Comparative Essay Flannery Everything That Rises Must Converge andA Good Man Is Hard To Find

Frailty of the Human Psyche Explored by Flannery O'Connor

Flannery O'Connor's stories remain popular because she creates colorful characters that help her drive her points home. In many ways, O'Connor delivers readers a different reality, which allows them to look upon characters in a different way, thus forcing them to look at humanity in a different way as well. In "A Good Man is Hard to Find" and "Everything that Rises Must Converge," O'Connor presents extreme realities with extraordinary characters. Grandma, The Misfit, Julian and his mother appear to be one kind of person but in truth, they are different from these facades. They believe they are one way but readers see them as something else. The reader in these cases is the silent observer and O'Connor uses this situation well because this is how we are in many situations in everyday life. We simply watch others as they interact and this provides a clear picture of what is going on. Because of the utter blindness to self and unsightly behavior, "Everything that Rises Must Converge" emerges as superior.

People are blind to many things but nothing beats how people can lie to themselves about how they actually are. In "A Good Man is Hard to Find," O'Connor demonstrates with Grandma and The Misfit how people are not what they seem to be. O'Connor contrasts overbearing Grandma and The Misfit to show how these two outwardly different people are alike. Grandma is not intrinsically evil but she is controlling and pompous. While she comes amazingly close to figuring out what is wrong with what her personal beliefs, she does not quite get there and this makes her incredulous. She proclaims that she would never take her children in any direction of danger but she not only leads her children there but her grandchildren as well. She does not think ahead; she is convinced that age makes her wiser. In reality, she is selfish and, because she is old, feels she deserves to get her way. She is an eye-opening contrast to The Misfit but not in the wy readers might think upon first glance. When Grandma and The Misfit converse, their similarities emerge. They are both equally unyielding and willful. In her defense, Grandma tries to talk to The Misfit about religion but he tells her Jesus messed everything up. He says, "Jesus thrown everything off balance . . . It's nothing for you to do but enjoy the few minutes you got left the best way you can -- by killing somebody of burning down his house or doing some other meanness to him. No pleasure but meanness" (O'Connor A Good Man is Hard to Find 1088). This scene reveals the evil side of The Misfit but it one thing readers remember about this story is how the Grandma cannot stay quiet. The Misfit is evil, no doubt, but he feels justified and feels no desire to change his behavior. There is no reasoning with some people and Grandma could not accept this. She believed in her version of the truth as much as The Misfit did. She sees herself as some kind of human savior but she is far from it because she cannot stop meddling. There is not always a happy ending and these two people demonstrate why some happy endings are simply impossible.

In "Everything that Rises Must Converge," O'Connor presents us with characters that are not what they seem and the amazing thing about them is how blind they are to their true selves. Julian's mother is prejudice despite what she thinks. She tells her son, "I've always had a great respect for my colored friends" (1093.) When an African-American gets on the bus, she says, "Now you see why I won't ride these buses by myself" (1096). Here, we see her racism. Furthermore, Julian is as racist as his mother is. When he believes he "could not forgive" (1095) her because she "enjoyed the struggle and that she thought she had won" (1095). He also bleieves he has an excellent education and an open mind, "free of prejudice and unafraid to face facts," and was not emotionally attached to his mother (1095). The truth is he judged people by their skin color and the clothes they wore. We read "tried to strike up an acquaintance on the bus with some of the better types" (1097) and started talking with a "distinuished-looking dark brown man" who, disappointingly, turned out to be an undertaker. Julian inherited his mother's racism but the sad thing is that she did not know she passed this behavior down to him and he did not realize he had inherited it. Honesty becomes an important theme in "Everything that Rises Must Converge." Race is the primary motivation in with the author focusing on social inequality in the politically volatile South. By turning attention to Julian and his mother, O'Connor successfully points out the depth of racism. When she offers the little boy a penny, she is demonstrating a racist theology, though she would deny it at all costs. However, she puts the child in his place when she does this and this patronization is clear to everyone but her. Julian is correct in telling her that "the old world is gone. The old manners are obsolete and your graciousness is not worth a damn," but even in this moment of truth, he is still blind to his own shortcomings. Julian hates his mother for all she represents but he cannot live without her. He secretly despises her but he cannot break away from her. He is malcontent and cynical but feels morally superior to everyone he encounters. His duty is to enlighten the less fortunate around him but his hypocrisy ruins his efforts. In addition, he is a mother's boy because he cannot separate himself from her. he still lives with her even though he is old enough to have his own place and certainly wise enough to have any job he wants. His weakness is appalling.