In the introduction to Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor she states that the book is about freedom, free will, life and death. Protagonist Hazel Motes or ‘Haze’ for short, meets a blind preacher named Asa Hawks, a street walker, and his daughter Sabbath Lily. Hazel finds himself attracted to the new "Church Without Christ," and Asa Hawks takes Hazel as one of his own. While preaching, Haze learns that Asa is not actually blind, but only pretends to be. Beneath the chaos caused by this illogic, the book presents an interpretation of righteousness and morality that stems from and is explored vicariously through Asa Hawks. O'Connor, in her novel, not only shows that preachers conniving and money hungry, but also shows that they are often dishonest with their claims of righteousness in the way that they live their lives. Asa Hawks, the blind preacher, lives a dishonest life. He is well known as 'the blind …show more content…
preacher,' but he is not at all blind. During a conversation one night Haze asks Hawks: "If Jesus cured blind men, how come you don't get Him to cure you?” He was suggesting that if Jesus was really all that he was cracked up to be, why would he allow one of his believers to suffer through blindness? Haze then asks him about the scars on his face and he responds by handing him a newspaper that read that Hawks had promised to blind himself to justify his belief in Christ. Hawks’ daughter then shows Hazel a newspaper from ten years earlier, which says, Ashekun 2 "Evangelist Promises To Blind Self," and which explains that Hawks, had promised to blind himself in order to be “redeemed” by Christ. Sabbath Lily tells Haze that Hawks had blinded himself with lime, but she doesn’t mention to Hazel that what really happened was that Hawks had lost his nerve and never blinded himself. The lie seems to be a mockery of the actions that the deeply religious supposedly take. A deep faith should not have to be proven with physical mutilation. Worse than the fact that he seemingly blinded himself for the sake of Jesus is the fact that Asa Hawks actually failed to blind himself but lived his life as though he had anyway. After Haze leaves, Sabbath brings out another newspaper that reads, "Evangelist's nerve fails" the preacher's belief in Jesus evidently had failed him, but he was too ashamed to relate that to the rest of the world. He lives on with this dishonest life, telling people that he had blinded himself. Through these scenes the reader can begin to interpret the difference in Hawks’ true person and the person he portrays himself to be. Later in the novel, Haze, who supposedly does not believe in Jesus at all, decides to actually blind himself out of his interpretation of what he calls faith.
Hazel is drawn to Hawks, whose name seems to mock the fact that he is in fact blind. In an effort to demonstrate his rejection of both the necessity for redemption and the idea of sin that requires it, Hazel decides to seduce Sabbath, Asa Hawks’ daughter and his only aid as he preaches the joys of “redemption,” and on the following day, he seeks out Enoch to obtain Hawks’s address. His daughter, Sabbath Lily, is far from pure. She has a wild sex drive, using the aesthetic of purity and virginity to heighten her sexual desire. Asa encourages his daughter to seduce Hazel, and Hazel initially intends to reciprocate that, but despite their mutual attraction their "relationship" is not sought after. The depiction of Asa Hawks’ daughter is in direct correlation to him. It is well know that the apple doesn’t fall to far from the tree, and the dishonesty portrayed in his daughter is an accurate representation of
that. O'Connor indirectly creates Asa Hawks’ character of a mean benevolent man that lies to get what he wants through his interactions with other characters. Motes has taken a liking to them, which Ashekun 3 Hawks says is because of a repressed desire for religious salvation. Motes moves into the boarding house where Asa and Lily live, becomes fixated on the eerie Lily and begins spending time with her initially intending to seduce Lily in order to corrupt her spiritual “purity,” Motes discovers that she is in fact intending to seduce him. Now skeptical of her and Asa's entire ordeal, Motes slips into Hawks' room one night and finds him without his sunglasses on, with perfectly intact eyes, Hawks explained he had faltered when he had attempted to blind himself because his faith was not strong enough. With his secret found out, Asa flees town, leaving Lily to fend for herself. Angry, Motes begins shouting and declares that he will find his own, anti-God street preaching ministry. O’Connor utilizes indirect characterization above all other devices to define Hawks’ person through the people he associates with and his actions taken throughout the novel. Many of O'Connor's stories appear to be filled with unnecessary violence despite those characters who are granted a moment of sanity do so only at the cost of having their self-images destroyed. In Wise Blood, Hazel Motes seems trapped by his destiny to be religious which is often indirectly related this through Asa Hawks. Though Hazel denies that Jesus exists, He is driven to seek some form of redemption, unable to find it Haze then blinds and punishes himself until his death. O'Connor describes the necessity of belief in a higher power, as revealed the individual’s inability to approve that God exists. Hazel’s attempt to run away from God allows him to run into other individuals namely, Asa Hawks and transforms the novel from bizarre comedy to an intense and searching study of the everlasting issue of redemption.
