Chapter 9 and 10

[Maria]

Post your thread reflection or journal reflection here.

[Johnathan]

Haze has an obsession with the fake blind preacher and what makes him tick. It’s not a normal obsession like a health nut or someone who just really loves cheese, it’s more of a compulsion like OCD where Haze must pursue the preacher. I believe this is a furthering of the “ragged figure” image that O’Connor is lacing her story with. Haze has not been able to escape religion and at this point is thinks he is combatting Christ with his “Church without Christ.” I believe that while Haze thinks he is in a battle against the idea of Christ, his soul is yearning for it. He is oblivious to Sabbath in all her seduction and goes to the point of insanity picking the lock to the fake preacher’s room to gaze upon his eyes. He needs to know. He must discover the secret to how the preacher could have such a seemingly rock-hard faith. What is the deal with the new preacher that is stealing Haze’s religion? Does O’Connor just feel the need to screw Hazel in every way conceivable. Why is there so much sexual language and description. Is it O’Connor’s way of depicting sin in its filthiest form? Why premarital sex? There’s stealing and lying and cheating and all sorts of other sins O’Connor could use to depict Hazel’s descent into Hell.

[Lauren]

The thread that I am tracking is the identity that the characters in Wise Blood attempt to achieve.

The most prominent character in the book, Haze, attains his identity through his faith. He is currently attempting to build up his Church without Christ. This church, his idea, he holds it close to his heart because it is HIS. Hazel also attains his identity through being right, and proving others wrong. As long as he finishes out on top, and has the best possessions (hat and car), then he sees his life as well.

Enoch Emery, on the other hand, achieves his identity through his "wise blood." He attains purpose and meaning through himself. At this point in the book, he is on a quest to help Haze find a new Christ. Enoch seems as though he is constantly intertwined with his blood. It speaks to him, it gives him life.

I feel as though Sabbath Lily Hawks's identity has yet to have been fully revealed. Although, I am not certain. So far, she has been brought life through Haze. His affection towards her remains her ultimate desire. She even says near the end of Chapter Ten that she is not going to leave because she has nowhere else to go. Asa left her, because of Haze, and now she is alone.

I have been thinking about how Asa Hawks achieves his identity, and it just now hit me. His life and pride is built upon a lie. His purpose comes from others believing his lie. If no one believed him, then what is he living for? At least, with people believing his lie of faith, he is living up to the mediocre standard he has set for himself. However, he has fled Sabbath BECAUSE his identity is in jeopardy. Haze has discovered something about Asa that no one else, except for Sabbath, has.

[Charlotte]

So far the book has circled around religions both directly and through subliminal themes. Haze's character seems to be rooted in his rejection of Christianity and his dedication to his church without Jesus. O'ionnoer gives multiple characters Biblical names (Sabbath, Enoch), leaving readers to make assumptions about their nature. Enoch from the Bible is said to have walked faithfully with God, being a perfect Christian so either O'Conner uses this name ironically with plans to point out the fake and manipulative nature of christians or she uses it to characterize Enoch. O'Conner writes about religion in an ironic way with characters like Haze and the car salesman using Biblical swear words. Another example of this irony is Haze's defiance of Christianity and then his return to its roots. He says " Jesus is a trick on niggers" but then asks Enoch to find him a Jesus for his new church. The unintentioanl return to Christian principles is exemplary of the Christian morality that haunts Hazel. HIs struggle with faith shows through in metaphors like his car. Hazel is convinced his beat up "high rat colored" car is spectacular, in fact he could imagine a better car, and ignores anyone who rejects it because "na man with a good car needs to be justified". IN the same way, Haze has tunnel vision around his faith, believing in only his morals and rejecting all else. Hawk's blindness also has some kind of tie to religion though I'm not entirely sure what it is. I think his ailment puts him into the archetype of "blind prophet" but because he isn't actually blind this could be about the corruption of prophecy? Its also interesting when Haze gets obsessed with reassuring himself "he's clean"Unconsciously he knows he is wrong, which is why he is so intent on proving himself, but this sense of right vs wrong is evidence of a higher power working in him. Flannery's sarcastic tone towards religion showcases his view on modern Christianity and the stigma attached to it more than her opinion on the actual beliefs and morals.

