Everything That Rises Must Converge

Today I read Flannery O’Conner’s “Everything That Rises Must Converge.” The title itself in this short story has meaning. “Everything That Rises Must Converge,” is about a mother and her son, Julian. The mother is forced to take part in a reducing class at the downtown Y, due to her high blood pressure. However, because of the recently racially integrated bus system, she forces her son to ride with her. Throughout the story, the setting mainly takes place on this bus. As they make their way downtown, you can see the tensions rise between the mother and son when black men and woman board the bus. The mother discovers the black woman, whom boarded with the small child, is wearing the same hat as her. She tried not to think about that and instead focused on the cuteness of the little black boy. When Julian and his mother got off the bus at their designated stop, the black woman and her son followed. Julian’s mother was adamant to give the little black child a nickel. In her attempt to hand the child the coin, she found herself lying sprawled out on the sidewalk. A few moments later, she was dead. Through the exposure of the human weakness portrayed, O’Conner creates a message for the readers. Well known for her representation of Roman Catholicism, O’Conner attempts to reveal and uncover the sinful nature of humanity that goes unnoticed in the modern, secular world to her readers.