Bad blood is a book that was written James H. Jones who is an associate professor of History. The book narrates on how the government through the department of Public Health service (PHS) authorized and financed a program that did not protect human values and rights. The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment which was conducted between 1932 and 1972 where four hundred illiterate and semi-illiterate black sharecroppers in Alabama recently diagnosed with syphilis were sampled for an experiment that was funded by the U.S Health Service to prove that the effect of untreated syphilis are different in blacks as opposed to whites. The blacks in Macon County, Alabama were turned into laboratory animals without their knowledge and the purpose of the experiment
Moving forward into chapter seventeen of Cormac McCarthy’s “Blood Meridian”, Glanton’s crew rode on as the Apaches they drank with held back, as they refused to ride through the night. The next night Glanton’s men made a fire and discussed what’s happened in their group, the members who’d been killed. Then brought up there possibly being life on other planets. The Judge immediately disagreed though and did a trick, as if that was being the proof to his point or something.
Rev. Barbee is blind but when he is giving his speech in front of the members of the school, it is
By far Flannery O’Conner story “Revelation” will be one of the most cherish Efictions shorts stories that shows peoples way of thinking of the 19th century. Ms.turpin, Claud , and ugly girl , seem unordinary people that stand out of the book and are common people we seem every day. For instance Ms.turpin was a two face women that will treat people differently just so they could have work harder. “When you got something “she said “you got to look after it.” (701). Not only is she not treating them like humans, she has this code of conduct if she shows them human manners they will believe they are equal. Ms. Turpin was still a nicer women then the others in book.
O'Connor writes of Motes's Christian childhood in chapter one of Wise Blood, in which Hazel associates his cramped berth on the train with memories of entrapment from his youth. Hazel thinks back to "the first coffin he had seen with someone in it," which belongs to his grand father: "His grandfather had been a circuit preacher, a waspish old man who had ridden over three counties with Jesus hidden in his head like a stinger. When it was time to bury him, they shut the top of his box down and he didn't make a move" (O'Connor 9). The grandfather is a powerful influence on Hazel, imprinting Hazel's consciousness with the image of a traveling evangelist who preaches from the nose of an automobile. O'Connor writes that Hazel "knew by the time he was twelve years old that he was going to be a preacher" (10); Hazel has not only a profession to pursue but also a prototype to model himself on. Hazel's associations of entrapment with Christianity and automobiles prove meaningful throughout the novel as he embarks upon his own career as a "preacher" and develops a r...
In All the Pretty Horses, Cormac McCarthy uses blood as a unifying concept allowing it to flow within the body of the text; the reader gets a sense that the novel is giving life to someone while simultaneously bringing upon its death. The reality of John Grady exists within the use of blood, connecting his life to the natural beauty and animals through which his character emerges. Blood is essential for the human race; we need it to live, once having bled we learn and if we lose it all, we die. Nonetheless, blood associates us to the world around us; its flow so similar to the flowing waters, its color so alive and “nothing can be proven except that it is made bleed.” (p.230)
In the short story “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver, the narrator, Bub, is as metaphorically blind as his guest, Robert, is literally blind. Bub has many unwarranted misconceptions about life, blind people in particular. He also has many insecurities that prevent him from getting too close to people. Through his interaction with Robert, Bub is able to open his mind and let go of his self-doubt for a moment and see the world in a different light.
Olivia Butler writes in the afterword of “Bloodchild” that it’s not a story of slavery, and evidence from close reading can be used to support this statement. Butler uses the human form as a vehicle for defamiliarization to show the mechanical functions readers serve themselves and others. Furthermore, this process is able to reveal their passive nature and ultimately highlight the human allowance for manipulation. She brings light to these behaviors by showing a lack of respect for human life, an unbalanced power relationship between the Tlic and the humans, and Gan’s stripped cognitive process.