[Josh]

In O'Connor's preface, she states that the redeeming aspect of Hazel is his inability to resist Jesus despite his efforts to rid himself of Him. Following this inability, a major irony of the book is that Haze's constant denial of religion and of Christ is actually brings up Christ throughout the book. He hates religion so much, he cannot bear to *not* bring up religion. It is an interesting paradox that drive Haze's character development throughout the novel. Haze also looks for all of the things central to religion--truth, salvation, and redemption. He just attempts to find these things without Christ, but in doing so he is repelled away from his on blasphemy to Christ. For example, he tries to find 'salvation' in Ms. Watts, but soon is repulsed by her. Haze, reflecting on the experience, even comments that he enjoyed the prostitute "much less" than Enoch. In addition, it is when Hoover starts twisting Haze's 'anti-religion' that Haze begins to stand up for actual biblical truths. Haze speaks out against Hoover's idea that the Bible can be read and interpreted in any way the reader wants, as well as the idea that truth costs money. Haze even recognizes the need for a 'jesus' in his religion, and tries to find a suitable substitute but cannot. Like quicksand, the more Haze struggles to 'free' himself of Christ, the more he is trapped by the all-powerful Grace of Jesus.

[Harley]

Harley's Thread. Harley's Thread. Harley's Thread.
(Theme of Recurring Imagery... Do you get it? My title kept occurring...)

Flannery is quick to whip out recurring images her in her novel "Wise Bloods". An image O'Connor brings to the reader's attention is the image of a coffin. At the start of the book Haze relives the images of his mother's death, "She would come with that look on her face, unrested and looking; the same look he had seen through the crack of her coffin...through the crack when they were shutting the top on her." then later in chapter nine he dreams of being buried alive in a glass coffin. He is not dead. But he is waiting for judgment but it will not come. Death is often brought up in "Wise Blood". The loneliness looms in each sentence as these jaded characters wonder about and interact with each other. O'Connor connects characters through the stories repetition. Dearth and darkness are sewed into the fabric. The only idea that is more present and relative in "Wise Blood" is that of religion. Salvation. Judgment. Jesus. For being someone who does not believe or agree with Christ, Haze's life sure does revolve around him. Hazel seems to overflow with facts and opinions on the matter, "If you had been redeemed, you would care about redemption but you don't. Look inside yourselves and see if you hadn't rather it wasn't if it was. There's no peace for the redeemed.". Possibly his biggest issue with God is that he must admit God is wiser than he is himself. This may be what leads him to start his own "Church without Christ". Haze brings up the idea of "being redeemed" to a multitude of others. There are countless repetitive ideas that lead to bolded themes. Flan uses blindness, sickness, emptiness and more. The role of a preacher is one of her most fascinating and recurring images. The idea of a false prophet. Motes proclaims that "I preach there are all kinds of truth, your truth and somebody else's, but behind all of them, there's only one truth and that is that there's no truth." O'Connor forces her audience to question who is true and who is false. Who do you trust?

[Maria]

"There's a shadow on you, son" (True Detective)

In the first season of True Detective, Dewall Ledoux tells Rustin Cohle in an objective manner, "There's a shadow on you, son." Rustin like Hazel Motes is pursued by a ragged other - an ideal or idea about man and God that neither can shake regardless of their intentions or desires. This shadow is personified in both works - a tangible reality with fangs and claws that hounds these men who seek an ambiguous something. Both men find themselves surrounded by a city of sin and greed and debauchery, a place of "lesser crosses" in that it challenges them to locate and purify their own creeds.

