Everything That Rises Must Converge was written in 1961 in the midst of the American civil rights movement.

The ideas of intergenerational conflict and transforming social mores play out against the backdrop of racial desegregation in the South. OConnors story focuses on tensions that emerged after integration. Uncomfortable depicting the interior life of black Americans, she avoided incorporating black characters into her stories except as chorus figures or fringe characters, as is evident in this story. Still, the black characters silence in this story adds to the sense of tension between whites and African Americans in the mid-twentieth-century South. Themes Social Conflict as a Generational Conflict OConnor places the broader societal conflict of race relations within the context of the volatile relationship Julian has with his mother to connect the two issues that transformed the South in the 1960s. In many ways, Julians mother still lives in the South of her ancestors, with strict social codes of conduct that determined the behavior of both whites and blacks. Even though these norms no longer apply, she still adheres to the old customs to resist the startling changes that the new desegregation and antidiscrimination laws have brought. Julian, meanwhile, eagerly seeks to embrace the new, integrated South and the promises of greater prosperity and racial equality. He rejects the older social order and espouses the liberal ideas of a younger generation, condemning older whites attitudes regarding race. Like most young, idealistic Southerners, however, he has trouble acting on his convictions and fully treating blacks as equals or even people. Julians clashes with his mother over dress, race, and appearances in general mimic the greater conflict in society and ultimately result in violence. Appearance as a Faulty Measure of Reality Both Julian and his mother rely heavily on appearances to separate and elevate themselves from the rest of society. Julians mother, for example, hopes that her public demeanor and clothing will hide the fact that she no longer has any of her familys former wealth. In turn, she judges others on their appearance, including blacks, whom she automatically considers inferior. She looks down on the African American man on the bus who wears a suit, even though he is better dressed than Julian, and still places herself above the large black woman on board, even though she realizes that they wear the same hideous hat. Ironically, Julian relies on appearances to quickly judge others around him too, even though he criticizes his mother for this same shortcoming. He despises his own neighborhood with its rundown houses and evident poverty and resents the fact that his family no longer has any of its former wealth. Julian uses his education to distinguish himself from those around him, repeatedly claiming that true culture comes from the mind in a weak attempt to justify his apparent failure as a writer. Julians and his mothers delusions illustrate the unreliability of appearances. Lineage as Safety Julians and his mothers longing for the grandeur of the past suggests that neither character has fully come to terms with their lives as poor whites in an integrated South. For both characters, the past serves as safety neta place filled with prosperity and sunshine, untroubled by poverty and social upheaval, and recalling the past allows them to continue living in a changing world they dont understand. For Julians mother, the family heritage gives her an immutable social

standing despite the fact that she lacks the money or prestige that her family once had. As a result, she has a distorted perception of her place in the world. Julian feels tormented by his family history and agonizes over the family connection to slavery, yet he still dreams of the past to escape his dreary life as an educated typewriter salesman. Motifs Social Conduct Julians mother believes that social conduct reflects a persons true nature, whereas Julian believes that social conduct reveals an unwillingness to adapt to social change. Julians mother pays slavish attention to her manners and behavior, believing that the way a person does things reflects who they truly are. She emphasizes dressing well and behaving graciously, especially when in public. Although her family is no longer wealthy, she still conducts herself as though she is a woman of importance. Julian has an altogether different view of social conduct, believing that the content of a persons mind reveals who they are. He believes that his intellectual views, not his dress or manners, dictate who he is. Julians mothers strict adherence to social conduct infuriates Julian, who believes that her actions demonstrate her ignorance and unwillingness to accept her lower social standing in a rapidly changing society. Symbols The Hat The same hat that Julians mother and the large black woman wear symbolizes the transforming cultural landscape of the 1960s South, which has put the two women on equal social footing. Historically, racial differences would have automatically placed Julians mother on a higher social plane than the black woman, regardless of similarities or differences in wealth, education, and appearance. Desegregation, however, elevated African Americans and simultaneously stripped pretenses of superiority from poorer whites. The hat visually demonstrates that both women are now essentially the same: they both ride the same public transportation, shop in the same stores, and even have the same taste in clothing. It also highlights the absurdity of segregation and racial inequality, suggesting that people are more alike than different. The Penny The penny that Julians mother gives to Carver represents her patronizing attitude toward all African Americans. Even though she wants to give the penny out of kindness, Julians mother fails to recognize the offers condescending and patronizing overtones. White Americans had denied blacks opportunity and access to material goods and wealth for hundreds of years, providing them only the necessities for basic living and expecting them to work happily as slaves. Giving money to Carver, therefore, is a symbolic continuation of blacks dependence on whites. Fueled by centuries of anger and the promises of the growing civil rights movement, Carvers mother lashes out to establish her status as an independent being and reject historical subservience to white patronage.

