ipl-logo

Wise Blood Themes

2019 Words9 Pages

Wise Blood: A Closer Look

Live and let live is a common state of mind in the average individual. The common

phrase means, in a nutshell, that a person can live as they want but they cannot judge others for

living as they want as long as neither of their actions infringes on the rights of the other

individual. Wise Blood is a novel written by Flannery O’Connor and contains many themes and

deeper meanings than the pages let on. Wise Blood is a complex novel that discusses multiple

religious views and themes (Paige). Every chapter has a different message, and every message

has multiple possible themes a reader can deduct from it. Flannery O’Connor leaves the reader to

conclude their own meanings from the central themes she expresses in …show more content…

As a reader gets deeper

into the novel, they start to see something in common with all of the characters and that is that

they are all free to do what they please. Hazel tries to convince people to believe like he does,

Hermann 5

but he doesn't murder them if they do not believe, they are free to follow his teachings or to

dismiss them. Enoch was a bit of a crazed man and he was never a laid back soul, but no one

judges him for his actions, at least not that harshly. Sabbath Lily never exactly believed in

anything. Although Enoch and Hazel tried to convince Sabbath Lily to believe like they do, I, as

a reader, never came to the conclusion that she believed in Hazel's views because she actually

believed them but rather she just wanted to please Hazel (Paige). Recapping on Hazel, when he

inflicted pain on himself and blinded himself, no one judged him or told him to stop, everyone

accepted his decision and went about their business (Jordinson). In my opinion, O'Connor wrote

the character's reactions in this way because she wanted to show that even when someone is

doing something stupid, people do not have to follow and listen to what they are saying. …show more content…

In retrospect, even though Hazel

Hermann 6

tried his absolute hardest to stay away from religion, he was still the pinpoint of light in the

darkness.

In conclusion, Wise Blood is one of the most profoundly deep novels I have ever read.

While I was reading Wise Blood, I originally thought that it was going to be a simple story of a

man struggling with identity. As the book started off, it was simply Hazel on a train headed to a

city where he would stay for a bit. Even by the third chapter, nothing strange or unusual

happened, which I thought was a bit of a let down because I love books that hit the ground

running right from the start. About half of the way through the book, I was starting to get the

idea that there was a deeper meaning to this book than it was letting on, seeing as O'Connor kept

contrasting idols and what it means to think for yourself and what it means to be human. Finally,

the concept of "wise blood," or how I see it, common sense, was introduced into the scene by

Enoch Emory. That idea of having "wise blood" lead me to think that religion is not all it is

hyped up to be because that idea is nothing but common sense and the idea to live and let

Show More
Related
124 Words | 1 Pages

The book Touching Spirit Bear is a breath-taking book that is full of healing and change. Cole’s journey of healing and forgiveness starts out slow, but picks up the pace. This journey will show the reader how one can change so much. Cole goes to the island to escape time in prison. Even though anger never fully leaves a person Cole attempts to get rid of it, but on what?

Read More
1740 Words | 7 Pages

Flannery O’Connor’s Wise Blood contains several characters who reject Jesus and the idea of original sin and God’s redemption. Wise Blood shows that without God people either become shrunken humans or animals. Enoch Emery becomes an animal figure by the end of the novel. While O’Connor connects Enoch’s lack of faith to his animalistic tendencies, one can also ascertain that Enoch completely immerses himself in his wise blood because his life lacks a love for God and other people, promoting the theme that without divine or human love one can only act like an animal. O’Connor’s introduction to Enoch establishes his lonely, unloved existence.

Read More
517 Words | 3 Pages

In the novel A Separate Peace Gene shows he is evil by his jealousy, no remorse for anything, and that he is able to hide the evil from everyone else in the book?t.. The Bible talks about how jealousy causes disorder and anger within a person. Throughout the book Gene is miserable because he is so caught up in trying to be like Finny. He loses sight of what is good and turns into a manipulative person and tries so hard to fight with Finny and doesn't just be his own person. It is always better to be yourself then trying to be like someone else.

