Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor addresses the laws and ethics of 20th century America. Laws and ethics may seem correlated, but Wise Blood shows that this is not always the case. Laws may claim to have ethical origins and serve ethical purposes, but Wise Blood shows otherwise. The conflict between law and ethics can be seen during Hazel Motes' interaction with the policeman and the unethical origins of laws can be seen in the restroom Motes uses after getting off the train. The policeman represents the gap between what the law says and how it is applied; the bathroom shows the unethical basis of certain laws. As a whole, Wise Blood shows the relationship, or lack thereof, between law and ethics. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Laws and ethics are the first conflict at the beginning of the novel when Hazel Motes is confronted by a police officer. Motes begins to cross a busy street but the police officer stops him and reprimands him for jaywalking. In this interaction between Motes, an ordinary citizen, and the police officer, a representative of the law, we can see how a person's ethics do not always reflect the laws in force. The police officer claims to protect all races and genders equally, but his behavior and vocabulary suggest that he is a corrupt police officer who treats everyone poorly, especially minorities. Through his blatant disrespect toward the police officer, Motes, an average citizen, shows the extent to which people respect both the law and those who enforce it. This seemingly small and simple interaction on a street corner constitutes a microcosm of 20th century America. O'Connor uses the policeman as a symbol of law in the mid-20th century. The officer's actions represent the government and its laws. Speaking of traffic lights, the policeman preaches equality to Motes. Addressing Motes, the officer said, "Perhaps you thought the reds were for the whites and the greens were for the niggers...Men and women, whites and niggers, all walk in the same direction » (41). The officer asserts that all individuals, regardless of race and/or gender, are equal. This statement may be true under the law, but the personal ethics of the police officer, which also represent the ethics of the government, imply that not everyone is viewed or treated the same. The language used by the officer and choice of words show that African Americans, and likely other minorities, are equal under the law, but not in the personal eyes of many authorities. The police officer refers to Caucasians as "whites", but when talking about African-Americans, he uses the derogatory term "nigger" instead of "blacks" or any other non-discriminatory term. The police officer's reference to African Americans versus Caucasians shows that a person's ethics can be in conflict with the laws they follow or enforce. The Policeman also shows how legal authority can corrupt a person's ethics. The power the policeman possesses has gone to his head. He addresses Motes in a very dismissive tone. Although he intends to enforce the law for Motes' safety, the officer turns the simple interaction into a spectacle for people to see. Rather than correct Motes' illegal actions, the officer uses sarcasm in an attempt to be funny and entertain a gathered crowd. His job is to enforce the law, but the police officer chooses to act more like an artist or comedian. The officer has the ethical responsibility to apply..