Who is Hazel Motes from Three by Flannery O'Connor: Wise Blood ; the Violent Bear It Away ; Everything That Rises Must Converge and what is their importance? Three_by_Flannery_O'Connor English & Literature Hazel Motes | Three by Flannery O'Connor: Wise Blood ; the Violent Bear It Away ; Everything That Rises Must Converge

Hazel Motes is a character who appears more than once in O'Connor's work. In the beginning of "Wise Blood," Motes is riding a train to his hometown of Eastrod. Motes has just been released from the army after four years and is eager to return home, even though his mother is dead. The one thing that has kept Motes going during his stint in the army is possession of the Bible given to him by his grandfather. In fact, listening to his grandfather preach and reading the Bible is the only way Motes had become even moderately literate. As a result, the only thing Motes wants is to become a preacher like his grandfather. However, Motes has a peculiar way of looking at religion and has little reverence for Jesus, something that is highly unusual for a wannabe preacher. The one thing Motes practices devoutly is the avoidance of sin.