Transformation in a Moment of Grace: Analysis of Flannery O'Connor

In her stories, "Everything That Rises Must Converge" and "Revelation," Flannery O'Connor presents her characters with what she calls a "moment of grace." This moment provides her characters with an opportunity to be transformed. Each character must decide how he or she will react to this moment. They can use the moment to make changes in their attitudes and their lives, or they can allow the moment to pass them by, and continue as they are.

In "Everything That Rises Must Converge," Julian sees himself as someone who knows who he is. He is disdainful of his mother because he believes she lives in the past. He treats her poorly because of her prejudice, and attempts to teach her lessons to improve her behavior in his eyes. The irony is that he tries to think of ways to present his mother with her "moment of grace," only to realize in the end that he is the one who needs it. He sees that she is condescending to others because she believes herself to be better than they, and so he is condescending to her because he sees himself to be better than her.

It seems that Julian is presented with multiple "moments of grace." Each time he sees some way to teach his mother a lesson, he also has the chance to learn a lesson. He doesn't realize that his attraction to black people is simply to upset his mother. He believes his tolerance of black people makes him better, yet his underlying reason for being tolerant overshadows his actions. If he had realized this sooner, he might not have pushed his mother so much. It was unlikely that would change her attitude anyway. In the end, after his mother is apparently suffering from a stroke, he finally realizes that his attitude needs to change. It was unfortunate that these circumstances were necessary to bring about "his entry into the world of guilt and sorrow."