OConnor and the Southern Gothic Tradition Although Everything That Rises Must Converge cannot be strictly classified as Southern Gothic literature, the story nevertheless draws upon many aspects of the genre, most notably its

treatment of setting and tone. A subgenre of American literature, Southern Gothic writing utilizes strange events, eccentric characters, and local color to create a moody and unsettling depiction of life in the American South. Southern history figures prominently, and stories usually draw upon the tragic history of slavery, lingering feelings of defeated regional pride after the Civil War, and isolated, often neglected, locales. People, places, and events in Southern Gothic literature appear to be normal at first glance, but they eventually reveal themselves to be strange, disturbing, and sometimes horrific. Although she loathed the label, OConnor was a master of the genre while simultaneously keeping a tone of realism in her novels and short stories. Her prose, for example, emphasizes the truths of her characters actions rather than their quirky peculiarities. Despite the often apocalyptic, surreal tone of her writing, her works always contain believable actions and choices. OConnor grounds the story in reality by deemphasizing the eerie, disquieting tone of the backdrop and focusing instead on the relationships and events that drive the narrative.

The dark, strange setting emphasizes the mood of faded grandeur and urban decay and puts the storys events into context. OConnor, for example, describes the houses near Julians as bulbous liver-colored monstrosities of a uniform ugliness against the dying violet of the sunset. Dirty children squat outside these houses in a neighborhood that has long passed its prime. Southern history unfolds once again as both Julian and his mother fantasize about lost plantations and prestige, forcing readers to confront the uncomfortable and vexing legacy of slavery. The strange supporting characters, such as the imposing black woman and white woman with protruding buckteeth, also add to the unsettling feeling that permeates the town. The final moment of the story is apocalyptic in tone, with the major characters pushed back into the past as their perspective on the world becomes strange, distorted, and unfamiliar.

Moral Ambiguity Historical Context Everything That Rises Must Converge takes place during the civil rights movement when federal, state, and local governments made sweeping reforms in the North and South to end poverty and racial discrimination. By the 1950s, the aristocratic plantation system in the South had been fully dismantled, and urban areas swelled with an influx of job seekers from rural areas. At the same time, college admissions swelled as higher education became more affordable for a greater number of whites and a minority of blacks. American blacks in the North and South achieved a major milestone in the 1954 decision in Brown v. Board of Education, when the Supreme Court repealed the separate but equal guideline that had separated blacks from whites in almost all public areas. Rosa Parkss refusal to give up her seat on a public bus to a white passenger a year later in 1955, as well as her subsequent arrest, launched the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the peaceful protest campaign to end segregation. All the characters in OConnors story struggle to either maintain or redefine their sense of identity as the drama of the civil rights movement unfolds. The white women on the bus, for

example, deride black passengers in order to reestablish their social dominance. Julians mother does this as well by repeatedly arguingas if trying to convince herselfthat her heritage makes her superior to blacks and even other whites. Julian, whose college education actually makes him a benefactor of the changing social climate, oscillates between classes and visions of society, often harping on social inequalities while simultaneously daydreaming of a bygone era. All the African American characters, meanwhile, take advantage of the growing equality to assert their individuality and respectability as an equal class of citizens. It is not surprising, therefore, that the black man Julies tries to befriend is the best-dressed person on the bus or that the large black woman with the ugly hat strikes Julians mother for having offered Carver a penny. Like all American blacks in the 1960s, these characters refuse to accept further subjugation and condescension.

Moral Ambiguity Despite Julians and his mothers racist attitudes toward blacks, neither character is truly immoral, allowing OConnor to comment on the underlying racism prevalent throughout American society. OConnor avoids conventional stereotypes of racist white Southerners to subtly demonstrate that most white Americansincluding otherwise kind and well-intentioned peopleoften harbor racist attitudes without even realizing it. Even though Julians mother plays peek-a-boo with the little boy, Carver, for example, she nevertheless believes blacks lived better lives as slaves underneath white masters than they do in the 1960s. She deplores the state of contemporary America but tempers her condemnation with optimism, promising Julian that his fortunes will eventually turn. Her decision to give Carver a penny, meanwhile, further demonstrates her kindness and love of children and simultaneously highlights her patronizing attitude toward blacks.

