regardless of race. She smiles at the boy. Later, Julian realizes that the woman looks familiar because she is wearing the same ugly hat as his mother. Julian hopes that this will teach his mother a lesson. The woman angrily calls her son, Carver, and pulls him to sit close to her. Julian’s mother tries to play peek-a-boo with Carver, but the black woman ignores her and scolds her son instead.
Both Julian and the Black woman pull the cord of the bus at the same time to get off the bus. Julian feels quite worried this time. He knows that his mother will try to give Carver a coin, as she does this giving task with all young children. As they get off the bus, his mother tries to look through her purse but only finds a penny. Without caring about Julian’s warnings, she calls Carver and offers him the shiny penny. Seeing this act, Carver’s mother becomes quite furious. She shouts at Julian’s mother, saying, “He doesn’t take anyone’s pennies!” She swings her big purse and hits Julian’s mother and knocks her down to the ground. The black woman pulls Carver away.
Julian scolds his mother. He picks up her things and helps her up. Julian's mother is quite confused and unsteady but finally steps off the bus. Julian slowly follows her. He tells her that she should learn from what happened with the black woman on the bus. He tells her that the black woman represents all Black people and their dislike for pity. When he reaches to take his mother’s arm, he finds a strange look on her face. In a very furious tone, she asks him to call Grandpa or her nurse, Caroline, to help her. Pulling herself away from him, she falls onto the sidewalk. Julian rushes to help her. He finds her face twisted, one eye moving and the other staring at him before closing. He starts to run for help but quickly goes back to her side.
EXERCISE [QUESTIONS & ANSWERS]
Everything That Rises Must Converge
Short Answer Questions
1. Who is Julian? Why is he upset with his mother?
Answer:
Julian is a recent college graduate. He works as a salesman of typewriters, though he desires to be a writer. He is much annoyed with his mother's acts and her opinions. For him, his mother is old-fashioned with her unfair ideas about race and social class. Julian feels ashamed of her. He feels angry about how she views Black people and thinks that she is stuck in the past. All these things make him want to challenge and go against all her opinions.
2. What is the symbolic significance of the hat?
Answer:
The symbolic significance of the hat shows both Julian’s mother’s pride in her looks and her desire to keep a high social status. It represents her old-fashioned beliefs and her pride. When a Black woman on the bus is seen wearing the same hat, it makes her feel less special. This serves as a serious lesson that the concepts of racial and class divisions are fading.
3. How does Julian show the important theme of hypocrisy?
Answer:
Julian shows the important theme of hypocrisy by criticizing his mother for being racist most of the time. He is showing his hypocritical attitude because he tries to use Black people to make his mother feel embarrassed. Although he thinks of himself as an open-minded guy, his acts show that he doesn't really care about racial equality. Instead, he is driven by his anger and hypocrisy. He just wants to prove his mother wrong all the time, not with real understanding or respect.
4. What kind of mental habits shape Julian's mother's personality?
Answer:
Julian’s mother’s personality is shaped by her mentality of longing for the past. In the past, her family had high social status and certain views on race. She remains the same even after the concept of integration. She often remembers her grandfather’s plantation. She looks down on Black people just as in the past time. She thinks of them as people who need her kindness, not as equals.
5. Discuss the hat and the penny as symbols in the story.
Answer:
Both the hat and the penny are quite symbolic in the story. The hat symbolizes a variety of things such as the mother’s pride, her sense of social standards and her attachment to old-fashioned class differences. The penny, on the other hand, symbolizes how she gives charity in a way that feels superior in front of others, deserving of thanks. Both symbols in the story highlight how she doesn't really understand today’s social changes and how unaware she is due to her own biases.
6. In what way does O'Connor use the character of Julian and his mother to represent differing points of view in the story?
Answer:
Here in the story, O'Connor uses Julian to show today's young guy with more open-minded views. He is seen against old-fashioned views and questions old ideas about race and social class. His mother, on the other hand, represents an older woman with conservative views based on the past and social divisions. Both of them are seen with different views that cause conflict in the story and show how social values are changing due to the generational gap.
7. What is the main theme of the story?
Answer:
The main theme of the story is the concept of the clash between both old and new values, especially related to race and social class. It also explores various themes such as hypocrisy, misunderstanding and the painful consequences of failing to see and handle people as they truly are.
Long Answer Questions
1. Write the summary of the story.
Answer:
The story is about Julian, a recent college graduate. He is a young man who is much upset by his mother’s old-fashioned as well as biased beliefs. He takes his mother on a bus ride to her exercise class every week. During her ride on the bus, she meets people from different races. Whenever she starts talking to others, she brings out her prejudices. Julian, being frustrated by her ignorance, always tries to make her uncomfortable by talking to Black passengers on the bus. Both see a Black woman and her son Carver. The woman was wearing the same hat as Julian’s mother. The same hat shows that social class differences are fading. When Julian’s mother tries to provide the boy with a penny, the Black woman angrily hits her, making her fall. Julian realizes that his mother’s prejudice is so deeply rooted and his own acts have consequences too.
2. Draw the character sketch of Julian and his mother.
Answer:
Julian is a young man. He has recently graduated from college. He works as a salesman of typewriters but wants to be a writer. He feels stuck in his life. He is angry with his mother for her old-fashioned opinions on race. Although he tries to show himself as an open-minded guy, his acts show that he is frustrated and hypocritical.
Julian’s mother is an older woman. She holds onto the past and looks down on Black people. She thinks of herself as kind and generous. She often remembers her family’s old wealth and social status. Although she loves her son and has made many sacrifices for him in her life, her prejudices and feeling of being better than others prevent her from understanding the changes happening in today’s world.
3. Write a critical appreciation of the story.
Answer:
The story “Everything That Rises Must Converge” by Flannery O'Connor observes deeply the concepts of race, class and the struggle between both old and new beliefs. Through the characters of mother and son, the writer shows the themes of hypocrisy, generational conflict and the threats of not addressing individual biases. In the story, Julian’s mother represents old, outdated views. On the other hand, Julian, although seems more open-minded, has his own faults. The symbols of the hat and the penny show the different ideas about race and class. The powerful ending of the story highlights the cost of prejudice and the complexity of family relationships. The final scene makes the story an emotional story.
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