Transcript Everything That Rises Must Converge

Everything That Rises Must Converge
EXAMINING SOUTH GOTHIC ELEMENTS IN
FLANNERY O’CONNOR’S SHORT FICTION
Flannery O’Connor
Philosophy on Storytelling
“A story is a way to say
something that can’t be
said any other way,
and it takes every word
in the story to say what
the meaning is.”
About The Author
 Southern writer; born in Georgia in 1925, died 1964
 Southern Gothic writer (along with Harper Lee,
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Truman Capote, Tennessee Williams, etc.)
Devout Roman Catholic
Her work (2 novels and 32 short stories) centers largely
on issues of morality and ethics.
Battled lupus for much of her life; died at 39 years old.
Her final collection Everything That Rises Must Converge
was published posthumously (after her death)
Southern Gothic
 Employs the use of irony and the
“grotesque” to examine the values of the
American South.
 Uses the gothic tools not solely for the sake
of suspense but also for didacticism
 Seeks to explore social issues such as
racism, classism, and religious
hypocrisy in order to reveal the
cultural character of the American
South.
The Grotesque
 “Grotesque” refers to the comically or repulsively
ugly or distorted characters, events, or settings.
 Apparent in O’Connor’s characters, who are usually
morally flawed in some way that makes them “ugly”
 Also evident in the disturbing and often violent
things that happen to these characters
Irony
 Uses irony for didactic purposes; to teach
her characters lessons and reform
their thinking and behavior
 By the end of her stories, usually there is a
character who transforms as a result of
something painful and disturbing
 “Grace changes us and change is painful.”
 What the character knows is called into
question in an uncomfortable way.
About the Title
 The title Everything That Rises Must
Converge refers to a work by the French
philosopher Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
 "Remain true to yourself, but move ever upward
toward greater consciousness and greater love! At
the summit you will find yourselves united with all
those who, from every direction, have made the
same ascent. For everything that rises must
converge.”
Homework: Read, Annotate, Respond
 Read the remainder of the story, “Everything That
Rises Must Converge”
 Highlight/underline Southern Gothic elements
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Irony
The Grotesque
Write 1-2 paragraphs on O’Connor’s didactic message in
Everything that Rises Must Converge. What lesson is she trying
to teach her characters? How does she use Southern Gothic
elements (irony and the grotesque) to accomplish this?