In his journey to flee his grandfather's religion, he in a sense affirms that those beliefs run deep. O'Connor floods Hazel with Christ in the profane words of the citizens of Taulkinham, in the outrageous seduction of Sabbath Lily, and on the streets as he preaches the Church without Christ. Despite his outer protests, his inner soul discredits false intentions and sinful reactions to the world's systems. When Sabbath Lily tells him she is a bastard, he stumbles in attempt to "accept her into his new church." In his attempts to flee truth, truth confronts him and he defends it.

In these last two chapters, Hazel meets another Hazel. This doppleganger or double exists to question and challenge his own beliefs. He preaches that "if you don't hunt it down and kill it, it'll hunt you down and kill you," when a member of the crowd says, "Him and you twins" (168). Having proclaimed the truth from his own mouth, Hazel will indeed have to hunt down his double and kill him before he will be free of his false image. Hazel's grappling with identity and self comes in the face of several false prophets, each of which indirectly affirms the goodness of Hazel's character.

[Joy]

In O’Connor’s novel Wise Blood, the thread that I track is the thread of Hazel’s past and how it impacts his actions throughout the book. One relationship from his past that I have tracked to impact his current actions is his relationship with his deceased preacher grandfather. Before Hazel went off to the army, he had dreams of becoming “a preacher like his grandfather” (15) and intended to use his “strong confidence in his power to resist evil” (17) to spread the gospel to people everywhere. Ironically, Hazel does become a preacher, but a preacher for the “Church Without Christ.” Instead of becoming a preacher that proclaims the power of Jesus like his grandfather, Hazel becomes a preacher that proclaims that Jesus never existed and that there is no such thing as redemption. A parallel that I noticed between Hazel and his grandfather is that Hazel’s grandfather also drove around in his car and “would climb up on the nose of it and preach from there” (15), just like Hazel does “every evening preaching” (146) from his “rat-colored car”. The relationship between Hazel and his grandfather causes Hazel to become a preacher but one that preaches the opposite message of his grandfather.
I have also noticed the shift in Hazel’s beliefs from before he goes to the army to when he returns. Before he goes to the army, Hazel wants to become a preacher to become like his grandfather. However, after he returns, he states that he doesn’t “believe in anything” (18) and “if Jesus existed, I wouldn’t be clean” (87). This shift in beliefs stuck out to me because it marks a major shift in Hazel as a person and therefore is extremely significant. A traumatic experience in the army could have caused Hazel to lose his belief in Jesus or something that Hazel did that caused him to believe that he couldn’t possibly be saved.

[Allie]

Hazel very much enjoys stating repeatedly his separation from the Christian faith and the idea of God. It is so annoying that it is mildly disgusting and pathetic. Some may even argue that it is GROTESQUE. Grotesque imagery and ideas are a recurring theme in Wise Blood. From the strange figure found in the museum to the man who burned his skin off after abandoning burning out his eyeballs. To Hazel's annoyingness that makes me want to personally gouge my eyes out, the thread of the grotesque is very present in O'Connor's novel.

[Daniel]

Even though O’Connor was a devout Catholic, throughout this novel, I believe that she has been slowly jabbing at the conservative nation of those who live in the Bible Belt. Ranging from Enoch Emory to Onnie Jay Holy, I believe that she likes to make fun of Protestants who work to elucidate the power of their form of Christianity. For example, I believe she created the character Onnie Jay Holy in order to portray her sense of humor. Her use of humor and satire throughout the story keeps the reader engaged. This novel is filled with characters with a single focus throughout their lives: self gratification. Each character works for the sole benefit of impressing other characters and influencing the way other characters choose to live their lives.

In chapters 9-10, she introduces Onnie Jay Holy and his creation of the “Church of Christ without Christ”. Personally, I believe she does the “Church Without Christ” and the “Church of Christ Without Christ” in order to release her personal opinion about religion in the south. Through her use of religious satire, I think that she believes that too much goes into religion in the South-- too many people focus on the appearance of religion as opposed to what the message teaches. For example, she thinks that people would care more about who would see them in church contrary to caring about what the church would teach them. Hazel, throughout the entire story, tries to run from the entire idea of Christianity, while the idea of religion continues to follow him. Because he started his own “religion” he will soon have followers that will fall into the same patterns as Christianity.

