34 pages 1 hour read

Flannery O'Connor

Wise Blood

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1952

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Important Quotes

Quotation Mark Icon

“Going to Taulkinham. Don’t know nobody there, but I’m going to do some things”  


(Chapter 1, Page 6)

Hazel Motes utters this statement to Mrs. Hitchcock on the train ride to Taulkinham. It signals that even this early on in the narrative Motes has some intention of spreading his ideas. 

Quotation Mark Icon

“I reckon you think you been redeemed” 


(Chapter 1, Page 8)

Hazel Motes repeats this phrase twice to a shocked Mrs. Hitchcock on the train ride to Taulkinham. This phrase signals Motes’ anti-Christian sentiments, and it’s the first instance of several in which Motes challenges the beliefs of those around him. 

Quotation Mark Icon

“Where’d you hear about her? She don’t usually have no preachers for company”


(Chapter 2, Page 27)

A Taulkinham taxi driver says this to Hazel Motes on the drive to Mrs. Watts’ house. Motes is wearing his grandfather’s preacher hat and the taxi driver mistakes him for a preacher. Motes adamantly denies it; this is the first instance of several where characters mistake Motes for a preacher. 

Related Titles

By Flannery O'Connor

Study Guide

logo

A Good Man is Hard to Find

Flannery O'Connor

A Good Man is Hard to Find

Flannery O'Connor

Study Guide

logo

A Late Encounter with the Enemy

Flannery O'Connor

A Late Encounter with the Enemy

Flannery O'Connor

Study Guide

logo

Everything That Rises Must Converge

Flannery O'Connor

Everything That Rises Must Converge

Flannery O'Connor

Plot Summary

logo

The Displaced Person

Flannery O'Connor

The Displaced Person

Flannery O'Connor

STUDY + TEACHING GUIDE

logo

The Life You Save May Be Your Own

Flannery O'Connor

The Life You Save May Be Your Own

Flannery O'Connor

Study Guide

logo

The Violent Bear It Away

Flannery O'Connor

The Violent Bear It Away

Flannery O'Connor