Flannery O’Connor is known for her southern narratives that explore “ the psychological and religious landscapes of the human psyche ” ( Meyer 363 ) every bit good as for her creative activity of characters “ that are alternately absurdly amusing and tragic ” ( 366 ) . Wise Blood, her first novel, demonstrates her artistic ability as a author. In this novel, Flannery O’Connor uses graphic descriptions, apery, and flooring force to capture her readers.
Wise Blood is Flannery O’Connor ‘s first novel. This fresh follows the narratives of two chief characters, Hazel Motes and Enoch Emery. Hazel Motes is a sermonizer unlike the remainder. He creates “ The Church Without Christ ” . He is on a pursuit to turn out to himself and others that Jesus does non be. Enoch Emery is an 18 twelvemonth old in hunt of success. He is besides on a pursuit to follow his inherent aptitudes which he footings “ Wise Blood ” . Both these characters come to flooring terminals in the narrative.
One technique that O’Connor uses really good in this novel is graphic descriptions. For illustration, she describes Mrs. Wally Bee Hitchcock as a “ fat adult female with pink neckbands and turnups and pear-shaped legs that slanted off the train place and did n’t make the floor ” ( O’Connor 3 ) . O’Connor presents a really graphic image of Mrs. Wally Bee Hitchcock in this sentence. The word “ fat ” can be opaque, including a assortment of forms. By utilizing the imagination of a pear and the infinite between her legs and the floor, O’Connor gives readers a clear and interesting image of the character.
Another illustration of this first-class usage of description is found in Hazel Motes imaginativeness. “ He saw Jesus move from tree to corner in the dorsum of his head, a wild ragged figure gesticulating to him to turn around and come off into the dark where he was non certain of his terms, where he might be walking on the H2O and non cognize it and so all of a sudden know it and submerge. ” ( 11 ) . The image of Jesus as a wild adult male deep in the dark of a jungle pin downing Hazel Motes into submerging shows that Hazel Motes feels at a great distance from Jesus, and that he is besides afraid of Jesus and the unknown. This imagination gives readers an interesting and clear penetration into Hazel Motes head.
O’Connor besides uses carnal imagination throughout the novel. An illustration of this occurs when Hazel Motes sits down in a dining cart with “ three youngish adult females dressed like parrots. Their custodies were resting on the tabular array, red-speared at the tips ” ( 7 ) . From this image the reader can find that the adult females are have oning really colourful vesture accentuated by ruddy nail gloss on their fingers. The server is besides described with carnal imagination. He had “ greased black hair and a lubricated black expression to his suit. He moved like a crow, fliting from tabular array to postpone ” ( 6 ) . This presents a graphic image of the character ‘s expression and motion.
Another first-class usage of carnal imagination is the description of Hazel Motes. “ He had a nose like a shrike ‘s measure and a long perpendicular fold on either side of his oral cavity ; His hair looked as if it had been for good flattened under the heavy chapeau ” ( 3-4 ) . Not merely does this description convey to the reader Hazel Motes birdlike looks, it besides works on a deeper degree. Hazel Motes tries empty worlds of their scrupless ( 93-95 ) , merely as a shrike impales its victims. This image gives readers a elaborate physical description of Hazel Motes while besides giving penetration into his personality.
Again, O’Connor uses this double animate being imagination when depicting Hazel Motes ‘ gramps. “ His gramps had been a circuit sermonizer, a bristly old adult male who had ridden over three states with Jesus hidden in his caput like a stinger ” ( 9-10 ) . This description conveys the image of a terrible looking adult male. It besides indicates that Hazel Motes ‘ gramps used Jesus as a arm against people, merely as a wasp uses its stinger as a arm.
Another illustration of O’Connor ‘s usage of twofold carnal imagination is the character of Enoch Emery. “ He looked like a friendly hound Canis familiaris with light mange ” ( 23 ) . This imagination tells the reader that Enoch Emery is an good-humored male child with an unkempt visual aspect. It besides indicates that he follows his inherent aptitudes instead than doing picks based on reason. Enoch Emory follows his “ wise blood ” ( 44 ) and allows it to govern his determinations, merely as a hound Canis familiaris follows the aroma of the hunted.
