Julian's Problem in Flannery O'Connor's Everything that Rises Must Converge

As with all of Flannery O'Connor's work, there is a religious undertone or overtone perhaps. "Everything That Rises Must Converge" is a story about Julian and his mother; his mother is old-fashioned, and he is "liberal" and "superior." In "Everything That Rises Must Converge," Julian's mother is clearly racist, bought up in the old ways, and dedicated to proving to herself and everyone else that she has status and is well bred. Julian, on the other hand, is not racist as a product of the Civil Rights Movement. However, Julian condemns his mother for her views and never looks inside himself to understand what kind of person he really is. This is why he will suffer deeply in the "world of guilt and sorrow." While defending people of other races and "loving" them, Julian has forgotten to love his own mother.

The narrator tells the reader right away that Julian is completely detached from his own mother. With statements like, "Everything that gave her pleasure was small and depressed him," (O'Connor) it is clear that there is no love lost. He numbs himself to everything about her, and sees himself as a saint because he is accompanying her on the bus. He tells the reader that he has turned out well in spite of her, not because of her.

"In spite of her, he had turned out so well. In spite of going to a third-rate college, he had, on his own initiative, come out with a first-rate education; in spite of growing up dominated by a small mind, he had ended up with a large one; in spite of all her foolish views, he was free of prejudice and unafraid to face facts. Most miraculous of all, instead of being blinded by love for her as she was for him, he had cut himself emotionally free of her and could see her with complete objectivity" (O'Connor).