Rises Must Converge by Flannery Term Paper

However, Julian is so negative and so disenchanted with his own lack of success and the world's indifference that he cannot hold on to this decent thought about his mother. He must replace it with rancor and anger. He hardens himself to love and affection, and he pays for it in the end. This passage is meaningful for a number of reasons. It shows how hard and negative people can become, and it shows the pain relationships can cause everyone involved. It is not always easy to get along with your parents, but sometimes you just have to stop and remember that they love you, no matter what they do, and you love them, no matter how they are sometimes. Julian cannot allow this love into his heart, and so, he can only see the negative aspects of his mother. When he shuts his heart against her and blames her for her prejudices and pettiness, he ultimately drives her over the edge of reason and sanity, and drives her to the stroke that strikes her down. This is a sad and depressing story, and this passage really sends the story into the downward spiral toward the ending. This passage speaks to me because I think everyone has been frustrated or embarrassed over their family before, but this story, and this passage, show what can happen if someone carries that frustration and anger too far.

Julian is really the tragic figure in this story, because he not only loses the only person who really loves him, he is the ultimate cause of that loss. His fear and his love come out at the end when he cries, "Darling, sweetheart, wait!' [...] 'Mamma, Mamma!'" (O'Conner 1961, p. 284). His fears, his childhood love, and even romantic love are all rolled into his cries when he realizes what has happened to his mother, and the passage where he wishes for her "permanent lesson" has become all too true. There is an old adage that says "be careful what you wish for, it might come true" and that is the ultimate lesson of this story and of the passage leading up to the end. The passage foreshadows sadness and doom, and Julian cannot recognize it until it is too late. It would seem that he would go back and change his thoughts and his mannerisms if he could, but now it is far too late. Julian has gotten his wish, his mother has her "permanent lesson," but now Julian realizes just what he has lost, and it is too late to change the hand of Fate.

In conclusion, this is a sad story that also illustrates some of the guilt that can follow family members through their lives. O'Conner says Julian has entered the "world of guilt and sorrow" (O'Conner 1961, p. 284), and that seems to be the case. This story was poignant, and the passage was meaningful because it seems that Julian had many opportunities to admit to himself that he loved his mother despite her faults, but he could not do it until it was too late. Therefore, the ultimate message in this story and the passage leading up to the end is that although we have our differences, the people in our lives that matter most are important, and we should let them know that we love.....