[Reynolds]

My thread is the implications of relationships. The relationships in this novel are poor. There is constantly conflict, whether it be between Haze and Enoch, or Haze and Hawks, or Haze and Sabbath, or Haze and Ms. Watts. Conflict in the book often arises between characters when one character is pursuing another character. For instance, Haze pursues Asa Hawks, while consequently being pursued by Asa’s daughter and Enoch. Conflict arises as Haze tries to rid himself of the distractions from what he tries to obtain, salvation. Asa Hawks ironically deflects Haze’s pursuit of Hawks. Haze only really has one good relationship: the one between him and his car as he often refers to it as a “good car”, which is ironic given that his car is broken down. The most violent scene thus far in the book was when Haze reached his breaking point and hit Enoch with a rock. Enoch tries to show Haze what he thinks the new Jesus is, a shrunken man, and Haze very strongly deflects Enoch. Haze is also pursued by Onnie Jay (aka Hoover) who also tries to preach that there needs to be a new Jesus, an idea that Haze once again deflects. However, when pursued by Sabbath, Haze deflects her at first but then begins to give into her pursuit. Haze is haunted by religion and therefore searches for other means of salvation.

[George]

O'Conner uses animals to showcase mans weakness in the face of sin and more specifically Enoch's own insecurity with life. On page 78, O'Conner writes, "Enoch watched them (the animals) everyday, full of awe and hate." Enoch dislikes the animals because they lead an easier life than him dining on "T-bone steaks" (79). His identity is so weak that he feels threatened by every perceivable entity including the fictional existence of Lonnie the Baboon. O'conner introduces further insecurities to Enoch through a film of "Lonnie the ape" receiving a medal from "a nice looking girl" (139). Enoch runs out of the theater, distraught because of the display of the ape accomplishing all the things he couldn't. In particular, the way Enoch dwells on the "nice looking girl" shows that he feels inferiority because of his relationships. I think that Enoch essentially is searching for a way to have meaning and power, because now he is powerless.

[Sterling]

The thread of blindness/seeing but not seeing has been present in Wise Blood since very early in the novel. For example, O’Connor seems to use Hazel in such a way to reveal his blindness, as related to religion, even though he can physically see. She then juxtaposes this with the blind preacher, Asa Hawks, who at first, does seem to see the truth of Jesus despite his inability to see with his eyes. Hawks even claims that “[he] can see more than [Hazel]” and that Hazel “got eyes and [sees] not” (50). However, in the following chapters this thread seems to shift in focus because Hawks has, in reality, been pretending to be blind. Hawks “promised to blind himself to justify his belief” that Jesus redeemed him (108). He was not, however, able to go through with blinding himself, but instead pretends by wearing dark glasses. This presents a problem with the previous idea mentioned because Hawks may be more like Hazel than initially believed. In fact, Hawks seemed to show his true colors in chapter 9 because he “was often drunk” even made his daughter, Sabbath move out of their house.
Contrasting colors has also been a thread throughout the novel. The color black has appeared more than any other, possible revealing the darkness and ignorance the characters possess. Hazel wear a black hat, Hawks wears a “black suit,” “black hat,” and “black glasses,” and Sabbath has on a “black dress” and a “black knitted cap” (35). This repetitive use of black is not coincidental, but perhaps representative of each of the characters’ individual struggles.

