ankhmor
Oct 12, 2009
Book Reports / "Everything that rises must converge" and "A good man is hard to find" - compare [4]
Could you check if this essay makes sense. Spelling and grammar do not really matter as I will correct that later.
The assignment was to write an essay on "Everything that rises must converge" and "A good man is hard to find" by Flannery O'Connor. The thesis was not given.
It is human nature to have conflicts with others. The small conflicts are usually resolved without tragic aftermath, but sometimes they are not. A good example of that would be the two stories written by Flannery O'Connor: "A good man is hard to find" and "Everything that rises must converge". The two short stories have different plots at first glance; however they do have many similar traits. With close observation one could say that, the characters in the stories that failed to adapt to their environment and the outside world have ultimately caused the death of their loved ones.
Those characters are Julian from "Everything that rises must converge" and the grandmother from "A good man is hard to find". They both have a very important trait; when it comes to being egotistic they have clearly pass with flying colors. This is very easy to spot as both the grandmother and Julian have their own dirty agenda underlying their every action. The best example of Julian's selfishness would be when he attempts to talk to a black man on the bus. While he makes it look as if he is unprejudiced, in reality he is only trying to anger his mother. The grandmother's best example of egotism would be when she already given up hope of going to Tennessee. At that point she lies to the kids to use them as tools to get back at her son for not going to Florida and to at least see a small artifact from her past in a shape of a house.
The egoism expressed by the two characters is the cause of conflict in the short stories and its tragic resolution. If not for Julian's constant attempts to anger his mother, she would never have gotten a heart attack. And if not for the grandmother continuously trying go to Tennessee, which resulted in subconscious mistake of remembering a house to be in Florida when in reality it was in Tennessee, the family would not have been killed.
The selfishness alone is not responsible for the death at the conclusion of both short stories, however. It was the combination of inability of both Julian and the grandmother to let go of the past and their egotism. At the point of Julian's and grandmother's life captured in the stories their selfishness was caused by their attachment to the past. Julian's inability to let go is symbolized by the hat; although Julian pretends like he hates it, subconsciously he wants his mother to wear it. That's how it is when it comes to this past. Julian acts as if he does not approve the ways of his family and that he does not wish to be as rich as his ancestors, but the reader constantly finds him thinking of the family house, which is a symbol of the lost riches. And although Julian might not realize this, it is the reason for his bitterness towards his mother, which translates into his selfish acts that torment her. The symbol of the grandmother's past is the cat; the grandmother is unable to let go of the cat, taking it with her into the car. The cat later on springs into the driver's shoulder, which results in the car turning over indirectly causing the family to be shot by the criminals. It is easy to see how grandmother's need to revisit her younger years, causes family to turn the car around into the direction of a nonexistent house.
Examining the story deeply in detail creates some very interesting observations. It becomes clear, that what seems to be the cause of deaths in the short stories at first glance, in reality is only the aftermath of something bigger. As one goes deeper into the story, one could think the selfishness of Julian and the grandmother is the ultimate reason for the loss of life. However, if one goes even deeper, they would discover that the ultimate cause is the inability of Julian and the grandmother to let go of the past, which is symbolized by the hat in "Everything that rises must converge" and the cat in "A good man is hard to find".
Could you check if this essay makes sense. Spelling and grammar do not really matter as I will correct that later.
The assignment was to write an essay on "Everything that rises must converge" and "A good man is hard to find" by Flannery O'Connor. The thesis was not given.
It is human nature to have conflicts with others. The small conflicts are usually resolved without tragic aftermath, but sometimes they are not. A good example of that would be the two stories written by Flannery O'Connor: "A good man is hard to find" and "Everything that rises must converge". The two short stories have different plots at first glance; however they do have many similar traits. With close observation one could say that, the characters in the stories that failed to adapt to their environment and the outside world have ultimately caused the death of their loved ones.
Those characters are Julian from "Everything that rises must converge" and the grandmother from "A good man is hard to find". They both have a very important trait; when it comes to being egotistic they have clearly pass with flying colors. This is very easy to spot as both the grandmother and Julian have their own dirty agenda underlying their every action. The best example of Julian's selfishness would be when he attempts to talk to a black man on the bus. While he makes it look as if he is unprejudiced, in reality he is only trying to anger his mother. The grandmother's best example of egotism would be when she already given up hope of going to Tennessee. At that point she lies to the kids to use them as tools to get back at her son for not going to Florida and to at least see a small artifact from her past in a shape of a house.
The egoism expressed by the two characters is the cause of conflict in the short stories and its tragic resolution. If not for Julian's constant attempts to anger his mother, she would never have gotten a heart attack. And if not for the grandmother continuously trying go to Tennessee, which resulted in subconscious mistake of remembering a house to be in Florida when in reality it was in Tennessee, the family would not have been killed.
The selfishness alone is not responsible for the death at the conclusion of both short stories, however. It was the combination of inability of both Julian and the grandmother to let go of the past and their egotism. At the point of Julian's and grandmother's life captured in the stories their selfishness was caused by their attachment to the past. Julian's inability to let go is symbolized by the hat; although Julian pretends like he hates it, subconsciously he wants his mother to wear it. That's how it is when it comes to this past. Julian acts as if he does not approve the ways of his family and that he does not wish to be as rich as his ancestors, but the reader constantly finds him thinking of the family house, which is a symbol of the lost riches. And although Julian might not realize this, it is the reason for his bitterness towards his mother, which translates into his selfish acts that torment her. The symbol of the grandmother's past is the cat; the grandmother is unable to let go of the cat, taking it with her into the car. The cat later on springs into the driver's shoulder, which results in the car turning over indirectly causing the family to be shot by the criminals. It is easy to see how grandmother's need to revisit her younger years, causes family to turn the car around into the direction of a nonexistent house.
Examining the story deeply in detail creates some very interesting observations. It becomes clear, that what seems to be the cause of deaths in the short stories at first glance, in reality is only the aftermath of something bigger. As one goes deeper into the story, one could think the selfishness of Julian and the grandmother is the ultimate reason for the loss of life. However, if one goes even deeper, they would discover that the ultimate cause is the inability of Julian and the grandmother to let go of the past, which is symbolized by the hat in "Everything that rises must converge" and the cat in "A good man is hard to find".