Read More
1350 Words | 6 Pages

The symbols in Wise Blood focus solely on materialistic desires, this symbolism effectively displays how much the characters rely on materialism in

Read More
1729 Words | 7 Pages

Literary devices are techniques of expression that authors use to convey meaning to their story. When used with proper skill, these devices can bring copiousness and clarity to the content (Duckart). Certain literary devices can be applied to both fiction and nonfiction books. This essay will show how Ray Bradbury, the author of Fahrenheit 451, uses symbolism throughout his novel to provide the reader with a better grasp at deeper understanding and meaning to his novel. More often than not, symbolisms are not obvious and are easily looked over; however, when analyzed in detail, they add new and important dimensions of meaning to the story line.

Read More
763 Words | 4 Pages

Foreshadowing in the Scarlet Letter In the novel, “The Scarlet Letter”, there are several instances where a future event is suggested, or otherwise known as foreshadowing. “Sooner or later, he will be mine” (4.119). Chillingworth is now fully aware of the sin his wife, Hester, committed and makes her a promise that he will discover who her secret lover is.

Read More
543 Words | 3 Pages

There is balance. So while the book is about Revelations, it also pokes at the idea behind it and

Read More
890 Words | 4 Pages

This show how much he really cares about how he feels and that people need books that he was able to read one to people that did not even believe the ways he had. He ran from authorities and met up with this camp where this each had to care for and protect a book of their choice. It all shows that they are not ignorant they willing to put themselves in troubles just to help some of his wife 's

Read More
2101 Words | 9 Pages

The men took their guns along, so did Buck, and kept them between their knees or stood them handy against the wall. The Shepherdsons done the same. It was pretty ornery preaching—all about brotherly love, and such-like tiresomeness; but everybody said it was a good sermon, and they all talked it over going home, and had such a powerful lot to say about faith and good works and free grace and preforeordestination, and I don’t know what all, that it did seem to me to be one of the roughest Sundays I had run across yet.” This text shows how society is corrupt, for multiple reasons. Not only are families who kill each other going to a sacred place together under a temporary cease-fire, they are also hearing a preacher speak about brotherly love and saying that it is a good sermon.

Read More
1045 Words | 5 Pages

Ron Rash shows us this character McIntyre who is the most religious character in the book. McIntyre thinks a little more of the Bible than most people he say McIntyre said “ The only signs you need to follow is in the Bible” (Rash 62). He is not wrong but he takes things to extreme.

Read More
1511 Words | 7 Pages

The ambiguous ending of the story makes the readers feel both creepy and ominous, and this will help them think more after reading the story. The tone in Oates' story contributes to a mysterious, tense, and fearful atmosphere that makes the readers feel insecure and scared. The author's tone is cleverly developed throughout the text and this allows the author to make the readers feel the same way when Connie has to deal with those

Read More
588 Words | 3 Pages

          The  religious references and  biblical allusion cannot be ignored throughout the novel. Even though, Shelly is a atheist, she was able to make a deep connection with a religious and nonreligious view. This concept is controversial because there are many opinions that oppose Shelly's view and there are really few people that see the same view as Shelly. In the novel, the concept of Christianity was connected with a nonreligious creation.

Read More
408 Words | 2 Pages

Later on the concept of ignorance and mistrust becomes a really big part of the book,

Read More
854 Words | 4 Pages

Religion is very meaningful throughout the whole novel; the author uses numerous scenes and actions to try and get his point across on the importance of Christianity during this time. He uses multiple examples from the novel to persuade readers to convert to Christianity. This is why religion is strongly emphasized to get readers thinking about

Read More
1379 Words | 6 Pages

In a perfect world, there would be no fights, arguments or disagreements that result in destruction and pain. Unfortunately, the world is full of constant battles that cause many relationships to fail. Divorce rates have skyrocketed over the past years and young families are slowly falling apart. Although each relationship is different, one of the main reasons that arguments occur is because of a lack of proper communication or hidden secrets. Either of these things can create chaos.

Read More

More about Wise Blood Themes

Related Topics

Open Document