Everything Rises Must Converge By Flannery O’Connor

Author Born on March 25, 1925, in Savannah, Georgia, the only child raised in a devout Roman Catholic family

Historical Background At the turn of the twentieth century, a series of ‘‘Jim Crow’’ laws had been instituted throughout the South; these laws enforced segregation of public places. In fact, for the first half of the twentieth century, blacks and whites used separate facilities: parks, restaurants, clubs, restrooms, and transportation.

Historical Background In 1954 a landmark Supreme Court decision, Brown vs. Board of Education, deemed school segregation as inherently unequal. In the aftermath of this decision, African Americans won the right to share public transportation with whites in a number of Southern cities. In 1960 ‘‘sit- ins’’ at segregated lunch counters became a popular method of protesting against segregation. Such actions spurred the burgeoning Civil Rights Movement, which would lead to important social and legislative changes over the next decade.

Warm Up Activity When you disagree with your parents, how do you express your disagreement? Explain. Can you change your parents’ mind about something? If so, how? If no, why?

Round Robin Everyone must share his/her responses. No interruptions until everyone has shared.

Make Predictions Based on the title, what do you think the story is going to be about?

Round Robin Everyone must share his/her responses. No interruptions until everyone has shared.

Annotations Ask questions Make predictions Make comments Make connection to the characters

Class Discussion You must participate 4 times, asking questions or making comments.

Characterization: Character’s attitude, behavior, and appearance You will write two character analysis: one character analysis for Julian and another for his mother, Mrs. Chestny. Mark up passages that indicate character’s attitude, behavior, and appearance. Write a TEA paragraph, using at least two quotations to prove your point: What kind of person is Julian? What kind of person is Mrs. Chestny?

TEA with quotations Topic sentence 1st quotation Analysis 2nd quotation Concluding sentence

Compare/contrast Characters Compare and contrast Mrs. Chestny with the black mother. The black woman is Mrs. Chestny's doppelganger. Note what Julian says about the black woman's similarities to his own mother.

Analyze the race relations Look at how Mrs. Chestny reacts to the blacks on the bus and what she says about them. Then note how Julian reacts to blacks on the bus and what he thinks about them. Note how the blacks on the bus respond to Julian and Mrs. Chestny and what they think about the mother and son.

Themes Decide if O'Connor sides with Julian or Mrs. Chestny--or neither character- -why she does or doesn't side with them and if she passes judgment on them.

Write your thesis Freewrite, brainstorm, cluster Make sure that I approve your thesis before you start writing

Create Your Outline Thesis First Supporting Point What’s your evidence? Second Supporting Point Third Supporting Point

Introduction A hook or opener One sentence summary the story, with author and title. Your thesis Mslam.weebly.com

Body Paragraphs TEA paragraphs (one chunk) Add transitions If you are adding more evidence, use: in addition, also, moreover, furthermore

Conclusion Restate your thesis using different words Relate your thesis to the outside world.