[Isaac]

I am tracking the theme surrounding Hazel and Sabbath’s affair. It sprouted from selfish roots. Sabbath cited Hazel’s “looks” as her main motive in getting him while Hazel decided to seduce Sabbath in an effort to verify his preaching of “the church without Christ” (106). With both parties interested in each other for themselves, their can be much interpreted from the relationship. Each decided to seduce each other, but neither was successful during their first encounter. Hazel allows Sabbath to escape from Hawks and her evangelical life. Sabbath allows Hazel to prove his dedication to sin and evasion of Christ. The progression in their relationship shows their dedication to advancing their own agendas rather than their commitment to each other.

[Shannon]

Maria wrote: "Post your thread reflection or journal reflection here."
Up to this point in the book the most interesting symbolic puzzle piece within O'Connor's writing has been the juxtaposed objects of faith. These objects are indeed literal and hold depth that many highly religious symbols do within our own society today. The first symbol O'Connor inserts time and time again is Haze's car. This piece of crap provides so much holiness to Haze. He sees full potential and connection to this object that no one else in the world seems to be able to make any sense of. His car serves as the primary source of his "faith." After he has stepped inside of it he has no convictions and no need to stay put. This idea of a car ultimately becoming someone's faith is directly parallel to idolatry within a modern sense of religion. One person may not value their beliefs quite as much as they do a certain object or sliver of the religion that seems to give them the most freedom and sustainment.
The second and possibly most interesting symbol that is presented within this novel is the shrunken, and encased man. Although this is primarily Enoch's source of worship, Haze seems to have a strange obsession with the carcass as well. When Haze looks directly into the "hollow bullet holes" where the eyes used to sit, he feels engrossed within the reflection he sees. The person he is actually seeing is not the shrunken man but it is himself. Whenever Haze receives a chance to gaze upon this shriveled, decaying figure he seems to discover more about his own life. In a twisted context, the shriveled man could almost represent Christ. Within Christianity there is ultimate worship of this man who claimed to be God and was pierced and dirty and died amongst criminals. To someone that is on the outside of a faith such as this, the idea of worshipping a human/god like that seems outrageous. The same may go for Haze.

[Jacqueline]

Maria wrote: "Post your thread reflection or journal reflection here."

Haze Motes seems very passionate about his "faith" and the "Church Without Christ". He spends hours harassing moviegoers by preaching on the sidewalk, and takes any excuse to talk about it to anyone he meets. To a degree, it seems very genuine. When Hoover Shoats tries to make a money racket out of his idea, Haze is enraged. He doesn't want money, he just wants someone to back him up. However, his apparently fervent belief seems to be decomposing as the story progresses. He is unsettled by his conversation with Sabbath about whether or not bastards can be saved in the Church Without Christ, and it leaves him with lingering doubts he is eager to push away. Even the ideas at the core of his "Church" are illogical and unsteady foundations for belief. He claims there is no truth, but to claim there is no truth is to assert that something is true. It is a paradox- he can't possibly believe that. And while he says that conscience is a human construct and tells people to "hunt it down and kill it", he can't seem to get away from his own. He doesn't have any real reason for believing anything he professes to believe except that he wants it to be true instead of the alternative (God/Christianity).

It seems like the more Haze doubts his beliefs, the more desperate he is to (1) believe in them and (2) convince others of them. He has managed to (more or less) convince himself that he does not believe in God, and that there is no such thing as sin or Heaven or Hell. He relies on his rejection of God as part of his own identity, but his illusion is being broken down and it terrifies him.

[Abby]

Haze and Sabbath both recognize themselves as "a lost soul" (145). However, deep down, Haze wants someone to pull him out of his wandering and straying. He is so intrigued by Asa the preacher, and he does not understand why Asa "didn't welcome him and act like a preacher should when he sees what he believes is a lost soul" (145). Although Haze continues to preach about the Church Without Christ, he secretly longs to be pulled out of his rebellion and back into the comfort of real truth. He almost acts childish in that he outwardly presents himself in a confused, rebellious way just so that a wiser adult will hold him and reassure him of truth and of who he is.

