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.