Introduction
A short story collection “Everything that Rises Must Converge” is written by Flannery O’Connor, an outstanding and well known writer. The book is considered to be a special one and combines philosophical and social issues; it is necessary to underline the fact that it was written during the author’s final illness that is why it reflects inner troubles and worrying of her personality. The collection can be referred to the most due to the bright depiction of problematic mother-son relationships making the story moral and literary genius.
Discussion
The collection under analysis is the reflection of author’s abilities to disclose human weaknesses and describe the most significant moral questions faced in usual life situations. A number of typical misunderstandings between the mother and her son closely interact with the theme of racial discrimination. O’Connor managed to show that the mother of Julian is prejudiced against people of Afro America origin and feels envy and rudeness to them. Taking a closer look on the short stories of author’s collection one can notice that the characters, mother and son, are opposed to each other in a way. Julian feels superiority because of his positive perception of black society. He believes that it is necessary to provide “a lesson” for his mother in order to make her change her mind and relation to black nation.
“The vision of the two hats, identical, broke upon him with the radiance of a brilliant sunrise. His face was suddenly lit with joy. He could not believe that Fate had thrust upon his mother such a lesson.” (O’Connor, 17)
It is a tragedy of the family; the example of conflict atmosphere which leads to the great losses and even the death. The theme of the story appeared to reflect the problems of life, the problem of parents and children relationships and their constant misunderstandings. It should be noted that Julian’s desire to teach and change his mother turned to be the real tragedy for him. His mother does not want to see Julian any more horrifying the boy. The author shows that the entire situation leads to possible death of Julian’s mother allowing him to understand his true love to the closest person in the world and realize the tragedy he suffers.
“”Help, help!” he shouted, but his voice was thin, scarcely a thread of sound. The lights drifted farther away from the faster he ran and his feet moved numbly as if they carried him nowhere. The tide of darkness seemed to sweep him back to her, postponing from moment to moment his entry into the world of guilt and sorrow.” (O’Connor, 23)
It seems as if O’Connor tried to depict the message based on Christianity and its principles stating that one should not judge others otherwise he will be judged as well. Julian failed to express his true love for his mother; he was constantly judging her for this or that action and as a result lost her. O’Connor managed to show troublesome relationships explaining that only love and mutual understanding can lead to harmony and family stability. (Abrams, 2002)
Conclusion
The collection “Everything that Rises Must Converge” is considered to be of significant value for the literature world due to its urgency and expressiveness. The author managed to combine the aspects of racism and elements of religious domination within the society. It was shown that everything returns in life: judgments and reproaches. It is a tragedy of family life which is frequently observed in modern society because the problems of racial discrimination and child-parent relationships are considered to be centralized in modern generation. Thus, the book “Everything that Rises Must Converge” appeared to reflect the author’s feelings during her illness through the most problematic issues of humanity.
References
O’Connor, Flannery. Everything that Rises Must Converge. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 1965.
Abrams, David. O’Connor: Everything that Rises Must Converge. Maryland. 2002.