When reading about the situation in which Julian found himself in "Everything That Rises Must Converge," I was immediately reminded of a situation in which a childhood friend and neighbor found himself. While growing up, I lived in a suburban neighborhood, and a friend and classmate lived across the street from me. I noticed several signs that his parents harbored racist tendencies after a few Mexican families moved into the neighborhood. Among other instances, I witnessed his parents sitting on their front stoop and glaring at a Mexican man as he taught his daughter to ride a bicycle, and on other occasions retreating to their house if Mexican neighbors convened to chat or attempted conversation with them.
My friend and I rode the school bus together, and on one occasion when he boarded the bus angrily and I asked him what was wrong, he went on to tell me about his parents. He said they had been complaining again about the "Mexicans destroying the neighborhood." He could not understand why his parents felt such strong hatred towards Mexican people, and although we were only in middle school he said he looked forward to getting a job and moving away from his "stupid" parents.
I consider his situation to be quite remarkable, as too often parents pass negative beliefs, such as racism, to their children along with thoughts on things like politics and religion. I can only imagine the difficulty one would face by being so indebted to as well as having unconditional love for people although having witnessed and having to live with such an ugly part of them. I felt O"Connor described the feelings that result from such a situation very well, and although I am lucky to have never experienced the situation in which my neighbor and Julian were placed, I was moved by the descriptiveness with which O"Connor described feelings of spitefulness and resentment as well as feelings of unconditional love and guilt that result from such a circumstance.