The antagonistic vision of sexuality in Wiseblood In the novel Wiseblood, by Flannery O'Connor, there is an unpleasant, almost antagonistic, vision of sexuality. The author seems to consider sex as bad and insists on this theme throughout the novel. Every sexual episode that occurs in the novel is tainted by the grotesque. Different levels of the darker side of sexuality are exposed, from perversion to flagrant displays of nudity. It serves to give the novel a moralistic tone. The "Carnival Episode" illustrates Hazel's first experience with sexuality. The author describes an incident surrounded by an aura of sin. In fact, the show's promoter says it's "SINsational." In his eagerness to see the sideshow, Haze resorted to lying about his age. He was so eager to see him. When he enters the tent, Haze observes the body of a naked, obese woman writhing in a coffin lined with black cloth. Leave the scene quickly. This first encounter with sexuality was certainly grotesque and, perhaps, helped strengthen his decision not to experiment with sex in the years to come. Haze responded to the incident on several levels. Before watching the "show", he was full of curiosity. He wanted so badly to see this "EXCLUSIVE" show. After looking at the body, he initially thought it was a skinned animal. When he realized what it was, he immediately left the tent, ashamed and perhaps frightened by the object before his eyes. Hazel's reaction wasn't unnatural. The sight he was faced with would have struck fear and embarrassment into most ten-year-olds. Not only was the body naked, but it was also inside a coffin. The author compares this vulgar d...... middle of paper ......infected, because it is wrong. Through the depiction of the first sexual encounter between Mrs. Leora Watts and Hazel, it is more than evident that the novel deals with the topic of sexuality in an unpleasant way. Leora Watts is the physical manifestation of the author's contempt for sexuality and prostitution. It is both repulsive and grotesque. Sexuality is treated as a bad thing and sex for pleasure is seen as immoral. In the novel Wiseblood, the reader is confronted with an antagonistic and adverse vision of sexuality. The novel represents sex as evil, encouraging the vilest forms of human behavior. Through characters such as Leora Watts and Enoch Emery, the author describes people who have reached the depths of perversion and the grotesque. Works Cited: O'Connor, Flannery. Wise blood. Three by Flannery O'Connor. New York: Seal, 1962.