Julian In Flannery O Connor's Everything That Rises Must Converge

In Flannery O’Connor’s “Everything That Rises Must Converge”, there is a major life change that brings the main characters, Julian and his mother, closer. Thesis: Julian and his mother, (her name, if there is one) have a better understanding of each other because of this major life change. In the beginning of the story, Julian’s mother refused to take the bus to her weight loss class because of integration. Julian’s mother didn’t like the idea of integration. She believed that “Blacks should be free to rise but should do so separately from whites” (citation). On page 336, she mentioned to Julian that her grandfather had owned a plantation with 200 slaves” (citation). Julian did not like the fact that she was always talking about slaves. He did not specifically have a problem with integration. He, in fact, sat next to a black person on the bus, even though his mother did not believe that it was the right thing to do. …show more content…
He judges his mother for her opinions. He believes that she lives in her own little world where she acts civil towards everyone, but she really is not. Despite his hatred for her, Julian has made sacrifices for her so he could get a good education. While they were on the bus, an African American in a suit got on. Julian thought of striking up conversation with him just to make his mother feel uncomfortable but didn’t. He instead asked for matches. Julian was instead going to ignore her as she got off of the bus, which would worry her, making her think he was not going to pick her up. Julian then remembered how he failed to get along with African Americans in the