The inherently racist attitudes that lurk in Julians subconscious belie his professed liberal opinions of race and equality and make him a morally ambiguous character as well. His longing for the material wealth of his great-grandfathers plantation implies that he hasnt fully accepted integration or racial equality. His inability to relate to African Americans also suggests that he may not see them as people like himself or even as people at all, given the fact that he daydreams of bringing influential black catches home just to parade in front of his mother. Yet at the same time, his liberal education and annoyance with the racist women on the bus set him apart. Unlike most white Southerners, he at least recognizes that segregation, not integration, is the fundamental problem of 1960s America. Readers consequently get a mixed view of Julian and his mother: neither are stereotypically evil people, but neither are accepting individuals either.

Important Quotations Explained 1. True culture is in the mind, the mind, he said, and tapped his head, the mind. Its in the heart, she said, and in how you do things, and how you do things is because of who you are.

Explanation for Quotation 1 >> Despite Julians and his mothers seemingly conflicting opinions, both opinions made in the beginning of the story on the bus ride to the YMCA reflect Julians and his mothers inability to confront their own poverty and the changing social landscape around them. Julians mother, for example, claims to believe that manners and gentility come from good breeding. The fact that her family once had political influence and wealthnot to mention power over the lives of 200 slavesdeeply troubles her, prompting her to overcompensate for this loss by always dressing and looking her best in public. She seems to relish the fact that shes the only woman at the YMCA who dresses up for classes and has a college-educated son. Equating family lineage with identity also allows her to live more happily under the false conviction that she is actually better than everyone else and certainly better than the descendents of uppity former slaves. Julian, on the other hand, uses his college education to elevate himself above those around him. Although he professes to have liberal views regarding race, equality, and social justice, he rarely acts on these convictions and uses them primarily to boost his own fragile ego. His fantasies of finding influential black friends and lovers are testaments to just how unrealistic his views are. If he truly believed in racial equality, he wouldnt care about his friends skin color. As it is, he cant even engage in small talk with fellow black passengers. Convincing himself otherwise, however, allows him to deal with his frustration as a typewriter salesman and separate himself from his mother and the poverty that surrounds him. Close . Dont think that was just an uppity Negro woman, he said. That was the whole colored race, which will no longer take your condescending pennies. That was your black double. Explanation for Quotation 2 >> The black woman acts for all African Americans when she strikes Julians mother with her purse at the end of the story, refusing to succumb to any more subjugation and condescension from whites. Julian understands this and tries to explain to his mother why the black woman hit her. The black woman seems to bristle with rage from the moment of her introduction, poised to explode like a volcano. Though she says little, she seems ready to lash out at any person who might treat her with disrespect. Her barely concealed anger represents the anger suppressed by blacks through years of slavery, mistreatment, and oppression under white patronage. The fact that she wears the same hat and rides the same bus as Julians mother highlights the similarities between the two seemingly very different women. Integration has effectively equalized them

Plot Overview 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. He escorts her there every week because she has refused to take the bus alone since integration. She adjusts her garish new hat and contemplates returning it to pay the monthly gas bill. While walking through their dilapidated neighborhood, Julian imagines moving to a house in the country. He declares that he will one day make money, even though he knows he never really will. His mother encourages him to dream, saying that it will take time to establish himself.

