Wise Blood
Flannery O’Connor is one of the most widely read and most widely misunderstood of American writers. Her work conveys a clarity so real that readers have a sensory experience, yet her work has a greater ability to transcend all things temporal. Through the most unlikely of characters, readers are transported to moments filled with grace and divinity. A prime example of the grotesque in literature, Wise Blood is a philosophical and social commentary on the post-World War II era and American consumerism. Readers experience the religious conversion of Hazel Motes and his awkward, painful search for integrity and truth.
Though O’Connor is most known for her short stories, Wise Blood is an excellent example of her work, and it is a wonderful introduction to her as an author.
About the Series:
Novel/Drama curriculum units contain complete lesson plans with preliminary and follow-up work, teacher notes with plot summary, background, and rationale, ready-to-use worksheets, and suggested answers for student questions. These study guides encourage the development of thinking, reading, speaking, research, and writing skills as well as critical thinking skills such as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.
Price: $19.95
Literary Form
American Novel
Student Activities
Students begin their study with research on Flannery O’Connor’s life and the time in which she lived. The unit attempts to break down Wise Blood into digestible and absorbable segments. Each lesson allows students to question what is going on in the work and to find their own discoveries without detracting from the art and mystery that permeates the novel. Students participate in large and small group discussion, research, brainstorm, journal about readings, and imitate O’Connor’s style.
Assessments include quizzes, an objective test with answer key, and essay topics.
Ethical Values
- Faith
- Freedom
- Integrity
- Justice
- Respect
- Truth