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The Policeman
Hazel’s Hat
Hazel’s hat is an outward sign of his outsider status. It is consistently described as “fierce,” and leads many to mistake him for a preacher. Halfway through the novel, he buys himself a new hat…
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Hazel’s Car
Hazel’s broken-down car, purchased for forty dollars, is an important symbol in the novel. On the one hand, it represents home, a place that Hazel can call his own—when he is most frustrated by those…
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Coffins
Coffins recur throughout the novel, first in a series of flashbacks that Hazel has of the funerals of his various family members. He is always convinced that they will escape just before the lid can…
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Blood
As the novel’s title suggest, blood plays an important role in Wise Blood. Like O’Connor’s other symbols, its significance is split. On the one hand, Hazel often asks those around him about the redemptive…
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