“The blind are leading the blind”(44) This biblical allusion first appears in the Bible "Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch."(Matthew 15:14) Williams uses this allusion to show how Blanche is headed for a tragic road. Blanche relies on Stella ,her sister, to help try to rebuild her. Blanche is so lost that she needs someone to
Haze’s character is similar of many people who are raised in a religious household and feel as if God abandoned them. Additionally, the struggles that Haze encounters may relate back to modern society. Haze had one main goal throughout the majority of the story; he wanted to start up a Church without Christ, but he was unsuccessful for many reasons. The Essex, Haze’s beat up car, prevented him from doing many things in his life because it would constantly stall or stop working. The car is a symbol for the events that hold someone back from achieving their goals. Although, most people tend to blame obstacles for their lack of success, Haze believed his car would better him. The other characters in the story apply to many people as well. Haze met a “blind” preacher who supposedly blinded himself in the name of God. After finding out that the preacher lied about blinding himself, Haze became more frustrated with followers of a religion. The preacher was not strong enough in his faith to blind himself for it which angered Haze who felt that religion was seemingly unnecessary if it only revolved around blind followers. Some readers may be able to relate because they personally know blind followers of
As individuals we learn the most about ourselves through the collective compassion of family. Ironically the people who share the most in common with us through blood create the most unique experiences in our lives. Our strengths, weaknesses, and the dizzying nature of life are all stabilized by our bloodlines. In Pat Mora 's House of Houses the chaotic rhythmic motions of life are expressed through the detailed organization of nature and time inside of a whimsical Adobe house as the novel unfolds the stories of her ancestors.
Flannery O’Conner, a woman with lupus and a Southern Gothic novelist, wrote 31 stories all in which each protagonist fights their own battle with the balance between intelligence and faith. The concept is conceptually developed within the two texts Good Country People and The Lame Shall Enter First through the use of character relations and the idea of broken prophets.
The husband in Raymond Carvers “Cathedral” wasn’t enthusiastic about his wife’s old friend, whom was a blind man coming over to spend the night with them. His wife had kept in touch with the blind man since she worked for him in Seattle years ago. He didn’t know the blind man; he only heard tapes and stories about him. The man being blind bothered him, “My idea of blindness came from the movies. In the movies, the blind moved slowly and never laughed. Sometimes they were led by seeing-eye dogs. A blind man in my house was not something I looked forward to. (Carver 137)” The husband doesn’t suspect his ideas of blind people to be anything else. The husband is already judging what the blind man will be like without even getting to actually know him. It seems he has judged too soon as his ideas of the blind man change and he gets a better understanding of not only the blind man, but his self as well.
Through a blind man, both the reader and the narrator of Cathedral discover how merely looking with your eyes and really seeing are two very different things. The blind man, Robert, though not able to physically see, has a more detailed and more understanding view of the world than the narrator does. This narrator, whom we know only as the nameless husband, views life in a shallow, superficial way. As the story goes on, it becomes clear who has the more comprehensive vision of life and of the world. Before Robert even arrives at the house, it is easy to tell that the husband is an incredibly prejudiced man.
After reading “Everything That Rises Must Converge” by Flannery O’ Connor, I have put together a brief summary. Julian mother needs to attend a weekly class at the Y. This class is for reducing weight and his mother needs to lose 20 pounds on account of her blood pressure. Julian takes his mother to the Y by taking the bus. He feels as if his mother shouldn’t depend on him. Yet, his mother has given up a lot for him. She gave up her lifestyle, her dental/health, and her intelligence. In order for her son to have a good education (which she paid for), for him to have straight healthy teeth, and for him to have a better life. One day, before heading to the Y, his mother pulled out her new hat to wear. This large hat was purple and it cost $7.50. Therefore, she thought about returning is because the money could pay for their gas bill. He thought it was absolutely hideous but told her to keep and wear it. On their way to the bus, his mother began talking about who she was and how you remain what you are. She went on about how Julian’s great- grandfather was a former governor of their state and he had a plantation with two hundred slaves (meaning they were wealthy people). Julian became frustrated and told his mother to look around. They lived within poverty and his mother was a widow, raising a son alone. He never agreed with his mother because both time and people have changed. He made it a point to tell his mother that there were no longer slaves. He felt his mother needed to be taught a lesson. Therefore, while they were on the bus, an African American male sat across from him and his mother. He