Everything that Rises Must Converge Analysis

Everything that Rises Must Converge
by Flannery O'Conner

"The further irony of all this was that in spite of her, he had turned out so well. In spite of going to only 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. He was not dominated by his mother"- pg.4

This quote perfectly sums up the mindset of the main character of this short story. He is a self righteous and hypocritical   young man  who seems to be  obsessed with proving him self to be superior to his  racist mother.  However what strikes the reader as odd is Julian's supposed misson to terrorize and make his mother uncomfortable. He doesn't just seem to  want to separate himself from her emotionally in order to view her unbiased as the quote would imply. Rather is seems he is on a misson to cause her emotional pain and discomfort. Almost as if he is seeking vengeance on her for behaving and thinking the way she does.  For example  in the story Julian states outright " everything that gave her pleasure was small and depressed him". One would expect never expect a son to this about his mother. Rather the hateful sentiment expressed in the quote would more likely be exchanged between two enemies. 

       Yet what is even more puzzling is his reasonings behind why  he is so resentful of his mother. He claims that she is blinded by her love for him and she was happy to sacrifice herself in order to grant him an education. Yet his mother's selfless actions does not  inspire an out pouring of  love and gratitude. Rather he says "The law of it was to sacrifice herself for him after she had first created the necessity to do so by making a mess of things. If he had permitted her sacrifices, it was only because her lack of foresight had made them necessary". In this quote  its almost as if he blames  his mother for her creating a situation  in which she would have to sacrifice herself for him and in turn he would be forever indebted to her. The Julian goes on to state  that  "All of her life had been a struggle to act like a Chestny and to give him everything she thought a Chestny ought to have without the goods a Chestny ought to have;  but since, said she, it was fun to struggle, why complain? And when you had won, as she had won, what fun to look back on the hard times! He could not forgive her that she had enjoyed the struggle and that she thought she had won." Now it seems as if  main character is angry his mother being happy to sacrifice herself for him and has warped their mother-son relationship into a competition where he should always be the victor. However  the great irony is that the reasons why he feels he should be considered superior to his mother  are completely hypocritical. Just as how his mother is a racist, he follows suit when referred to the african american man on the bus as a " a better type-negro". Almost as if he was talking about a separate  species, not another man . Yet through his all his self righteous  efforts to break his mother's spirit never does he consider the far reaching consequences of his actions. This was a lesson he learned the hard way after he unknowingly  continued to torment his mother while she had a heart attack.