Symbolism In Everything That Rises Must Converge

The notion of change surrounds human nature. Society changes as the people within it begin to learn and adopt innovative ideas. The creation of these ideas stem from the mind of the people and require society to accept the new change only if society changes their beliefs to do so. In Flannery O’Connor’s short story “Everything That Rises Must Converge,” O’Connor writes about one of the largest changes to every take place to American society: The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. O’Connor creates a story of a struggling young white family, torn apart by the transforming ideas of culture and racism. O’Connor makes use of explicit symbolism and well-developed characterization and diction to help her readers understand that social grace and skin

O’Connor makes use of key symbols in her short story “Everything That Rises Must Converge,” to promote the changing ideas of social class and racism seen in her main message within her story. One key symbol seen throughout the story is Ms. Chestny’s hat and attire, which she believed to be a status symbol of her racial grace and superiority throughout the story. O’Connor describes Ms. Chestny’s hat and outfit, writing “It was a hideous hat. A purple velvet flap came down on one side of it and stood up on the other; the rest of it was green and looked like a cushion with the stuffing out” (660), and that she was one of the few members of her class that showed up to the Y wearing a hat and gloves (660), in order to describe Ms. Chestny’s belief of social grace through fashion. As the story progresses, the reader begins to see the racial changes that took place during the civil rights movement and begin to understand the true meaning behind O’Connor’s symbolism. O’Connor writes about Julian and his mother’s experience on the bus with an African American mother, who walks on the bus with the same hat and fancy attire as Julian’s mother. O’Connor writes “The vision of the two hats, identical, broke upon him with the radiance of a brilliant sunrise. His face was suddenly lit with joy” (666), to describe Julian’s satisfaction to the fact that the African

After trying to give the penny to the young African American boy, Ms. Chestny is punched to the ground by the African American boy’s mother. O’Connor describes the scene, writing “He shut his eyes and cringed as he heard the woman shout, ‘He don’t take nobody’s pennies!’ When he opened his eyes, the woman was disappearing down the street with the little boy staring wide-eyed over his shoulder” (668), using the penny as a symbol that promotes further change away from racism and social grace as the African American woman refuses the penny to be given to her child. By using the penny as a symbol, O’Connor can effectively portray the changing American society during the civil rights movement, as social grace and skin color no longer support one’s successfulness through