EVERYTHING THAT RISES MUST CONVERGE by Flannery O'Connor! Race & Integration in the old South!

One of Flannery O'Connor's most powerful short stories. Here we have her penetrating view of integration (repeal of Jim Crow laws) in the south. We have two main characters, Julian and his mother, with opposing views on society in general and individual human dignity specifically.
Free audio of Everything That Rises must Converge • Estelle Parsons reads ...
0:00- Celebrating O'Connor's life and my fellow booktubers
1:36- Time, Place and Personages
4:54- the Conflict- embracing/resistant toward integration
6:36- Pride in midst of change
8:00- Seeking validation of viewpoint
10:30- Prejudice in Action
12:55- Julian's response
15:50- O'Connor sets the stage for a lesson
17:57- A perfect lesson, unseen
20:30- the final bad decision
22:15- Terrible speed of Grace. Universal Brotherhood.
24:37- Was Flannery O'Connor racist?
Others with me celebrating Flannery O'Connors life today! Check thier videos-
Hannah's Books- / hannahsbooks
Christy Luis - Dostoevsky in Space- / christyluisdostoevskyi...
CodeX Cantina- • Good Country People by...
#booktube #review #southerngothic

[@ami1649]

So glad I got to watch this video as it premiered :) This is definitely one of my favorite O'Connor stories (best channel name btw 😎) and love your presentation here. When I think about the question "was Flannery O'Connor racist?" I try to separate the author from her work. There might be some evidence that O'Connor held some unimpressive political views in her private life but I don't see any evidence of any bigotry whatsoever in her fiction, so I'm perfectly comfortable loving and sharing her fiction. For me, O'Connor is also a master of creating that feeling of cringe. I feel like Julian's perspective is also a little immature and the scene on the bus with Julian is fantasizing about talking politics/philosophy with the black man or marrying a black woman is *so* cringy to me, and of course that whole just builds up to that crazy explosive climax. Whenever I think about O'Connor's super shocking and dramatic endings, I think about the way she described this element of her style in one of her essays: "...to the hard of hearing you shout, and for the almost blind you draw large and startling figures." We're all a little hard of hearing.

[@EveryoneWhoReadsitMustConverse]

Yes, there is so much cringe-worthy things in this short story. One of the few stories where spirituality is not at least acutely present. All are lost here but, none more than Julian's mother. She pays the price for her living on the unconscious default settings she has identified with. O'Connor knew exactly what she is doing. Everyone is uncomfortable with the reading of this story and therefore more receptive to the climax! Yessss! Thank you Ami 😊

[@ChristyLuisDostoevskyinSpace]

She's the master of cringe! So true, haha.

[@lizd3548]

@@EveryoneWhoReadsitMustConverse Really? I am convinced that Julian is far more lost than his mother. Consider the fact that she was true to herself and not a hypocrite, like her son. Her mission was to raise her son, make sacrifices, hold her head up high, and speak well of her family. She fulfilled her goal as best as she could. There’s no evidence that she hated Blacks. In fact, quite the opposite. She spoke well of her Black maid and loved her for the closeness they shared. Julian’s mom didn’t want to see blacks used or hurt. She wanted them to rise on their own side, which was a reflection of her upbringing and what she was taught, not stemming from hatred. Julian on the other hand, only spoke and behaved towards Blacks with fake and contrived desires. He used the man on the bus and revealed the fantasy of a questionable Black wife only to piss ofc his mom. He has no Black friends and never did and likely detested his mother because he never reaped the rewards of a privileged life of wealth with Black servants. He doesn’t genuinely like Black people. He disrespects his mother with rudeness and harsh communication. He can’t even bear his mother giving a child a coin which was a common gesture given to children of any race during that era. Julian is lost and finds his revelation when he realizes his mother is dead.

[@lilliannieswender266]

Hi Noah. Flannery O'Connor was a genius of the first magnitude. Her stories make me laugh, cry, and every emotion in between. A story I love about O'Connor is that when she was failing her high school sewing class, she made a tuxedo for her pet duck, brought him to school in it, and recieved a passing grade. This was a great discussion. Have a good week.

[@EveryoneWhoReadsitMustConverse]

Thanks Lillian! Hope you are doing well. What a strong-minded, enigmatic woman she was. Love it!

[@Starscreamlive]

I needed a palate cleanser from David Foster Wallace, so I decided to finally get around to this one. I was not disappointed! It's amazing that this is the second story I've read today that seems to have been at least somewhat inspired by Faulkner. Here we see the Old segregated Jim Crow South painfully fade away to make room for the rise of the New desegregated South, similar to Faulkner's antebellum Old South vs post war New South. It's amazing that this story is still relevant today, yet at the same time it's quite sad that this story is still relevant today. If this story were written in 2020, Julian's mother would have been much less vocal about it, but her heart would still be the same. We've come a long way down South since the days of Jim Crow, but there are times that I feel the current "silent" racism that goes on today can be much more dangerous than the vocal racism of the past.

[@EveryoneWhoReadsitMustConverse]

So true. O'Connor put it out there plainly here. Glad you enjoyed it because it is one of my favs by her. It is impossible not to see simular modes between Faulkner and her writing both being a product of the south at that time. Flannery said her favorite Falkner was 'As I lay dying' ugh!!

[@TheCodeXCantina]

I need to read this. That rise on "their side of the fense" feels like the gut punch I'm used to hearing from her. Thanks for sharing, Noah! Have you ever had a choice where you thought you knew what the right answer was but you didn't like it? I wish that New Yorker article had explored that a bit more. For sure I'd love to learn more about Flannery's views.

[@ChristyLuisDostoevskyinSpace]

Hannah does a great job talking about the article.

[@EveryoneWhoReadsitMustConverse]

@@ChristyLuisDostoevskyinSpace yeah she does! Omg, Hannah is so eloquent

[@EveryoneWhoReadsitMustConverse]

Of course! Always the toughest choice to make- what is right vs what feels "good" The comfort zone is the bane of personal growth and Flannery O'Connor knew it 😊

[@HannahsBooks]

@@EveryoneWhoReadsitMustConverse ​ @Christy Luis - Dostoevsky in Space Y'all are very kind. Thank you for letting me join in!

[@ChristyLuisDostoevskyinSpace]

SO GOOD! Great job walking us through it. I never actually understood the title of this one or that the two women were mirrors of each other. Thank you for sharing your thoughts about it with us!

[@EveryoneWhoReadsitMustConverse]

Yesss! Thank you Christy. This was a blast to do 😊

[@HannahsBooks]

Thank you so much, Noah, for this thoughtful discussion. I love how they mirror each other. How wonderful this whole celebration was!

[@EveryoneWhoReadsitMustConverse]

So fun! Glad to be part 😁

[@rickharsch8797]

Thanks--very nicely presented

[@TheCollidescopePodcast]

I knew the name of your channel was familiar! I've read Wiseblood and enjoyed it, as well as some stories of hers, although I'm not the biggest fan of southern gothic in general. Steve Moore, usually a gentle critic, called her a "racist religious nut", so I guess he's not too fond of her lol.

[@EveryoneWhoReadsitMustConverse]

Bwaaa! I am smiling through the pain...

[@pgfinna]

Couldn't help but notice the pathetic impotence of that "prejudice in action," That's usually the level it stays at until the person is in a position where their prejudice requires no effort to manifest itself. TLDR: it do be like that tho