Everything That Rises Must Converge

First published in New World Writing magazine in 1961, “Everything That Rises Must Converge” is the title story from Flannery O’Connor’s final collection of short stories. Hailed as one of the United States’ greatest writers, O’Connor is best known for her award-winning short fiction and her contributions to the genre of Southern Gothic literature. The collection Everything That Rises Must Converge was published posthumously in 1965. It contains nine stories, seven of which appeared previously in various publications. Three of these stories won the prestigious O. Henry Award for short fiction, and “Everything That Rises Must Converge” was O’Connor’s second O. Henry Award-winning story. It explores themes commonly found in the author’s work, including morality, race, and changes to Southern culture in the mid-20th century.

This guide refers to “Everything That Rises Must Converge” as it appears in the Library of America’s 1988 edition of Flannery O’Connor: Collected Works (Kindle edition).

Content Warning: “Everything That Rises Must Converge” contains instances of racism as well as the use of racist slurs, which are replicated in this guide only in direct quotations.

The story is set in an unnamed town in the American South during the civil rights movement, sometime in the 1950s or 1960s. The primary characters are Julian and his elderly mother, who clings to old-fashioned Southern ideals of manners, class, and graciousness despite their irrelevance in the changing world. Julian, a recent college graduate, lives with his mother and is financially dependent on her. However, he despises her racism, her classist attitude, and her inability to accept how the world has changed around her. Every Wednesday evening, Julian accompanies his mother to her weekly doctor-prescribed “reducing class” (184) at the YMCA. She refuses to ride the bus alone since they have been desegregated, and Julian escorts her out of resigned obligation.

The story opens on a Wednesday evening with Julian’s mother preparing to go out. She has recently bought a new hat, a purple and green velvet monstrosity, for the exorbitant price of $7.50. Looking in the mirror, she fusses with it, remarking on the price and debating whether or not she should have bought it. She decides that it was a mistake. She will return the hat the next day and use the money to pay the bills instead.

Exasperated, Julian reassures her that the ugly hat suits her and encourages her to leave the house. He steels himself to tolerate his mother on the journey, and the pair begin their walk to the bus stop. As they stroll through the once-affluent neighborhood, he tells his mother he will earn more money soon and fantasizes about moving to the country. She tells him that he is doing fine; he has only been out of school for a year, and it will take time to establish himself, especially with the state the world is in. She talks about the importance of their heritage: Julian’s great-grandfather owned a plantation with 200 enslaved people and was a governor.

Julian argues that none of that history matters anymore. Slavery is over, and he quickly tires of his mother’s segregationist commentary. She tries to lighten the mood and describes her grandfather’s plantation house and her childhood memories there with her Black nurse. Julian remains resentful. He is annoyed that he only got to see the family’s “decayed mansion” (186) once and feels he would have appreciated its splendor more than his mother, who has an “insensitivity” (187) about the poor neighborhoods they have lived in since.

While waiting for the bus, Julian’s frustration builds, and he removes his tie to bother his mother. She tells him he is embarrassing her. Julian puts his tie back on but argues that “true culture is in the mind” (187), not in appearances like his mother believes.

When the bus finally arrives, Julian’s mother starts a conversation with the other passengers, remarking first on the weather and then pointing out that all the passengers are white. The conversation shifts, and Julian’s mother tells the other passengers about her son. She brags that he has graduated college and hopes to be a writer but sells typewriters for the time being. Pretending to read a newspaper, Julian withdraws, insulating himself in a “mental bubble” (189) where he silently judges his mother.

Julian believes that his mother lives in a “fantasy world” (198) where she faces struggles of her own making. She creates situations that require sacrifices because she tries to live a life above her means, one in line with the affluence their family used to enjoy. Julian resents the pleasure she finds in this struggle, and he resents his mother’s belief that she has succeeded because her son is cultured and educated. However, Julian reflects that he has somehow turned out well “in spite of” (189) his mother’s influence; he is free of her prejudices and silly ideas.

The bus stops again, and a well-dressed Black man gets on. Julian moves to sit next to him, infuriating his mother. He imagines ways to engage the new passenger in conversation, hoping to antagonize his mother further. However, the best he can think of is to ask for a light, even though he doesn’t have a cigarette and is forced to awkwardly return the matches. Desperate to teach his mother a lesson, Julian imagines other possible scenarios like refusing to get off the bus when they reach their stop, making friends with “distinguished” (191) Black people, or even bringing home a Black girlfriend.

He is jolted from his fantasy when the bus stops again and a large Black woman gets on with her little boy. The woman sits next to him, and her child sits next to Julian’s mother. When Julian notices that the woman is wearing a green and purple hat identical to his mother’s, he is delighted, sure that this is the lesson his mother needs. He laughs to draw her attention to the hat, but his mother recovers quickly and seems amused by the coincidence.

The woman calls for her son, Carver, to sit next to her, but Julian’s mother, who finds all children adorable, compliments and plays with the boy. She smiles at him condescendingly, and Julian laments that the lesson of the hat has been lost on her. When the bus reaches the next stop, Julian, his mother, the woman, and her son all exit. However, Julian’s mother rummages in her purse, insisting she wants to give little Carver a nickel. Horrified, Julian tries to talk her out of the idea, but his mother will not be dissuaded. She chases the woman and her son down the street and presents the boy with a shiny new penny. Furious, Carver’s mother shouts, “He don’t take nobody’s pennies!” (195), and then knocks Julian’s mother to the ground.

Julian gathers his mother’s things and tries to help her up, but she remains immobile, sitting on the sidewalk. He asks what someone would think seeing her there, and she finally stands but starts toward home instead of her class at the YMCA. Following her, Julian wants to be sure she understands the lesson, so he explains that the old world she lives in no longer exists; her graciousness isn’t wanted, and she must face reality and live in the new world.

His mother continues to walk, seemingly oblivious to Julian and everything else around her. When he catches sight of her face, Julian finds his mother unrecognizable. He becomes alarmed when she asks for her grandfather or her childhood nurse, Caroline. She falls to the ground again, experiencing what could be a stroke or a heart attack. Julian sees her face distorted; one eye looks off to the side while the other fixes on his face before closing. Julian shouts for help and runs toward some faraway lights before returning to his mother’s side.