Wise Blood
Courtney Thomas
Professor Sisson
English 1101
10/14/2013
Wise Blood Haze Motes was a very confused man when it came to religion. He went through several phases throughout his spiritual journey. Haze encountered events that challenged his beliefs and made him reconsider where he actually stood. Over time Haze comes to realize he is not as clean as he thought he was. In the beginning Haze thought he was going to be a preacher, “He was going to be a preacher like his grandfather.” (Pg. 15) When he turned eighteen, the army called him. Haze wanted no part of the army, “He had thought at first that he would shoot his foot and not go.” (pg. 15) Haze thought that a preacher’s power was in his neck and in his tongue and arm. (pg. 15) In some ways Haze was already like his grandfather, “The old man would point to his grandson, Haze. He had a particular disrespect for him, because his own face was repeated almost exactly in the child’s and seemed to mock him.” (pg. 16) As Haze was beckoned to the army he was sure he was not going to be lead into sin by anyone. O’Conner wrote, “He meant to tell anyone in the army who invited him to sin that he was from Eastrod, Tennesse, and he meant to get back there and stay there, that he was going to be a preacher of the gospel and that he wasn’t going to have his soul damned by the government or by any foreign place it sent him to.” (pg. 17) After a few weeks Haze made friends or associates, the chance he had been waiting for finally came, “He told them that he wouldn’t go with them for a million dollars and a feather bed to lie on;” (pg. 18) He went into his planned spill, but his voice cracked and he froze up. He then became conflicted by what his friends said to him, “His friends told him that nobody was interested in his goddam soul unless it was the priest.” (pg. 18) Haze was distraught by the thought of a priest tempering with his soul. To insult him even more, “they told him that he didn’t have any soul.” (pg. 18) It
Professor Sisson
English 1101
10/14/2013
Wise Blood Haze Motes was a very confused man when it came to religion. He went through several phases throughout his spiritual journey. Haze encountered events that challenged his beliefs and made him reconsider where he actually stood. Over time Haze comes to realize he is not as clean as he thought he was. In the beginning Haze thought he was going to be a preacher, “He was going to be a preacher like his grandfather.” (Pg. 15) When he turned eighteen, the army called him. Haze wanted no part of the army, “He had thought at first that he would shoot his foot and not go.” (pg. 15) Haze thought that a preacher’s power was in his neck and in his tongue and arm. (pg. 15) In some ways Haze was already like his grandfather, “The old man would point to his grandson, Haze. He had a particular disrespect for him, because his own face was repeated almost exactly in the child’s and seemed to mock him.” (pg. 16) As Haze was beckoned to the army he was sure he was not going to be lead into sin by anyone. O’Conner wrote, “He meant to tell anyone in the army who invited him to sin that he was from Eastrod, Tennesse, and he meant to get back there and stay there, that he was going to be a preacher of the gospel and that he wasn’t going to have his soul damned by the government or by any foreign place it sent him to.” (pg. 17) After a few weeks Haze made friends or associates, the chance he had been waiting for finally came, “He told them that he wouldn’t go with them for a million dollars and a feather bed to lie on;” (pg. 18) He went into his planned spill, but his voice cracked and he froze up. He then became conflicted by what his friends said to him, “His friends told him that nobody was interested in his goddam soul unless it was the priest.” (pg. 18) Haze was distraught by the thought of a priest tempering with his soul. To insult him even more, “they told him that he didn’t have any soul.” (pg. 18) It