Talk:The Rough South: Grit Lit Composition
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Date: 8/29 Discussion Topic: Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor Subject: "Well, I preach the Church Without Christ." Length: 1 paragraph. 5-7 well-developed sentences. Worth: 5 points extra credit Directions: Read Ch. 6 of Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor. (Note: It may also be helpful to read an in-depth summary of O'Connor's novel for orientation first.) When Hazel Motes says, "Well, I preach the Church Without Christ."--what is your understanding of this engimatic statement? How would you explain it to someone in class who was having trouble wrapping their mind around it? http://comp.missouri.edu/~ricejr/wiki/index.php/Help
St. Augustine Quotation
"My soul is like a house, small for you to enter, but I pray you to enlarge it. It is in ruins, but I ask you to remake it. It contains much that you will not be pleased to see: this I know and do not hide."
St. Augustine, Confessions
Chapter 6 of Flannery O’Connor’s Wise Blood portrays the many thoughts and feelings of the most vital characters. Due to the fact that I was not able to examine the entire novel, I was fortunately thoroughly introduced to three characters—Haze, Hawks, and Hawks’ daughter. The central theme of Chapter 6 orbited one important quote, which was stated by Haze when asked what he preaches—“Well, I preach the Church Without Christ.” My understanding of this enigmatic statement is that Haze does not believe in the Lord. He does not need a church to preach, and he does not need Christ to help him through his everyday life—all Haze needs to satisfy himself is to yell what he feels, whether it is sinful or not. Hence the reason why he tells the movie ticket distributor that it is permitted that he preaches anywhere because the Church Without Christ is no church at all.
Church Without Christ
In the short reading of Wise Blood by Flannery O' Connor, I sensed the theme was detached which is how Hazel Motes was described. When he says, "Well, I preach the Church Without Christ," he feels that Christ is lacking in most of the people around him. There are several people in the story who pass by this man and either don't respond to his preaching or just plainly ignore it. The only person to respond was the lady at the ticket booth who just told him to leave. Even if this preacher's statement was revised to state that he was in fact the preacher of the church with christ, several people would react in the same ways. Most people in society are indifferent and don't stand up for their rights most of the time. Even if a bystander disagreed with the fact that Hazel Motes was preaching the Church Without Christ, they would most likely keep quiet and let people like Hazel think in their ignorant ways. -Erin Achurch
*Not sure I follow your comments above. What do you mean the theme was detached? In what sense has be been described as detached? I'm more interested in what you think rather than what any "bystander" in the story might think. Consider the irony that folks throughout the book take him for a preacher. He has a hat like a preacher. He talks like a preacher, but what does he mean when he talks about this Church without Christ--in your view? Why is Motes so vehement in his "preaching" if we can call it that. What is Motes struggling with? Consider his exchange with the landlady. Prof. Dean
I felt a sense of irony in this story simply due to the fact that Hazel proclaimed to be a preacher from the "Church Without Christ" and that he preaches on the streets; whereas a real preacher, one of the "Church of Christ" would preach in a Church. He says that the Church Without Christ is a church where the, "blind don't see and the lame don't walk and what's dead stays that way". I picked up the irony where Hazel states he preaches on the streets, which may suggest that outside of the walls of the Church, Christ's presence is not recognized, and/or may not exist. Hazel also mentions, "Nothing matters but that Jesus was a liar". Based solely upon Hazels previous description of his "Church", we can see that he tests God and his faith and desires proof of God's existence when he says, "if Jesus cured blind men, howcome you don't get Him to cure you?" There seems to be an underlying theme reaching out to the reader illustrating the cynical nature of Hazel. (Clifton Myers)
