Historically, literature has presented its readers with a dominant male gender and has produced an inferior female. "Everything that Rises Must Converge", by Flannery O'Connor is a perfect example of literature that exhibits the values and characteristics of the traditional woman. It exposes the common stereotypes associated with women and identifies with the tribulations of a struggling female in a setting where prejudices ran rampant. Its main character portrays every woman's desperate struggle to succeed and to achieve a sense of identity during a time of her life where the odds were stacked against her.
The main character, a lonely widow, is immediately portrayed to the reader as a woman with very little in life to be thankful for. She suffers from high blood pressure and poor health, while she has raised a son who shows no gratitude for the sacrifices she has made to provide him with a better lifestyle.
Together she and her son, Julian, live in a lowly apartment situated in a slum. Their bleak lifestyle is presented in the very beginning of this story to almost gain sympathy for this poor mother.
It is implied that the financial status of a family is solely dependent upon the dominant male figure of the household. Julian, who bears this burden alone because of his father's death is a recent graduate of college and does not make money. This family finds itself with a lack of income because Julian's mother plays the role of a traditional woman who is not successful in the realm of business. This traditional role of the female gender is also shown by this family's predecessors. Julian's grandparents and even great-grandparents were very well to do because of their land acquisitions and position in government. However, their wealth was credited to his grandfather...
"Everything That Rises Must Converge" by Flannery O'Connor
I'm soooo sorry. The title of this short story is "Everything that Rises Must Converge" by Flannery O'Connor, not Emily Dickinson.
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