Flannery O'Connor Quotes

When you can state the theme of a story, when you can separate it from the story itself, then you can be sure the story is not a very good one.

Flannery O'Connor

• Good
• Story
• State
• Separate

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Quotes to Explore

• I wish the world could better know this country for what it really is. Not just a greedy economic giant crouching fearfully behind its walls, not just a panoplied warrior nervously fingering his weapons. What is this, is a people who gather together in thousands to give a people's government its essential vitality.

  

  Ralph Bellamy
  • People
  • World
  • Country

• I want people to get over the stigma about hemp. These seeds can't make you high, but they will make you feel good.

  

  Ziggy Marley
  • People
  • Good
  • High

• The American Dream I believe in is one that provides anyone willing to work hard enough with the opportunity to succeed.

  

  Tammy Duckworth
  • Work
  • Believe
  • American

• In Sweden, they broadcast the American shows in English with Swedish subtitles, whereas in many European countries they dub them. Watching those shows in English was big for me.

  

  Carl Hagelin
  • American
  • Me
  • English

• I am often critical of Israel's policies when in the country, but then feel defensive of them when overseas.

  

  Zubin Mehta
  • Israel
  • Critical
  • Policies

• What really matters is what's on the inside.

  

  Victoria Justice
  • Really
  • Inside
  • Matters

• Political stories in general are tough. They just don't appeal to as wide an audience.

  

  Callie Khouri
  • Political
  • Audience
  • Tough

• I think I need security.

  

  Zoe Sugg
  • Think
  • Need
  • Security

• Being on Broadway and getting a Tony nomination - this has been an incredible ride, from rather humble beginnings.

  

  Kate Fleetwood
  • Humble
  • Ride
  • Beginnings

• In human years I am 29. In actress years I'm the ripe, promising age of 18 to 35. That's how it works here in Hollyweird.

  

  Olivia Wilde
  • Age
  • Actress
  • Hollyweird

• Happiness is the absence of the striving for happiness.

  

  Zhuangzi
  • Happiness
  • Absence
  • Striving

• I can go to a country song, go right into it and make it sound authentic. And I think that's because of my ear as an impressionist.

  

  Eddie Murphy
  • Country
  • Think
  • Song

• Before every show, we get into a circle, hold hands, and someone makes a speech. Most bands are too cool for that.

  

  Flea Red Hot Chili Peppers
  • Cool
  • Hands
  • Speech

• I was poor. When you're poor you work, and when you're rich you expect somebody to hand it to you. So I think being reasonably poor is very good for people.

  

  Imogen Cunningham
  • People
  • Good
  • Work

• Anyone who has played the game professionally, you're always taught that the ball is the most important, most precious thing, so when the ball hits the ground, it's always a mad scramble. It's amazing how many times there is a fumble, and the person who recovers it initially doesn't walk away with the ball.

  

  Barry Sanders
  • Important
  • Game
  • Amazing

• It's just different in the music world. You come more with an entourage.

  

  Taryn Manning Boomkat
  • World
  • Music
  • Different

• I've always thought John Travolta is one of the greatest movie stars Hollywood has ever produced.

  

  Quentin Tarantino
  • Movie
  • Thought
  • Stars

• Suppose that every prospective parent in the world stopped having children naturally, and instead produced clones of themselves. What would the world be like in another 20 or 30 years? The answer is: much like today. Cloning would only copy the genetic aspects of people who are already here.

  

  Nathan Myhrvold
  • People
  • World
  • Children

• I didn't spend a lot of time with prison guards, but my father was an assistant district attorney for a long time so I was always hearing stories about prisoners and prison guards.

  

  Taylor Schilling
  • Time
  • Long
  • Father

• I think people feel very comfortable reviewing the idea of me, as opposed to what I've actually written. Most of the time, when people write about one of my books, they're really just writing about what they think I may or may not represent, as sort of this abstract entity. Is that unfair? Not really. If I put myself in this position where I'm going to kind of weave elements of memoir into almost everything, well, I suppose that's going to happen.

  

  Chuck Klosterman
  • People
  • Time
  • Writing

• When you're playing jazz, you have to somehow overcome that feeling of being intimidated because your aim is to portray that freedom in what you're playing.

  

  Buddy DeFranco
  • Freedom
  • Feeling

• ISIS has stated that it intends to infiltrate the hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees fleeing the barbaric ISIS terrorists, using their families as cover.

  

  Pete Hoekstra

• Maybe it will be a great thing when the Baby Boomers finally die out. In real life, it's not a matter of the good guys or the bad guys. Rather, it's big numbers and small numbers that do the counting.

  

  Jack Bowman
  • Life
  • Good
  • Great

• When you can state the theme of a story, when you can separate it from the story itself, then you can be sure the story is not a very good one.

  

  Flannery O'Connor
  • Good
  • Story
  • State