a half. She kept saying, “Maybe I shouldn't have paid that for it. No, I shouldn't have. I'll take it off and return it tomorrow. I shouldn't have bought it.”

Julian raised his eyes to heaven. “Yes, you should have bought it,” he said. “Put it on

and let's go.” It was a hideous hat." This quote talking about the hat is irrelevant toward the rest of the text. However this quote in particular shows the reader who the characters are with dialogue. This shows that the Mom is indecisive and Julian is impatient and irritated. This is helpful on page one so that the readers understand a part of the characters identity.

swept his arm jerkily out to indicate the neighborhood, which the growing darkness at

least made less dingy.

“You remain what you are,” she said. “Your great-grand-father had a plantation and

two hundred slaves.”

“There are no more slaves,” he said irritably. This part of the reading helps us understand that the mother is racist and is using her heritage in a sense that makes it feel like she is bragging almost. She uses this to show how well the rest of her family was and compared that to her son Julian. This shows the culture that she grew up with and how Julian was influenced by it.

art or politics or any subject that would be above the comprehension of those around

them, but the man remained entrenched behind his paper. He was either ignoring the

change of seating or had never noticed it. There was no way for Julian to convey his

sympathy." In this quote the word negro is used as if I understand how Julian feels towards African Americans. In any other passage they could simply say African American however in the text they specify the use of negro as if I'm reading from Julians perspective with his choice of words.

He thrust his face toward her and hissed, “True culture is in the mind, the mind,” he said,

and tapped his head, “the mind.” This quote is creative because The reader is able to visualize and understand that Julian is belittling his mother even though it does not say that. The reader is able to understand the creativity presented by the author and the reader is able to percieve this creativity.

face was fiercely distorted. One eye, large and staring, moved slightly to the left as if it

had become unmoored." Represents transformation. Throughout the passage both the mother and Julian argued yet here at the end when the mother died he is filled with sorrow and regret and a bit of guilt. This represents change with Julian showing the concept of transformation.

distinguished-looking dark brown man who had answered his questions with a sonorous

solemnity but who had turned out to be an undertaker. Another day he had sat down

beside a cigar-smoking Negro with a diamond ring on his finger, but after a few stilted

pleasantries, the Negro had rung the buzzer and risen, slipping two lottery tickets into

Julian's hand as he climbed over him to leave." This quote shows only one of many sentences showing how Julian describes the African Americans. The way the man is described shows Julians point of view on African Americans and can represent how people during that time felt towards African Americans.

fact my apartment couldn’t get no hotter.”

“It must get the afternoon sun, " his mother said. She sat forward and looked up and

down the bus. It was half filled. Everybody was white. “I see we have the bus to

ourselves,” she said. Julian cringed." The way the author makes people talk shows us how someones talking. Its almost as if I can understand how they are saying it. I also notice throughout dialogue at the end the author rights how the character spoke or if they had a reaction. For instance in this example the author wrote that Julian cringed. This helps the reader understand the characters emotion through communication.

I think this also ties to her perceptions of society and racial equality. This shapes her identity because identity can be shaped through beliefs, values, culture, society and life experiences.

“For a change,” said the woman across the aisle, the owner of the red and white canvas sandals. “I come on one the other day and they were thick as fleas - up front and all through.”' Flannery O'Conner includes this conversation between Julian's mother and another white woman on the bus to emphasize how single-minded some people were about the integration of black Americans, which influences how the rest of the story unfolds.

had become unmoored. The other remained fixed on him, raked his face again, found nothing and closed." Throughout the short story, Julian pushes back on his mother' and constantly talks back to her. O'Conner mentions that Julian's mother has high blood pressure and foreshadows her death multiple times before it actually happens. Julian's mother's blood pressure had been gradually rising while Julian was shaming her, and when the woman slapped her, it pushed her past her tipping point. O'Conner was very creative with Julian's mother's stroke death because it was unexpected and abrupt.

“Suppose we were half white. We would certainly have mixed feelings.” “I have mixed feelings now,” he groaned. This shows that Julian does not support his mother's discriminatory beliefs because he is getting annoyed about how she views African Americans. This results in Julian's perspective to differ from his mother's.

On page 9 where it says, “Oh little boy!” Julian's mother called and took a few quick steps and caught up with them just beyond the lamppost. “Here’s a bright new penny for you." When Julian's mother wants to give Carver a penny it symbolizes her patronizing attitude towards African Americans. This causes her to learn her "lesson" and change her beliefs that she refused to change growing up.

On page 10 where it says, "The old manners are obsolete and your graciousness is not worth a damn.” He thought bitterly of the house that had been lost for him. “You aren’t

who you think you are,” he said. Julian's aspects reflect on the way his mother raised him and who she is. This shows that representation is influenced by culture and identity by understanding what the author is trying to say.