Nihilism in Wise Blood Nihilism is a like a melee. It is a struggle between two ideas where the idea that everything is meaningless wins the “battle”. Hazel Motes has let nihilism take over the way he feels about everything and anything. Nihilism becomes Hazel’s gospel. Through his experiences in the war, his ideals and thoughts were changed for the worse. He came to the conclusion to reject God and all that he knew was true. Flannery O’ Connor uses Hazel to argue for nihilism and all of its power. During Hazel’s childhood, he was brought up in a Calvinist family. His time as a kid helped him to come to respect God and fear his almighty power. Hazel’s family believed in God, but they also thought that they would be punished on their last day. From an early childhood, Hazel knew that he wanted to be a…show more content… Hazel says to her, “I reckon you think you been redeemed” (8). This happens before we hear about Hazel’s war experience and it helps the reader get insight into Hazel’s thoughts about religion and God. This is only the beginning of Hazel’s nihilism in the novel. His view of life becomes very miniscule and he only focuses on the evil. He becomes the true definition of a nihilist. His inability to see who he really is and how he is acting shows how nihilistic Hazel is. Hazel’s nihilism is a full on denial of Christianity and life after death. He feels that life is pointless and that no one has purposeful lives. Hazel states, “I don’t believe in sin” (49). After denying that Hazel believes in Christ or sin, he tells the blind man that he will not change. Hazel says, “There’s no change come in me” (49). Through reading this, Hazel can be seen as someone who is confused. He was raised in a house with God, but his experiences in the war changed him. Hazel’s main confusion stems from his belief that he has to convert people in order from them to believe that there is no
