While I enjoyed Wise Blood, I did find there was something interesting about the Characters. I didn't like any of them! Well, that's not entirely true, but one character in a book is hardly what one should have to become a fan of the book. I felt that the book itself was well written, and the story was interesting, but without characters I care about, characters who either change my life, or it effects me depending on what happens to them.
First off is main character Hazel Motes. The pastor of the Church of Christ without Christ. One who likes the idea of church, but not the idea of God and a Savior. It's an interesting concept, and probably one that, if it really became something, would probably draw a curious crowd. Hazel is zealous and fervent, but he's also stubborn, unreasonable, and blind to nearly everyone and everything around him at times. Only towards the end of the book, when he finds God and blinds and punishes himself, does he become a character you can actually hold feeling for. He becomes a quiet and contemplative person, however, I don't believe he went the best route of what he did. but he became someone who believes in something, and that is something many don't have in this culture.
The next characters are the Blind Preacher and his Daughter. The Blind preacher tries to be a holy man, but he has no faith in God, not really. Haze hates him, but admires him in a strange way, Haze being the opposite of a God Fearing Man. However, He didn't actually blind himself, as Hazel Motes discovers, and you immediately lose respect for him. His daughter, while she only wants a better life for herself, she uses Haze to meet her gains to find love where her father wouldn't give it to her. She is a harlot of sorts, throwing herself at Haze, and ultimately becoming a Mary figure with Haze's "New Jesus."
Hoover Shoats, the Evangelist, is the epitome of the everyday moneymaking Preacher. And he adapts Hazel's message to his own gains. He even hires a look-alike preacher to take over where Hazel refuses. The Look alike preacher is killed by Haze, and you don't really even care.
Mrs. Flood, the landlady, has a major, though disturbing change. Her character originally didn't care about Haze. She thought him mad after blinding himself, and plotted to marry him so they she could make money off of him and put him into a home. She however falls in love with him and tries to take care of him. She does get him in the end, when Haze's body is delivered to her house. She lets him know he can stay with her, free of charge.
The only character I really gave a pence about was Enoch Emery. He's a slightly crazy, perhaps manic young man who follows Haze around, trying to give him advice. He even explains to Hazel that he had the Wise Blood and he knows things. His blood tells him that Haze needs a new Jesus, so He steals a mummy from the Museum to give to Haze. The Last you see of Enoch is him stealing a Gorilla costume, running around, just trying to make friends apparently. But he only succeeds in scaring people off.
OK, I didn't like most characters. But perhaps that's the point. You don't like everyone you meet, and you never will. Maybe that's one of the many points that O'Connor was trying to convey. Not everyone is likable, and perhaps most aren't. But perhaps, even they have a story to tell.
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