Jill Manuel Independent Study: Southern Literature 10/05/2013 Wise Blood, Flannery OConnor

1. Flannery OConnor once said, I am interested in making a good case for distortion because I am coming to believe that it is the only way to make people see. What do you think she meant by this statement? How does the distortion in the novel help the reader to see more clearly? Flannery OConnor once wrote, With the hard of hearing you have to shout and for the blind you draw in large and startling pictures, (Brian Moore). I believe it is in this way that OConnor uses distortion. The characters in Wise Blood are so extravagant that the reader cannot relate to them on the surface. It is at the end, when redemption is achieved that we are able to see the absurdity and frightful similarities to ourselves. When we look at a characters like Haze Motes it is difficult to understand how they could, in any way, intended to be relative to the average reader. Haze Motes goes out of his way to escape from anything that would remotely tie him to his strict religious upbringing. He goes to extremes attempting to deny all that he is through cruelty, through first denying sin, then to insisting that it doesnt exist, and then to preaching against all that he was raised to believe in. By denying Christ and preaching the Church without Christ, Motes alienates all those around him and reflects the absurdity of nonbelief as suggested by OConnor, thus reinforcing all that he is trying to deny. It is my argument that OConnors purpose was to demonstrate her belief that redemption and peace can only be achieved through faith and the relinquishment of ones own struggle. By shocking the reader into feeling some sort of connection with the characters she is able to use this sort of distortion effectively.

Jill Manuel Independent Study: Southern Literature 10/05/2013 Wise Blood, Flannery OConnor

When Haze meets the patrolman near the end of the novel, I believe we have the pivotal moment of change for him. The patrolman has destroyed his platform for hate and ignorance by destroying the Essex. Haze no longer has a place to be, no place to go and no place to be from. He is now caught within his life and must find acceptance. He stops looking or seeking to disprove all that he has been denying, he finally achieves peace. In Wise Blood, OConnor drew a large and startling picture so that we could see the real picture of the novel; that there is no church without Christ and that it is only through faith in Him that peace and redemption can be acquired.

2. How do the characters names fit their personalities and behaviors?

Hazel Motes Hazel Motes who is frequently referred to as Haze, behaves in a way that makes the reader feel that he is searching for something. Haze goes out of his way to convince everyone else that he has all the answers. In fact, Haze cannot see what is right in front of him, personifying the definitions of his name; a state of mental obscurity or confusion, and a tiny piece of a substance. Another character in the book, Sabbath Hawks refers to Hazes eyes at one point saying that they dont look like they see what hes looking at but they keep on looking, thus personifying the authors intent that Haze is a character who is seeking that which he cannot see. (O'Connor 61) OConnor uses the character of Haze Motes to personify the absurdity of a lack of faith. By illustrating Hazes desire to be anything other than kind, loving or God fearing, OConnor is showing the reader just how impractical this is, and how necessary these elements are to

Jill Manuel Independent Study: Southern Literature 10/05/2013 Wise Blood, Flannery OConnor

happiness. Haze is a mean and unlovable character who is meant to be perceived as unredeemable. We see however, in the end that even the unredeemable may in fact be redeemed as no doubt was OConnors intent.

Enoch Emery - Enoch Emery is a teen-age boy who has been turned out by his father to make his way in the world. He is presented as somewhat simple minded and annoying. However, his character is perhaps the one of the most visibly starved for love and affection. He latches on to anyone or anything that can perhaps provide him with kindness. Enoch Emory is also the character where we first see the reference to wise blood which connects us to the biblical character of Enoch, who was so in tune with God that he ascended into heaven. Enoch Emerys wise blood is his compass, which he depends on for direction. His wise blood tells him to follow Hazel Motes, to refinish his gilded wash basin, to steal the mummified dwarf to be the new jesus and to seek something other than his solitary existence. In essence, this wise blood is Enochs intuition. The character of the loveless, misdirected, affection starved Enoch Emery is OConnors portrayal of a world where we are solitary, untouched and without God. We are to view Enoch as pitiful in order to see our own need for connection and love, which OConnor undoubtedly believes is through Jesus Christ. If we were to listen and follow our own wise blood, would we then be connected to God? OConnor further elaborates on the Enoch connection by having the character sort of disappear from the readers view, just as in the book of Enoch, Enoch goes to be with God without a human death.

Jill Manuel Independent Study: Southern Literature 10/05/2013 Wise Blood, Flannery OConnor

Asa Hawks Asa Hawks is the false prophet. Asa at one time announced to his congregation that he would blind himself as a commitment to his faith, but lost his nerve. His faith is disingenuous and he turns to a life of falsehood as a conman. He lives his life pretending to be blind and pretends to preach the love of Christ, in essence hawking his wares as his name implies. Asas attempts to save or redeem Hazel Motes only frustrate him and encourage Haze to found his Church without Christ.

Mrs. Flood Mrs. Flood was Hazes landlady. Her journey is nearly as profound as Hazel Motes. Mrs. Flood is caught up in her own form of disillusionment. She is content to service only herself, and others only when it benefits herself. It is through witnessing Hazes journey that she begins to see something beyond self-glorification. She latches onto Haze initially to gain control of his government checks. By observing him however, through his time as a preacher of the Church without Christ, to self-mutilation and blindness, she begins to see the need of companionship. Eventually, through Hazes death, she begins to see the need of her own journey towards salvation. In this way her name, Mrs. Flood, could be seen as a reference to the floods of Noah. The washing away of all that was evil or wrong and the emergence of a new world and new life.

