Wise Blood

Hazel Motes is repeatedly mistaken for a preacher during the course of the novel, and he repeatedly asserts that he isn’t one, even though he takes up a type of preaching as the book progresses. Discuss the reasons why other characters mistake him for a preacher. In your opinion, is Motes correct or incorrect in asserting that he isn’t a preacher?

The residents of Taulkinham are described as avid shoppers and are constantly wandering from one picture show to the next. What does this suggest about the city of Taulkinham? Do you believe the residents there are more materialistic than spiritual? Why or why not?

Hazel Motes comes to cherish his newly bought Essex car. Discuss why the car is so important to Motes. What do you believe are the consequences of the car’s destruction at the end of the novel?

Enoch Emery is an extremely enigmatic character and his ultimate fate in the book is not clear. What purpose do you think Enoch’s character serves in the novel? Where do you think his mysterious impulses come from? What do you make of his transformation into a “gorilla” at the close of the novel?

Towards the end of the book, Hazel Motes blinds himself and walks around with rocks and glass in his shoes. He wraps his chest in barbed wire as well. What do you believe Motes is trying to accomplish in punishing himself?

Hazel Motes is obsessed with Asa Hawks from the moment he encounters him, so much so that he follows the man around and even breaks into his home. In your opinion, why is Motes so fixated on Hawks and his past?

Flannery O’Connor was a devout Catholic, and religion plays an important role in Wise Blood. If there is a religious message you could take away from this book, what do you think it is?

At the end of the novel, it is unclear whether or not Hazel Motes achieved redemption. In your opinion, did he? Why or why not?