Analysis Of Everything That Rises Must Converge By...

Flannery O Connor’s works are nothing short of extraordinary. They frequently step into the realm of the extreme to make a statement or prove a point. The result is that her messages are stark and vivid, and O Connor is able to make bold positions on controversial subjects. She achieves this effect through a number of means, which consist primarily of Christian symbolism, character foils, and literary irony. Combined, they create rich, intense environments in which radical events push and twist characters. As a result of this stress, the characters are defined more clearly. In many instances, they achieve a kind of self realization, and their revelations usually come with an ironic factor or consequence. O Connor’s stories, notably†¦show more content†¦Even though his mother is horrifically racist, Julian’s thoughts reveal to the reader that he is no better than she is. He even fantasizes about how he could terrify his mother by marrying a black women. O Connor writes, â€Å"Instead, he approached the ultimate horror. He brought home a beautiful suspiciously Negroid woman. Prepare yourself, he said,† (10). The lengths Julian goes to degrade his mother say more about him than they do about her. His criticism of her racism identifies him as a complete hypocrite. However, Julian, like many O Connor characters, experiences a sudden realization that stems from his flaws. Toward the end of the story, his mother attempts to give a coin to the child of a belligerent black women, who, not coincidentally, has the exact same absurd hat that his mother was wearing at the beginning of the story. He finds this hilarious, thinking, â€Å"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,† (11). David Leigh, who wrote an essay concerning O’Connor’s short fiction, comments on this particular relationship. He explains, â€Å"Only after he experiences the suffering of his mother, who has a stroke at the end of her conflict with a