Analytical response d for the Enduring Chill

I would compare Asbury, from The Enduring Chill, to Julian, from Everything That Rises Must Converge. Both of them have similar qualities. Both of them are male writers who are struggling with their work. Both are very annoyed by their mothers and, borderline, dislike them. And both of them are completely shocked at the end of the story.

Asbury was trying to write a play about black people and a year prior to the story, he was at home and tried working with the black people his mom hired to find out what they are like. Nothing ever came of the play and his sister makes fun of him because he is an artist. Julian was a struggling writer who was selling typewriters to get by.

Asbury thought he was dieing and was angry at his mom the entire time he was with her. He would always tell her to not get a doctor and even though he was sick and needed it. At one point his mom questions him about whether he thinks she is going to let him die. For some reason he just likes to disagree with his mom. Julian also likes to annoy his mother. On the bus he sits across from the black man reading the newspaper and tries to start a conversation with him. His mom does not like black people and this angers her. He also takes joy in the look his mom has when the large black lady sits next to him. He says it is because it is like they switched kids, because the little black boy sat by Asbury’s mother.

At the end of the story, Asbury realized that he was not going to die. This was a complete shock to him because the entire story he thought he was going to die. He was so set on dieing that he had written a letter that took up two whole notebooks for his mother to read once he had died. He is depressed that he is not going to die, along with his shock. Julian is taking a lot of joy in the fact that his mom was taught a lesson by the black lady. She is very distraught, but he is pretty happy about it. Then she collapses on the way home. Now he is the one who is distraught. He is scared and worried about his mom. Seeing her collapse was a complete shock to him and it changed the way he viewed things.

Asbury and Julian are very similar characters. This is something that Flannery O’Connor does; many of the characters in her stories are similar. These are just some of the ways these two characters are similar.

Enduring Chill...

Evan: Hey, aren’t you Asbury?

Asbury: Yeah, what of it?

E: Oh, well I was wondering if we could sit and chat a bit…

A: Sure, as long as you don’t start talking about family.

E: Do you not like your family?

A: My family is…well they’re bothersome. My mother still treats me like I’m five. Every time we arrive at her house she insist on telling when to take my coat off, as if I couldn’t tell when it was getting too hot. My sister, she’s just as strange. Living with out mother, that ain’t normal. I mean, what and when is she going to do something with her life.

E: Are you familiar with O’Connor’s other short stories of “Good Country People” and “Everything That Rises Must Converge?”

A: As a matter of fact, those happen to be my favorites. Why do you ask?

E: It seems that she is trying to make a statement about college educations vs. “True” education. Joy, in “Good Country People,” went to college and was well educated, felt she was better than all of her country friends and family, but was still tricked by a simple bible salesman. Furthermore, Julian was more educated than most of the people he was around, but in the end, was just as simple minded and spiteful as his mother. What do you believe Flannery O’Connor’s view on education really is, since you are a prime example?

A: Well, I agree with your previous statements. O’Connor likes to use irony and deception to convey a flaw in society. Joy, someone who knew a lot and was regarded by many as intelligent, was therefore the most susceptible to the tricks and thievery of Mr. Pointer. Julian too was very smart and returned to his mother after college. He consistently acted out of spite and hatred for his mother and her ideals. All of her characters that return from college, and are therefore highly educated in comparison, are made to look like fools or hypocrites. She purposely makes them question themselves and feel a sense of remorse for thinking the way they did.

E: That was quite a statement about the other characters in her stories, but what about yourself, if I may ask?

A: Me? There’s a topic that I hate talking about. What specifically did you mean?

E: Well, what sort of comparisons can be drawn between you and these other characters and themes?

A: I HATE my mother. I spent my whole life trying to get away from her, but I find myself constantly drawn towards her and her flaws. She is a part of me, just as are my arms and legs. All of these other characters, like myself, desire independence and individuality. They yearn for freedom from their parental restraints and often seek that through knowledge, acting contrary to how their parents would want, and isolating themselves both emotionally and physically. I am included in this too. I separated myself from my mother through knowledge, disobedience, and separation from her in all aspects.

E: Thank you for this time, and I hope your future with your mother and others can be more fortuitous.

Analytical c for the Enduring Chill

The Enduring Chill is a short story by Flannery O'Connor. In this story Asbury returns to his family in the south. He returns because he thinks he is dying and has no money to continue living in the north. When he returns home he tells his mother he is dying and she won't believe him. In the end of the story, a doctor is able to find out why he is sick and is able to help cure the sickness.
I think that this is a good story if you are into stories with a deeper meaning. If you want to read a story with a thick plot and adventure, this is not the story for you. The story has a many different themes that are represented in all of O'Connor's other works. She writes to criticize things she doesn't like, and represent thinks she believes in. She has a lot of Christian themes and doesn't seem to like people who have a higher form of education.
After reading other stories by O'Connor, I really enjoyed reading this story. To truly understand her and all her works, you must read more then one of her stories. If you read more then one you will be able to identify continuing themes and character types. The story lines might not be the greatest you have ever read, but the deeper meanings are some of the best. The meanings might be hard to identify, but there are in all of her stories. Overall this was a good story with a strong meaning behind it.

