Wise Blood showcases the flaws of organized religion as seen by the author, Flannery O'Connor, through the story of the anti-religious protagonist and representative of society, Hazel Motes and the his road to redemption. The author comments sharply on the concept of atheism by proposing the idea that Christ is a matter of life and death. The novel is used as a proclamation of faith and at the same time as an analysis of American society. The novel reflects the society, both religious and non-religious, of the time in which it is set; this reflection allows O'Connor to emphasize both her views and those of her faith on the world around her in the post-World War II era. America was greatly changed by the events of the war in the 1940s; these changes are reflected in the characters of the story. Hazel Motes, the protagonist, is a World War II veteran who returns to America with a chip in her shoulder and a pure sense of disbelief filling her mind. He is a soldier who represents the nearly four million Americans enlisted at the time (Beckam). Almost every man in America was a soldier at the time of the novel, so O'Connor uses a military base in his protagonist to better illustrate the society of the time. Hazel Motes isn't just a soldier; he is a wounded soldier, which is perhaps the most important aspect of his character. He returns home with both visible and invisible injuries. Due to the visible appearance of her wound, Hazel Motes returns home with shrapnel remaining in her shoulder and scars from the wound. This physical injury mirrors the 960,000 American soldiers wounded or killed during World War II. This physical wound is also accompanied by a wound beneath the surface. World War II occupied a huge paper center. Np, October 2000. Web. November 21, 2013. .Dochuk, Darren. From the Bible Belt to the Sun Belt: Popular religion, grassroots politics, and the rise of evangelical conservatism. New York: WW Norton, 2011. Print.Friedman, Mathew J., MD, PhD. “History and Overview of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.” PTSD: National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, January 31, 2007. Web. December 3, 2013. Gaustad, Edwin S. America's Religious History: The Heart of American History from the Colonial Period to the Present. Np: HarperOne, 2004. Print.New American Bible. [Winona, Minnesota]: Saint Mary's, 2012. Web. November 21, 2013. O'Connor, Flannery. Wise blood. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2007. “Casualties of World War II” Print. Second World War. Np, 17 March 2010. Web. 05 December. 2013. .