Flannery O’Connor was one of the most compelling authors of American literature, though her entire collection could fit into one volume. Her collection fully encompassed the Southern Gothic tradition. In her novel Wise Blood, O’Connor tells the story of Hazel “Haze” Motes, a young man who denies his faith and takes desperate measures to prove his disbelief, and the cast of characters he meets along his journey; a story of religious vision and free will. In Flannery O’Connor’s first novel Wise Blood, she focuses on five key elements and masterfully blends religious themes, and uses the voices of her character’s to affirm the presence of the grace of God in all things. Vision and eyes are a key component of Wise Blood and appearances are often merely facades. Asa Hawks, whose spell Haze falls under, isn’t truly a man of God and isn’t blind. His daughter, Sabbath Lily Hawks, gives Haze “fast eye” when they first encounter each other but…show more content… O’Connor depicts the demolition of Hazel’s beloved Essex to symbolize the sacrament that brings redemption to Hazel. The redemption causes him to receive grace, and after he blinds himself, he seemingly gains spiritual sight after removing the physical ability. Haze’s vision in the novel is to establish a church where “the blind don’t see and the lame don’t walk and what’s dead stays that way” (101): The Church Without Christ. Haze attempts to deny any faith or belief in Jesus, but Jesus “haunts” him in wherever he goes and whatever he does, implying that Haze will not be left alone by Christ until he accepts grace and Jesus into his heart. This is in fact what happens. After Hazel ultimately blinds himself, he sees more clearly than ever before. He finds his redemption and accepts the grace of God and the reality that he must pay his penance to fully be with
