In Toni Morrison's "Paradise", what went wrong in Ruby and why?

"When we blindly adopt a religion, a political system, a literary dogma, we become automatons. We cease to grow." Stated by Anais Nin, this quote reflects the men of Ruby, Oklahoma, a town built on righteousness, fear and moral law. As the men of Ruby begin to sense change in their town, they "lay their pain, their terror and murderous rage (book cover)," upon a group of exiles seventeen miles outside of the town. These …

…relationship between things and ourselves." Paradise gives great reason why people need to stop living in the past. People need to experience life, by incorporating books and the past, but also by living through experience. The men's incapability to change through the entirety of the novel causes a town so perfect to go haywire. Paradise enables the reader to realize and understand the necessity to learn from experience and to apply that knowledge to life.