At the end of the first chapter, O’Connor leaves us with Hazel who just realized he was abandoned by his family. He lost his faith in God because he felt like he was being punished for choosing to be in the war instead of being a preacher like his grandfather. O’Connor begins this chapter with Haze using the bathroom at a local train station.

Haze gets off of a train and heads to the bathroom and what he finds written on the wall proves his attitude, since he found out his family left, is negative. He finds, “Mrs. Leora Watts! 60 Buckley Road The friendliest bed in town!” on the wall. When he gets in the taxi that had just arrived outside the station, Haze is asked if he is a friend of Mrs. Leora. So Haze is going to see a complete stranger, and the taxi driver seems to know what this woman is like. I think it is safe to assume that this particular taxi driver has had run-ins with many men who go to see this woman. The taxi driver assumes Haze is a preacher based on his choice of clothing. Haze is not a preacher and denies all aspects of being or wanting to be one. Apparently it is not a good thing to be seen with this woman if you are a preacher.

Seeing as Haze is the grandson of a preacher, many people make assumptions that he does not do bad things. Since Haze has been abandoned and forgotten by his family, he has lost hope in God and is retaliating. He does not care about his actions or anything right now. His salvation is lost, and he is forcing himself to be like an atheist. Mrs. Leora comes off as in control of everything and seems a little entitled. Haze tells her that he is not a preacher, but she pays no attention to it.

Mrs. Leora is pretty much a prostitute. She is the “friendliest bed in town.” Now how do you think men in that day and age would take this? Well, they would take the chance to get what they desire. Motes took that chance. Once the taxi driver took him to her house, he was very open with her. He even put his hand on her thigh as if he was trying to seduce her. She made him feel at home and welcome. She minded her own business, but at the same time she did not. I feel like Haze does not know what to do since he was left behind; he may be in denial or shock at this point. He also could not care anymore. Quite frankly, I would feel the same way he did.

In the end of this chapter, Haze ends up spending the night with Mrs. Leora. I think it is safe to assume that something happened between them especially after what the woman said to him after he told her he was not a preacher. She was flirtatious and told him “Momma don’t mind if you ain’t no preacher.” This does not really give us an idea of what is going to happen in the next chapter so I kept asking myself questions. Like what is going to happen to Haze? Is Mrs. Leora going to be in the picture? What is Haze going to do and why? Why is all of this happening to him?