While O’Connor makes great usage of graphic descriptions, one of the more challenging facets of her novel is the usage of apery. One illustration of this apery is Hazel Motes and his church. Hazel Motes mimics his gramps and other evangelical sermonizers. Hazel Motes ‘ gramps “ had a peculiar discourtesy for him because his ain face was repeated about precisely in the kid ‘s and seemed to mock him ” ( 11 ) . Not merely does Hazel Motes look merely like his gramps, he preaches from the goon of his auto ( 58 ) , merely like his gramps did ( 10 ) . Hazel Motes ‘ church, “ The Church Without Christ ” ( 58 ) , preaches redemption without Jesus. In this manner it mimics the churches of the evangelical sermonizers that preach that Jesus is the key to redemption.
O’Connor farther develops this apery in a amusing manner through the characters of Hoover Shoats and Solace Layfield. Hoover Shoats tries to take over the “ Church Without Christ ” for pecuniary addition. He changes the name of the church to the “ Holy Church of Christ Without Christ ” . He besides hires Solace Layfield as the “ True Prophet ” ( 94 ) . Solace Layfield looks merely similar Hazel Motes, wears similar apparels, and drives a similar auto ( 94 ) . In this manner, the “ Holy Church of Christ without Christ ” and Solace Layfield are a apery of Hazel Motes and the “ Church Without Christ ” .
Another challenging illustration of O’Connor ‘s usage of apery is the ma. The ma becomes the new Jesus for the “ Church Without Christ ” . Hazel Motes tells the people that his church needs a new Jesus. He tells them that “ it needs one that ‘s all adult male, without blood to waste, and it needs one that do n’t look like any other adult male ” ( 80 ) . Enoch Emery so steals the ma from the museum to give to Hazel Motes as the new Jesus ( 97 ) . The ma “ was bare and a dried xanthous colour and his eyes were drawn about shut as if a elephantine block of steel were falling down on top of him ” ( 56 ) . As the new Jesus for Hazel Motes ‘ mock church, the shriveled up mummy mimics the resurrected Christ.
This apery of Jesus is farther developed in the portraiture of Sabbath Lily Hawks. Although the name Lily suggests pureness, Sabbath Lily Hawks seduces Hazel Motes ( 10-11 ) . When Enoch brings the ma to Hazel Motes house, Sabbath Lily Hawks answers the door, takes the ma, and cradles it.
Her custodies grew accustomed to the feel of his tegument. Some of his hair had come undone and she brushed it back where it belonged, keeping him in the criminal of her arm and looking down into his squinting face. His oral cavity had been knocked a small to one side so that there was merely a hint of a smile covering his panicky expression. She began to sway him a small in her arm and a little contemplation of that same smile appeared on her ain face ( 104 ) .
As Sabbath Lily Hawks holds and rocks the ma, she mimics the Virgin Mary keeping Jesus. These cases of reverse apery are both amusing and grotesque and farther absorb readers in the novel.
While O’Connor ‘s usage of graphic descriptions and apery are fascinating, her usage of force to capture readers is the most effectual technique. When Enoch Emery takes Hazel Motes to see the ma, he becomes so scared that he forgets the reference to Asa Hawks ‘ house. Hazel Motes throws a stone at him because of this. Enoch Emery “ turned his caput and saw a bead of blood on the land and as he looked at it, he thought it widened like a small spring. He sat straight up, frozen-skinned, and put his finger in it, and really faintly he could hear his blood whipping, his secret bloodaˆ¦Then he knew whatever was expected of him was merely merely the beginning ” ( 57 ) . This force is unexpected and efficaciously catch the readers ‘ attending. This violent scene is besides used as boding to farther absorb readers into the novel.
Another illustration of O’Connor ‘s effectual usage of force is when Hazel Motes slayings Solace Layfield. Hazel Motes runs over Solace Layfield with his auto. He so “ drove about 20 pess and stopped the auto and so began to endorse it. He backed it over the bodyaˆ¦A batch of blood was coming out of him and organizing a puddle around his caput ” ( 115 ) . This case of flooring force is concentrating and besides gives the reader farther penetration into the character of Hazel Motes. Hazel Motes slayings Solace Layfield in a concluding effort to kill his ain scruples. The fact that Solace Layfield is besides a mimic of Hazel Motes emphasizes the fact that Hazel Motes is trying to kill a portion of himself, viz. his scruples.
Wise blood is filled with graphic descriptions, fascinating apery, and galvanizing force which efficaciously keeps readers absorbed in the novel. This fresh surely conveys Flannery O’Connor ‘s ability to compose artistically and efficaciously. For this ground, readers will surely be drawn to read her other plants.
