Army Quote by Flannery O'Connor
““His friends told him that nobody was interested in his goddam soul unless it was the priest and he managed to answer that no priest taking orders from no pope was going to tamper with his soul. They told him he didn't have any soul and left for the brothel. He took a long time to believe them because he wanted to believe them. All he wanted was to believe them and get rid of it once and for all, and he saw opportunity here to get rid of it without corruption, to be converted to nothing instead of to evil. The army sent him halfway around the world and forgot him. He was wounded and they remembered him long enough to take the shrapnel out of his chest - they said they took it out but they never showed it to him and he felt it still in there, rusted, and poisoning him - and then they sent him to another desert and forgot him again. He had all the time he could want to study his soul in and assure himself that it was not there. When he was thoroughly convinced, he saw that this was something that he had always known.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: Wise Blood, Flannery O'Connor, 1952
A man wrestles with the concept of a soul, seeking to deny its existence to escape moral corruption, only to find that the struggle itself becomes his truth.
In simple terms: He doubts his soul to avoid corruption, but the doubt becomes his reality.
Key Takeaway
Question your assumptions about identity and belief.
Themes
existentialism
faith
identity
illusion
war
psychology
Mood
conflicted
introspective
somber
Type
philosophical
literary
existential
When to use this quote
- military service
- spiritual crisis
- personal introspection
- psychological trauma
- search for meaning
Key Concepts
soul
self
deception
authority
meaning
Questions to Reflect On
- What does it mean to truly let go of an imposed identity?
- Can denial ever lead to authentic self‑knowledge?
A Different Perspective
The narrative may romanticize suffering as a path to truth, overlooking the value of community support.
![“I can't imagine that I would be asked that by the president-elect [Donald Trump], or then-president [Barack Obama]. But it's - I'm very clear. I voted for the change that put the Army Field Manual in place as a member of Congress. I understand that law very, very quickly and am also deeply aware…” quote by James Mattis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/761/james-mattis-9515_army_i-can-t-imagine-that-i-would-be-asked-th_3990.jpg)