On the other hand, Sabbath appears satisfied in her straying. When she talks of herself and Haze, she explains that "he's just pure filthy right down to the guts, like me. The only difference is I like being that way and he don't" (169). She seems to have more of a pure evil about her, like young Cathy Ames in East of Eden. She is willing and eager to manipulate in order to get her way. Sabbath wants people to think of her as devious and wild. She feels that this is her identity as a bastard child.

[Julia]

Haze still deals with his insecurities about his faith. He reminds me of Paul. He is someone who knows so much about the religion he is trying to stop, but he is blind (Hawks the blind man helps create the imagery) to the fact that he is missing the vital piece he needs. He is running away from it. Haze, despite his dishonesty with himself is honest to others. When smooth talking Onnie Jay Holy (also Hoover Shoats) comes in and uses the Church without Christ as a scam, Haze is honest and tells the crowd Onnie Jay Holy is lying. Haze is not there to gain followers, but approval from himself and Hawks. He later returns home and finds that Hawks- the perfect preacher- was lying the whole time too. As usual Haze is always a step behind, so it is not shocking that he has not discover this truth before.
Since he now cannot accept the truth, or does not want to admit its meaning, he proclaims that, "No truth behind all truths is what I and this church preach," (165). This is contradicting because his statement must be an actual truth to be true, but if there is no truth behind any truth then his argument is false. Whether Haze knows this or not, he is still avoiding presenting a false image as a street preacher. This is shown in contrast to Hoover Shoats and the new prophet he brings in. He preaches that the new prophet is life changing, while only planning to skim money like a simple con-man. While one woman thinks they are twins, they are not biological, but they are like two sides of a person. Nolan explores this idea The Prestige, when the twins use there similarity to win people over. While seemingly magical, it is similarly the double nature of man used to play upon peoples minds. Haze does not recognize his double nature whiting himself, but is an obvious hinderance from his resolving his faith.

[Addison]

Like the majority of people in the world, Haze is trying to justify his beliefs. Having your own beliefs makes you unique, and creates your identity; Haze feels he has to make his own identity that separates him from the grandfather's identity. However, every chapter, he struggles to escape that because deep down he can't truly accept his "truth." Deep down, he knows it isn't the truth. This is why he finally allows himself to fall into Sabbath's hands; he thinks she can show him how to accept a life separate from Christ. However, O'Connor's pattern foreshadows that he will never be able to escape the truth. In the end of chapter 10, he takes another step on his rebellious path, but still displays his discomfort by not removing his hat.

Through this situation, I believe O'Connor illuminate's mankind's tendency to try to take their life into their own hands, control their own fate, and minimize God's authority, consciously and unconsciously. O'Connor makes Haze seem ridiculous because that's how we look when we decide to rebel and act like we know best. When we try to justify our means, it makes us look ridiculously incompetent and childish. No matter how "accepting" mankind is of his sinful life, deep down, he can never truly accept himself, and therefore never save himself from resulting regrets.

[Lizzie]

In chapter 9, Haze continues his interest in the blind preacher. Haze didn’t “understand why the preacher didn’t welcome him” (145) because he expected the preacher to seek him because he was a lost soul. He also “spent every evening preaching […] to impress the blind man with his powers” (146). This shift from wanting to not be seen as a preacher to preaching to impress a preacher is very strange. Haze also “kept expecting Hawks to appear […] but the blind man didn’t come” (161). Yet, Haze supposedly desperately desires some type of relationship with the preacher. Haze desires the preacher’s acceptance and support, yet he turns away from Jesus and religion. At the end of chapter 9, however, Haze’s expectations in the preacher are apparently shattered. When he sees the eyes of the preacher fully functioning his, “expression seemed to open onto a deeper blankness and reflect something and then close again” (162). He seemed to hold the preacher at such a high standard that it appears to have crushed him when he discovered the lies of the preacher. I find it strange that he put so much faith in a preacher who preached a religion that opposed his views. Yet he was “expressionless under his white hat” (162). As of now, I think that he is looking for an answer in religion and trusted the preacher to give him some clear path.