In Flannery O’Connors’ “Everything That Rises Must Converge”, the character of Julian sees his mother as racist and narrow-minded due to her sheltered upbringing and lack of knowledge and education of the black struggle for equality. He feels that due to his education that he has a higher understanding of social structure and inequality that his mother lacks, and he loathes her for this reason. However, despite his higher education, he still depends on …showed first 75 words of 861 total…

…showed last 75 words of 861 total…failures and dependency, he discovers he truly loves his mother, he shouts, “Darling, sweetheart, wait!”(O’Connor 1091). He then enters a world of “guilt and sorrow”(O’Connor 1091). His previous thoughts that he had no emotional dependency on his mother, that he was superior to her, are shattered in his realization of his true self. His journey to self-identity is complete, and he must now care for at least his mother, but most importantly, himself.