Lilly Sabbath Hawks Lilly Sabbath is probably the most direct biblical reference in the book. The Lilly being indicative of purity and innocence and Sabbath to a day of rest as directed by God in the bible: Exodus 20:11: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it. Deuteronomy 5:15: And remember

Jill Manuel Independent Study: Southern Literature 10/05/2013 Wise Blood, Flannery OConnor

that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the Sabbath day. (BibleGateway.com).

Lilly is Hazes opportunity to seek refuge in God. Her presence establishes the opportunity to experience love and connectedness. Lilly Sabbath is indicative of the rest that can be found through the acceptance of Christ. By denying Lilly, he refuses the love of Christ. When Asa deserts Lilly, Haze is left with her, however not by choice and it is because of this forced relationship that he never truly experiences the peace and refuge that she represents. There is a segment in the story where Lilly also becomes a sort of Mary image for Haze. When Enoch bring the new jesus to her she perceives it and coddles it as a child. While this is not elaborated on in the book, I do think there is a reference here that is worth mentioning.

3. Why is the shrunken mummy an appropriate new jesus for the Church without Christ advocated by Hazel? The mummified remains of a dwarf personify the malformation of Hazes Church without Christ. A dwarf being a deformity, if you will, to the normal human body, something unnatural or mutated, identifies strongly with the unnatural formation of the Church without Christ. By using a dwarf, I believe OConnor is saying to the reader that this is something not whole, malformed, and unnatural to the true Body of Christ the

Jill Manuel Independent Study: Southern Literature 10/05/2013 Wise Blood, Flannery OConnor

Church. As we later see in the text, the body is empty, full of dust and debris. When Haze rejects the mummified dwarf as the new jesus and throws it against the wall, the head comes off, the trash and dust come out leaving only a skin, which Haze throws away. This personifies the content of the Church without Christ: it is empty of anything of worth, full of trash and dust, with nothing left but the outer shell. The fact that Haze rejects the new jesus indicates an indecision on his part. He is neither committed to life with Jesus, nor is he committed to a life without Him.

10. Flannery OConnor once described Wise Blood as a very hopeful book. What do you think she meant in her assessment of the story? Does the protagonist find salvation? Why or why not? To describe Wise Blood as a hopeful book requires, I believe, some insight. Upon first read, the characters are shallow and misdirected. It is difficult to see them as hopeful in any way. However, upon further analysis and deeper reading, the characters give off a sense of unhappiness that makes the reader desire change for them, some sort of light at the end of the tunnel. I believe that OConnor uses these dark characters to illustrate the desperation so often seen in modern society. By providing her characters with the opportunity for salvation, she is conveying hope to the reader, even if their salvation is not so obvious.

Among those that receive a not so obvious salvation is Lilly Sabbath. She is sent off to a detention home at the hands of the spiteful Mrs. Flood. This could be perceived as a punishment or as an opportunity at a new life. OConnor shows that even after the

Jill Manuel Independent Study: Southern Literature 10/05/2013 Wise Blood, Flannery OConnor

death of her mother, the desertion of her father, the meanness of Haze and the loss of the new jesus whom she saw as something to love, she is removed from a world of loss and degradation and given hope of a new beginning. In this way, OConnor touches the reader who has suffered, who has perhaps felt abandoned and unwanted, to say that there is redemption or salvation you too.

Another example is that of Enoch Emery. He is also removed from our line of vision by escaping into a new identity, just as the biblical Enoch is removed from the sight of man by ascending to heaven. Enoch Emery steals the ape costume and goes forward to find a new life. While his is certainly an unconventional means, could this also be a reference to evolution and a new beginning? Either way, Enoch does find a way out of the trappings of his life and to find a new way to move forward.

Hazel Motes, the protagonist, spends the entire book rejecting anyone who offers him the even the smallest kindness. It is as if he goes out of his way to anger, hurt or defy anyone who is not angry themselves. By finding redemption in the end, which I do believe he does, OConnor personifies the love of Christ who forgives all sins. Hazel Motes has committed them all; he has turned from Christ, committed fortification and lust, stolen and murdered, and yet, even he finds peace in the end.

By way of these types of characters, Wise Blood can be seen as hopeful if we care to look. It is not a text that is to be taken lightly as it has a profound message and I do not think that all readers would be open to the religious message of the book. However, I

Jill Manuel Independent Study: Southern Literature 10/05/2013 Wise Blood, Flannery OConnor

think that OConnor uses the dark imagery in her book to bring to mind the darkness of mankind and the potential for light amongst the darkness.

Jill Manuel Independent Study: Southern Literature 10/05/2013 Wise Blood, Flannery OConnor

Bibliography
BibleGateway.com. n.d. 10 October 2013. Brian Moore. "Making a Case for Distortion." 21 August 1988. O'Connor, Flannery. O'Connor Collected Works. New York: Library of America, 1988. Fifth Printing.