A Mother's Influence: Flannery O'Connor's Exposure of Southern Prejudice in "Everything That Rises Must Converge"

A Mother's Influence:

Flannery O'Connor's Exposure of Southern Prejudice in "Everything That Rises Must Converge"

J.M. Rogers

. . .

 

         How can a person ever know the origins of their own bias? Indeed, it seems impossible for someone to establish the depths of their personal beliefs without a strong consideration of the past and the people that contributed to their present. Taking place during a time of great social unrest in the American South, "Everything That Rises Must Converge", is an eye-opening glimpse into the nuances of those influences, painting a vivid portrait of white prejudice during the 1960's. With a psychological lens, the details of this personal cohesion can be gleaned from various elements within the story, including: irony, word usage, and adjective placement. But perhaps most important are the elements of mental symmetry in the character arcs of the protagonist and antagonist.  By focusing on Flannery O'Connor's portrayals of the embattled college graduate, Julian, and his well-to-do mother, it is possible to get a glimpse into the antiquated racial views of past generations and the influence those views held over future generations.

         This story unfolds through the opinionated perspective of Julian. It is over his shoulder that the reader experiences the social dynamics of O'Connor's world, with much of the attention being focused on thoughts about his mother's prejudice disposition. Through this obsessive attention to detail a solid vision of the severity of his mother's racism is formed, as well as a glimpse into his own. "Prejudice develops in part from the existence of patterns of segregation and discrimination in the school and community, and in part from the personality of the individuals involved" (Jefferson 145). As a mother and son the lines of bias and personal influence become blurred between the two at multiple times throughout the story. It is difficult to discern where Julian has acquired his perspective on racial inequality. His mother states that he has gone to school, but Julian does not discuss the topic or any positive racial influence he may have intercepted at his time there. This leaves the reader to wonder at the authenticity of many Julian's impassioned claims against his mother's prejudice as he struggles with an apparent and limited perception of the issue.

         Upon departing to catch the bus, Julian and his mother walk through their neighborhood and bicker about the relevance of past prestige over the importance of being present minded. His mother defends her preference for the past with a laundry list of bygone family associations. When Julian asserts that the past is inconsequential, his mother reaffirms her stance: “‘You remain what you are,” she said. “Your great-grandfather had a plantation and two hundred slaves” (O’Connor 570). This admission shows the very clear line of thinking that propels her antiquated motivations while also rebuking Julian’s self-proclaimed progressivism. When Julian realizes the racially charge direction the conversation is taking he attempts to usher it forward with an apathetic disregard, asking her multiple times to just, “skip it” (O’Connor 570). Julian no doubt feels that he is superior to his mother because of the demeaning way in which she views the black community. But, even before he steps foot out of their neighborhood a more conflicted reality begins to show.

         While he fantasizes about his great-grandfather’s old estate, the reader is afforded their first glimpse into Julian's habitual objectification. "He had seen it once when he was a child before it had been sold. The double stairways had rotted and been torn down. Negroes were living in it, but it remained in his mind as his mother had known it" (O’Connor 571). The inclusion of the word "but" conveys a feeling of exception to the reader and more importantly to Julian himself who ultimately interprets the presence of African American tenants as merely another aspect of the manor’s degradation. It is a subtle statement but a powerful one, and it serves as an example of the type of connection and unseen influence that parents have with their children.

         Julian's paradoxical perspective is always informed by his mother's actions, neither fully aware of the feelings their actions invoke. His mother chimes happily that she “‘remember[s] the old darky who was [her] nurse, Caroline” (571). Oblivious to her own hypocrisy she then asserts that she, “always had a great respect for [her] colored friends," (O’Connor 571). Her imperviousness to the progression of society is her damnation, and yet somehow her most enduring quality as her character is able to court the topic of race with an almost flippant air. It is as if she feels entitled to her bad behavior ,and as such, Julian shows traces of that trait with his incessant pouting and antagonizing.

         Julian subverts much of the dissatisfaction for his mother’s manner throughout the story, only able to express himself in pithy jibes that lack real depth.  As such, there is never a clear window into his virtues, only into his biases. Julian's own prejudices, while of a different variety, bear the overbearing impression of the relationship he and his mother have shared. This is illustrated perfectly with Julian's attention to the Negro (as he formally and repeatedly refers to them) who first boards the bus. Julian, in hopes of making his mother uncomfortable, sits next to the man. “‘From this position, he looked serenely across at his mother. Her face had turned an angry red. He stared at her, making his eyes the eyes of a stranger. He felt his tension suddenly lift as if he had openly declared war on her” (O’Connor 573). This shows the shallow manner in which Julian understands prejudice, seeking to punish his mother’s racism by perpetuating its divisiveness with his actions.

         The reader can easily sense Julian’s immaturity concerning the topic of race. He views Negroes as objects to hurl at his mother’s insulting viewpoints.  While in route to the, Y, he recants failed attempts of befriending Negroes that had looked like "professors or ministers or lawyers” unaware of the implications of his own standards. Frequently he uses qualifying adjectives like, “professional", “distinguished", and "better types" when referring to African Americans, adding an unnecessary condition to their social status in hopes of affecting his mother more soundly (O’Connor 574, 575).  As such, Julian’s regard toward African Americans is less about understanding the dynamic of their individual personalities or their social plight and more about utilizing them to garner his mother’s undivided attention. He sums this fact up by imagining himself in an interracial union to serve as the ultimate torment to his mother. “There is nothing you can do about it. This is the woman I’ve chosen. She’s intelligent, dignified, even good” (O’Connor 575).  Julian uses the words “even good" to describe the imaginary female, conjuring shades of his mother’s absent-minded observations immediately to the forefront.

         Julian's obsession with his mother's degrading behavior is only balanced by his commitment to convincing himself that he is not like her. Undercurrents of the truth flow throughout, "Everything That Rises Must Converge", lending a tangible depth to the conflict that Julian perceives between himself and his mother. Julian can only watch in dismay as his mother plays with the Carver, setting aside her own outdated beliefs to simply enjoy the child’s company."I think he likes me," Julian's mother said, and smiled at the woman. It was the smile she used when being particularly gracious to an inferior" (O’Connor 576). Julian is only able to see the negative aspects of his mother's actions even when those actions imply the eventual acceptance of future generations of African Americans. Because Julian cannot accept his mother finding redemption in any form, he is constantly forced to diagnose the prejudice aspects of her actions. This severely limits his point of view toward world and his own personal development as he obsesses over the actions of his predecessor and not his own. 

         Racial prejudice is not relegated to one generation. The terms and social graces may change, but beneath the niceties there often lays an inadequate understanding of diversity. Despite Julian's notion that the past has no bearing on the present, Flannery O’Connor uses his actions to depict the subtle way in which bias can seep into a person. Upon the first reading of “Everything That Rises Must Converge”, the stark contrasts between Julian and his mother’s personalities leap off the page, but after the text has been scrutinized the quiet truth is revealed. The two are on opposite sides of the same coin. Both are ignorant to the needs of their ailing society, and in so being, both are doomed to repeatedly inform the world of its own ignorance in such matters.

        

 

        

 

        

Works Cited:

O'Conner, Flannery, The Norton Introduction to Literature. 11thth ed. New York: W.W.Norton & Company, 2013. 568-79. Print.

Jefferson, Ruth B. "Some Obstacles to Racial Integration." The Journal of Negro Education 26.2 (1957): 145. JSTOR. Web. 4 Feb. 2015. <http://www.jstor.org.db18.linccweb.org/stable/2293340>.