She continues to chatter, mentioning that her grandfather once owned a plantation with 200 slaves. Embarrassed, Julian comments that the days of slavery are over, to which she replies that blacks should be free to rise but should do so separately from whites. Both think about the grandfathers house again, and Julian grows envious, despite the fact that he only saw the house in ruins as a boy. As his mother talks about her black nurse, Caroline, Julian resolves to sit next to a black person on the bus in reparation for his mothers prejudices. When they arrive at the bus stop, Julian baits his mother by removing his tie, prompting her to exclaim that he looks like a thug. Julian retorts that true culture is in the mind and not reflected by how one acts or looks, as his mother believes. As they bicker, the bus pulls up and they board. Julians mother strikes up conversation with other passengers, eventually pointing out with relief that there are only white people on the bus. Another woman joins in, and the subject of the discussion turns to Julian. Julians mother comments that he works as a typewriter salesman but wants to be a writer. Julian withdraws into a mental bubble. He judges his mother for her opinions, believing that she lives in a distorted fantasy world of false graciousness. Although he feels nothing but disdain for her, she has made sacrifices so that he could have a good education. The bus stops and a well-dressed African American man boards, sits down, and opens a newspaper. Julian imagines striking up conversation with him just to make his mother uncomfortable. Instead, he asks for a light, in spite of the no-smoking signs and the fact that he doesnt have any cigarettes. He awkwardly returns the matches to the man, who glares at him. Julian dreams up new ways to teach his mother a lesson, imagining that he will ignore her as she gets off the bus, which would force her to worry that he may not pick her up after her exercise class. Julian retreats deeper into his thoughts, daydreaming about bringing a black lawyer or professor home for dinner or about his mother becoming sick and requiring treatment from a black doctor. Though he would not want to give his mother a stroke, he fantasizes about bringing a black woman home and forcing his mother to accept her. Despite these fantasies, he remembers how he has failed to connect with the African Americans with whom he has struck up conversations in the past. The bus stops again, and a stern-looking black woman boards with her young son in tow. Julian senses something familiar about her, but he doesnt know why. The little boy clambers onto the seat next to Julians mother, while the black woman squeezes into the seat next to Julian. Julians mother likes all children regardless of race and smiles at the little boy. He then realizes with delight that the black woman seems so familiar because she wears the same ugly hat as his mother, and he hopes the coincidence will teach his mother a lesson. The black woman angrily calls out to her son, Carver, yanking him to her side. Julians mother tries to play peek-a-boo with the little boy, but the black woman ignores her and chastises her son instead. Julian and the black woman both pull the signal cord at the same time to get off the bus. Julian realizes with horror that his mother will try to give Carver a nickel as she does with all little children. While they disembark, his mother searches through her purse but can find only a penny. Despite Julians warnings, his mother calls after Carver and tells him she has a shiny new penny for him. Carvers mother explodes with rage, shouting He dont take nobodys pennies! She

swings her massive purse and knocks Julians mother down to the ground, then drags Carver away. Julian berates his mother as he collects her items and pulls her up. Disoriented, she sways for a moment before stumbling off. Julian follows and lectures her, saying that she should learn from her encounter with the woman on the bus, who represents all African Americans and their distaste for condescending handouts. Reaching out to grab her arm, he sees a strange expression on her face. She tells him to call for Grandpa or her nurse, Caroline, to fetch her. Wresting herself from his grasp, she crumples to the pavement. Julian rushes to her and finds her face distorted, one eye rolling around and the other fixed on his face before finally closing. Julian starts to run for help but quickly returns to his mothers side.

Analysis of Major Characters Julian Although he professes to have liberated, intellectual views about race, Julian is in many ways just as petty and small-minded as he perceives his mother to be. Julian has grown up with a narrow set of experiences, influenced by his overbearing mothers limited worldview. Because of his college education, however, he has acquired a new set of enlightened perspectives regarding race and social equality. Julian attempts to distinguish himself from his mothers antiquated beliefs by publicly demonstrating his liberal views on integration and racial relations. Throughout the story, he makes failed attempts to connect to blacks and repeatedly discovers that the people with whom he converses do not live up to his idealized expectations of them. When he tries to strike up conversation with the black man in the suit on the bus, for example, he comes across as awkward and intrusive. Julian desperately wants to demonstrate that he can communicate and connect to blacks, but he finds himself unable to connect to other people on their own terms, particularly across racial lines. Julian seems to have no more understanding of African Americans than his bigoted mother, despite the liberal views he espouses. It becomes increasingly clear as the story progresses that he speaks of racial equality only to annoy his mother, not out of any compassion for black Americans. In fact, his irritation with his mothers outdated views may even reflect irritation with himself for being unable to connect with blacks or even engage in small talk with them. For him, African Americans are a class of people he doesnt understand, foreign enough that he fantasizes about bringing one or two of them home not as individuals but as trophies of his education and liberalism to be paraded in front of his mother. Julians unrealistic perception of blacks and racial equality, therefore, isolates him from reality. Julians Mother Julians mothers patronizing attitude toward blacks derives from fear and her dated perceptions of society and racial equality. Because of her upbringing, she has strict ideas about racial division, and her belief in segregation allows her to speak affectionately about her nurse, Caroline, while simultaneously believing that blacks were better off as slaves. In her mind, blacks should only be allowed to rise on their own side of the fence because full integration

poses a danger to the social order. At the same time, she adheres to the older social norms, which prompt her to give Carver a penny without understanding the racist and patronizing nature of the act. She functions as a model of old southern gentility, harboring racist attitudes while maintaining a strong sense of social decorum. Ironically, the climax of the story pushes Julians mother even further back into the past. After her apparent stroke, she becomes confused and disoriented, calling out for her father and her nurse, Caroline, both of whom are long dead, because she associates them with security and comfort.