Regal Imagery in Flannery O’Connor’s Everything That...

Regal Imagery in Flannery O’Connor’s Everything That Rises Must Converge Flannery O’Connor uses images of regality as represented by hats, colors, and ironic regal references in the short story â€Å"Everything That Rises Must Converge† to symbolize Julian’s mother, and her societal views. She, like the hat, is not as upper class as she would have herself or others believe. In addition, her racist beliefs are challenged when a black woman enters the bus with the very same hat, forcing her to realize that the regal attitude she holds will never be validated, and she will no longer be able to pretend that she is superior to anyone. The hat, which â€Å"looked like a cushion with the stuffing out,† resembles â€Å"the dumpy figure† of the mother. In†¦show more content†¦Although they do not have much money, the mother never allows herself to forget the high status of her old relatives: ‘â€Å"Your great-grandfather was a former governor of this state . . . Your grandfather was a prosperous landowner. Your grandmother was a Godhigh.†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Her family’s home, which was once a symbol of their prosperity, now had â€Å"worn rugs and faded draperies.† The home’s decrepit condition is comparable to the state that her family’s high stature is now in. In essence, the home as well as the old life which she is clinging to is now gone, and what is left is rotted stairways and â€Å"Negroes living in [the house].† Her behaviors throughout are very much like the actions a queen would take. The hat can be viewed as her crown: â€Å"She was holding herself very erect under the preposterous hat, wearing it like a banner of her imaginary dignity†