Good Country People Grace

One moment of grace in the Story is when Hulga first meets Manley. She is always angry and upset and trying to upset other people, but feels a connection with Manley. He says that he has a heart condition and she thinks that they share that condition. She blurts out that he can stay for dinner. This is very different from her normal personality. She normally would pay no attention to him or even force him to leave. After she says it, she regrets it though. This is because of her personality. She tries to be angry all of the time; she does not understand why she would say something like that. This takes away from the moment, but is still a moment of grace none-the-less because she starts to change.

Another moment of grace is when Manley takes her leg and leaves. Hulga thought she knew so much, but was outsmarted by a boy, which probably shocked her because she thought all boys were stupid. She said that she believed in nothing and when Manley is leaving he says that he has believed in nothing for his entire life. This is a complete shock to Hulga because everything she believed in was flipped. How could she be deceived by someone, so lacking in intelligence, compared to herself who was bright and believed in nothing? This was a moment of grace because she changes so much. She thought she was right no matter what and could do no wrong. She did not believe that someone could outsmart her, but Manley did and she had to change the way she thought about everything else.

Yet another moment of grace occurs when Mrs. Freeman comments on how simple Manley is. He seems like he is a very simple man and says that she could never be that simple. It is a moment of grace because Mrs. Freeman and Mrs. Hopewell think that Manley is just a simple man, but that is really not the case. He forces them to change their perspective on how they look at people being simple.

Manley is a vehicle of grace, even though he represents evil, because he forces many people to change. He makes Hulga change her thinking many times and changes the view of Mrs. Freeman because she thinks that he is very simple. Manley is a vehicle of grace in these ways.

Grace in a Story of Race Theological Response c

A moment of grace in the story is when the Black Lady hits the pocketbook out of Julian’s mom’s hand. Julian’s mom looks down to black people and was doing that when she was trying to give the little black boy a penny. The little boy’s mom was a strong woman and was not going to be looked down upon and hit the pocketbook out of her hand. This threw Julian’s mom for a loop. She was not expecting anything like that. She was so used to looking down and black people, be stood up to shock her and she took it very hard. It is a moment of grace because she had to change they way she thought for her entire life.

Another moment of grace is when Julian’s mom collapses. He spent the entire night trying to irritate his mother or think of ways to irritate her. He thought he was going to teach her a lesson because of they was she thinks about black people and the way she acts. He thought she learned her lesson when the Black Lady knocked her down, but she took it much harder than she had thought. She collapsed when while walking home and he regrets antagonizing her immediately. He had no idea she would take it this hard or that it would have this much of an effect on her. It is a moment of grace because Julian realizes that he was wrong for trying to force his beliefs on someone else.

One vehicle of grace is the Black Lady. Julian tries to use her to change his mother’s way of thinking, then she does it on her own. She did not want to be looked down upon and stood up for herself, which forced Julian’s mom to change her way of thinking. She finally realized the things were not like that used to be. That is why she is a vehicle of grace.

Another vehicle of grace is Julian’s mom. After the incident with the Black Lady, she is shocked and just wants to go home. She just starts walking and Julian pleads with her to take the bus, but she just keeps walking. She then collapses and this forces Julian to realize that he was wrong for trying to change his mom’s way of thinking. He is grief stricken and filled with sorrow after she collapses. That is why she is a vehicle of grace.

Artistic Response C--Poem

Ode to a Converging World

Civil Rights, times changing
Freedom Fights, roads converging

People live
People die
Times come, times go
But always, a Choice will follow
We can go along, that we know
Or shelter ourselves in darkened worlds.
What a foolish decision.
Only pain and suffering lives within
God grace must be let in.

Julian and mother relax
Going down a familiar road
Everything safe, everything kind
Things are good, things are fine
But subtle messages become defined.

The passengers stare, judge
Silently, openly
Watching and waiting.

Only one stands aside
But sadly
Does not abide
By his own set of morals
His actions defined by a simple quarrel
With his mother no less
God’s heaven bless.

For every action spites his mother
Little respect for one another
Disagreeing on simple matters
While all is splattered
On the windshield of God’s Grace.
Race, color, and sex matters little to God
For He can see what we cannot.

And in the end
Judgment pending
No more lies reside
In this strong woman’s mind
Let God’s Grace be served
As is deserved.

Creative Response c for Every Thing That Rises Must Converge

To Julian's Mother'
I heard of your recent events on they way to your class. I hope that this opened your eyes to what is going on in the world. Many things have changed, people play different roles in society. Minorities have a greater role, they are no longer lower class. They will not tolerate any more injustices. They fought to long and to hard for their rights. What you might thing is an act of kindness might no longer be acceptable.
Do not get me wrong, these changes are all for the best. Minorities are moving up and they are contributing greatly to society. They are enhancing everyday life. If we had not made changes certain things would be different. Professional sports would not be the same. Many major political leaders might not be in the position they are in now. They world has changed and it is thriving. You need to wake up and see what is going on around you. The world has changed, it is time you do the same.

Sincerely

Jack Shehan