Flannery O’Connor often uses her stories to teach a lesson, and her short stories “Everything that Rises Must Converge” and “Good Country People” are no different. “Everything that Rises Must Converge” tells the story of Julian who is accompanying his mother on a bus ride to her YMCA class. Julian is disgusted by his mother’s beliefs and constantly tries to “teach her a lesson,” but everything goes badly when Julian’s actions drive her blood pressure so high that she has a heart attack and (presumably) dies on the street. In “Good Country People,” a young girl named Hulga feels as if she is above everyone in her family, and longs to leave them far behind, until a young “Bible salesman” named Manley Pointer visits her home in the country. Julian in Flannery O’Connor’s story “Everything that Rises Must
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Julian’s blindness mostly revolves around his ideas of colored people. When Julian and his mother are on the bus, O’Connor states that, “He had tried to strike up an acquaintance on the bus with some of the better types, with ones that looked like professors or ministers or lawyers” (O’Connor 283). This quote shows that while Julian might be accepting of black people, he only wishes to associate with those in the upper class. This is a very disillusioned view because very few colored people held such high professions during this time of integration (early 1960’s). Hulga’s blindness primarily focuses on her views of the people in her town. O’Connor makes this very clear when she describes that, “Joy [Hulga] had made it plain that if it had not been for this condition, she would be far from these red hills and good country people” (O’Connor 4). Hulga sees everyone in her town as being uneducated, so she believes she should not have to interact with them. This moral blindness is abundant in both characters, and stems from both internal and external
Julian’s blindness mostly revolves around his ideas of colored people. When Julian and his mother are on the bus, O’Connor states that, “He had tried to strike up an acquaintance on the bus with some of the better types, with ones that looked like professors or ministers or lawyers” (O’Connor 283). This quote shows that while Julian might be accepting of black people, he only wishes to associate with those in the upper class. This is a very disillusioned view because very few colored people held such high professions during this time of integration (early 1960’s). Hulga’s blindness primarily focuses on her views of the people in her town. O’Connor makes this very clear when she describes that, “Joy [Hulga] had made it plain that if it had not been for this condition, she would be far from these red hills and good country people” (O’Connor 4). Hulga sees everyone in her town as being uneducated, so she believes she should not have to interact with them. This moral blindness is abundant in both characters, and stems from both internal and external